In English it is known as the ‘farm team’; a place where young players are staged, awaiting their opportunity for the a call-up to the main team. In French the term is le club école, ‘the school team’, and this is probably a much better description of how Head Coach Sylvain Lefebvre runs the club of hopeful future Montreal Canadiens.
As important as wins are in any sport, the mandate Lefebvre has from General Manager Marc Bergevin is to prepare prospects for the NHL, and if that means sacrificing an advantage so be it. For example, last season the offensively-gifted forward Nikita Scherbak was mainly deployed with defensive responsibilities in order to help him develop the areas where he was deficient. On the flip-side, towering power-centre Michael McCarron was given offensive responsibilities to help improve his game with the puck. Although individual improvement was visible in certain players it definitely came at the cost of team success, which has been terrible overall for the last five seasons.
For the IceCaps, school is back in session starting October 2nd. This will be the final season for the Montreal Canadiens’ farm team in St. John’s before they move to Laval in 2017-18. Going deep into the playoffs would be a highly suitable send off.
All AHL contracted players such as Jeremie Blain, Josiah Didier, and Markus Eisenschmid should join the IceCaps from the beginning of camp.
ECHL contracted players such as David Pacan, David Broll, and Justin Baker, who were in Montreal on tryouts, should also make their way down to Newfoundland for training camp.
The IceCaps will practice for three days before they host their frequent rivals, the Toronto Marlies, in the second annual Colemans Cup preseason tournament. The schedule is as follows:
- Thursday, October 6th (7:30 p.m.), Stephenville Dome
- Friday, October 7th (7:30 p.m.), Corner Brook Civic Centre
- Sunday, October 9th (2:00 p.m.), Gander Community Centre/
Training camp ends on October 10th. The IceCaps don’t have to send any NHL or AHL contracted players to the ECHL before the start of the season as there is no roster limit in the AHL. However, it is very likely that three to four players will end up there, most notably a goalie since the Canadiens have five goalies signed to pro contracts.
- AHL Season Starts: Wednesday, October 12th
- Season opener: Friday, October 14th vs. Hartford Wolfpack
- Home opener: Friday, October 28th vs. Rochester Americans/
