A Compressed Calendar, Heightened Preparations
The National Hockey League is set to flip the calendar this year, compressing its preseason into a single week and stretching the regular schedule to 84 games, a shift that pushes the opening night to the last days of September or the first few days of October.
Montreal Canadiens prospects are already making the most of the limited time. Ivan Demidov, the highly touted Russian forward, has been granted daily access to the team’s state‑of‑the‑art CN Sports Complex in Brossard, where he logs multiple on‑ice sessions each day as he fine‑tunes his conditioning and skill set.
Lane Hutson, the young defenseman, took advantage of the off‑day by meeting his roommate on the rink and working side‑by‑side with strength coach Adam Nicholas, a session that underscored the team’s emphasis on individualized development during the crunch.
Veterans and fringe players alike are seeking competitive ice time elsewhere. Alex Carrier, Jake Evans and Zach Bolduc have signed up for the three‑on‑three Living Sisu league, using the fast‑paced format to stay sharp while the NHL calendar compresses.
International Workouts
Across the ocean, Juraj Slafkovsky, the Canadiens’ 2022 first‑overall pick, is training in Slovakia under the tutelage of Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak, a partnership that blends NHL rigor with European style.
Goaltender Jakub Dobes, who recently re‑signed with Montreal, will spend three to four weeks in St. Louis before making the move back to the Quebec hub, a pause that reflects the logistical adjustments forced by the new season timeline.
With preseason games slated from September 19 to 26 and the regular season poised to begin at the tail end of September, the Canadiens’ roster is a mosaic of domestic and international preparation, all converging toward a single goal: to translate early‑season work into sustained success.