Jesse Ylönen and his Pelicans played their first preseason games last weekend. Ylönen came away with five points (2G-3A) in four games in the tournament and the Pelicans won the trophy.
We caught up with Ylönen to speak about his summer, development camp and of course the preseason tournament and the implication for his and his team’s season.
The Canadiens thought Ylönen got better as the season progressed last year, and they want him to get stronger and focus on his Liiga season. The hope is that he has a chance to fine tune everything so he can be at NHL training camp next season.
Pelicans will play in the Champions Hockey League, facing Oceláři Třinec (from the Czech Republic), Lausanne HC (Switzerland) and Yunost Minsk (Belarus). It will be a new challenge and a challenge that the winger looks forwards to.
Ylönen also speaks about his personal goals for the season, pointing out that his defensive game is a work in progress and while it has gotten better he wants to be more secure in his own end. Of course, the 2018 second-round-pick also wants to add to his offensive output. He is keenly aware that he needs to get better everywhere in order for him to become a NHL regular for the Canadiens.
