Les Canadiennes season review: Emmanuelle Blais

Emmanuelle Blais’s role changed more than any other player on the Montreal roster this year. Last year, she was playing on the team’s top line with Caroline Ouellette and Ann-Sophie Bettez.

This year, she was asked to be in a more supportive role on the third line for most of the season with Jordanna Peroff and Leslie Oles. Blais is a CWHL veteran who has two Clarkson Cup wins with Montreal and over 120 career points.

This season, she had four goals and four assists for eight points in 23 games. Her line was tasked with starting most shifts where offence wasn’t in top order. They were trusted with some defensive duties, and defensive zone starts, leaving the offence to the top two lines.

She does have the skills to finish, as is evidenced by her 48 career goals in the CWHL.

Blais is also one of the best athletes in the CWHL. She trains and participates in CrossFit competitions. She also leads the off-ice training sessions at most Canadiennes hockey camps.

While her role may have diminished with new additions, having someone with Blais’s skills deep in your lineup is an ultimate asset to have and proves why Montreal has one of the deepest forward groups in the league.