At 27, Alex Barré-Boulet is no longer a rookie.
Posted at 4:41 p.m.
“He’s a man, not a child,” said Laval Rocket head coach Pascal Vincent.
We might therefore expect him to face his recent dismissal to the American League with maturity and lucidity. And that’s exactly what happens. The striker was placed on waivers last Sunday and was transferred to the Rocket the next day. Tuesday, he took part in his first training session with the Canadiens’ farm club.
The Quebecer does not lie to anyone, especially not to himself. “Finding yourself here”, in the minor leagues, a week after being part of the “first 23” who started the Canadiens’ season in Montreal, is not the scenario he dreamed of. However, he is the first to understand the context.
He deduced, as soon as the Habs squad was confirmed, that he would share the job with Oliver Kapanen and Emil Heineman, which would force him to skip his turn. “I knew there would be a rotation,” he said Tuesday morning. Young people aged 21 and 22, they need to play. I understood. »
He also knew that, sooner or later, Rafaël Harvey-Pinard or Patrik Laine would return to the game and put his position on the line. A demotion would inevitably hang over his nose. But “not necessarily right away,” he admitted.
It didn’t take long for the coaching staff to express their preference for Heineman and Kapanen. Barely a week. Betting on these two horses meant keeping Barré-Boulet in the stands, and on this account, we preferred to send him to play a leading role in Laval.
It takes more than 23 players to make it through the year. I know he’ll help us, just not now.
Martin St-Louis, head coach of the Canadiens
In training, the Montmagny native skated with Joshua Roy and Brandon Gignac on the club’s first trio. His impact should be immediate, with his career production in the American League exceeding one point per game.
“I know their situation, with young people who need mileage, and that is quite correct,” he insisted. It’s part of the game. It’s up to me, if I go back, to try to regain my place. »
“I will do everything to return to the NHL,” he assured.
Objective
If we rely on the echoes heard in Laval on Tuesday, we understand that Barré-Boulet did not arrive grumbling. Not at all, even.
Smiling, he immediately tried to integrate into the group in training. He also communicated a lot with his new linemates – compatriots, moreover –, underlined Pascal Vincent.
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Laval Rocket head coach Pascal Vincent
The coach was particularly delighted to see him arrive with a “goal”. Even though he still doesn’t know him well, he said he saw his player demonstrate a lot of “maturity” in this situation that he did not choose.
According to Vincent, it is rather the players at the start of their careers who present a management challenge when they suffer the ax in the NHL.
“The challenge we have is when it happens to them the first time,” confirmed the pilot. These guys have never been cut off from their lives. He has already experienced it, he can use it in a positive way. He knows what to expect. We spoke this morning, and he was all in. »
He is in Laval and he wants to do good things here.
Pascal Vincent, head coach of the Laval Rocket
His arrival will have a domino effect in training. Sean Farrell, for example, temporarily lost his place on the first line with Gignac and Roy. The same phenomenon will likely occur on the power play units.
“I think it’s very healthy to have this competition internally,” continued Vincent. It’s a privilege to play in Laval, to be part of the Canadiens organization, even an NHL team. When there is this competition, and everything is not given to you by default, it pushes everyone to work harder. »
Laurent Dauphin is not worried about Barré-Boulet either. He himself spent the last decade trying to make it in the NHL, but found himself mostly in the minor leagues.
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Laurent Dauphin
In this kind of situation, “I think you just have to be humble, do your best no matter where you end up and never think it’s going to be easy,” he noted.
You have to give everything you have here, because you can be called back at any time.
Laurent Dauphin
Playing in the American League, he added, offers “a great quality of life” to professional hockey players. What Barré-Boulet was the first to recognize: “We have to remember that we are paid to play hockey, which is the most fun thing in life. »
Moreover, an opinion seems widespread in this locker room: as long as you play in the minors, you might as well do it in Laval. Especially since the next match will be the Rocket’s first at home this season.
“On Friday, the guys who haven’t played here yet are going to see it, but it gives you a lot more energy than if you play on a Wednesday in Bridgeport in front of 20 people! », exclaimed Dauphin, who returned to Île Jésus after an absence of two seasons.
Maybe it’s not the NHL. But for Alex Barré-Boulet, as for the others, it certainly remains the best springboard to return there.
