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Habs Happenings: Memorial Cup update, Habs at Worlds & Lefebvre extended? |
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The Memorial Cup kicked off on Friday night with three Montreal Canadiens prospects in action as the Windsor Spitfires defeated the Saint John Sea Dogs 3-2 in what ended up being a close battle. The Spitfires jumped out to 3-0 lead scoring a goal in each period of play before the Sea Dogs scored twice in 64 seconds with less than four minutes remaining in the game in an attempt to come back and force overtime. The Sea Dogs ran out of time and Spitfires were able to claim their first victory in well over a month since they were eliminated in the first round of the OHL playoffs.
2016 Canadiens ninth overall draft pick Mikhail Sergachev starred for the Spitfires contributing two assists on the night while playing physical and responsibly defensively while teammate and 2015 seventh round draft pick Jeremiah Addison opened the scoring with a powerplay goal in the first period. 2015 sixth round draft pick Simon Bourque of the Sea Dogs had a strong night in a losing effort with an assist and playing well with partner Thomas Chabot.
Some Habs prospect highlights from the game:
The Windsor Spitfires next play the WHL champions Seattle Thunderbirds on Sunday while the Saint John Sea Dogs will take on the OHL champions Erie Otters on Monday.
In other news, it has been reported that Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin has offered a contract extension to their AHL head coach Sylvain Lefebvre. His current contract is expiring and it was thought that Bergevin would attempt to inject some new blood in the farm system by hiring a new head coach for the Laval Rocket.
The article goes on to say that Lefebvre has not signed yet as he hopes to make the jump as an assistant coach in the NHL next season. As previously expressed, I firmly believe that it is time to part ways with Lefebvre as his record for developing Canadiens prospects have been dismal thus far. This past year was the first time in five seasons that his team made the playoffs and even then it was as an eighth seed and largely due to the excellence of goaltender Charlie Lindgren. Perhaps Joel Bouchard of the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada was offered the position and declined. He would be the ideal candidate for the organization. In any case, it appears as though Bergevin is content to wait and see.
Finally, there are no more Canadiens playing in the IIHF World Hockey Championships as Russia eliminated the Czech Republic 3-0 on Thursday night in the quarterfinals. It was an especially disappointing tournament for Canadiens center Tomas Plekanec has he captained the team and was the only player on the Czech roster not to record a single point through eight games. After an improved performance in the playoffs, Plekanec surely hoped that the tide had turned for him. Instead, he perhaps just made Bergevin’s decision regarding who to protect at the Las Vegas expansion draft that much easier. Newly signed Canadiens defenseman Jakub Jerabek contributed two assists through eight games. Even forward Andreas Martinsen got into the action for Norway with a goal and an assist through seven games. It would not be surprising if Bergevin eventually resigns the upcoming unrestricted free agent once the expansion draft has passed.
Cheers and follow along!
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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