RALEIGH — The Canadiens practiced at PNC Arena on Wednesday afternoon.
It marked Jordan Harris‘ first practice with the team since being signed to a two-year, entry-level contract last Saturday.
Ryan Poehling returned to practice after suffering an upper-body injury on March 13 against Philadelphia.
Meanwhile, Jake Evans didn’t skate after suffering an upper-body injury during Tuesday night’s game against Florida.
During his press conference, interim head coach Martin St-Louis confirmed that Poehling won’t play versus Carolina on Thursday night.
Tyler Pitlick will return to the lineup, though, after suffering an upper-body injury versus Toronto on March 26. He was wearing a full visor for the workout.
Harris on Hughes: “I was truly impressed with his honesty”
While Harris’ longstanding relationship with general manager Kent Hughes and that “familiarity factor” definitely played a role in his decision to ultimately sign with Montreal, there was more to it than that.
The 21-year-old defenseman says Hughes presented a vision that immediately caught his attention.
“Throughout the talks, I was just really impressed with his hockey mind, his plan for the organization, and everything that he had in mind for the future,” shared Harris, who recently completed his senior campaign at Northeastern University alongside Hughes’ sons, Riley and Jack. “I always knew that he had a great hockey mind and great relationships in hockey with his job as an agent, but I was truly impressed with his honesty, the way he saw my career, and the way he presented the Canadiens organization going forward.”
Video: Jordan Harris on joining the Canadiens
The Haverhill, MA native explained that Hughes’ arrival, coupled with the additions of St-Louis and Jeff Gorton, really made the Habs a “fantastic fit” – and he considers himself “very fortunate” that everything came together and culminated in a deal.
But, he always planned to remain with the Habs after being drafted in the third round, 71st overall, in 2018, and completing his collegiate career.
“How could you not? That was the plan the whole way, to sign with Montreal after four years. Getting my degree was super important to me, and going back for that senior year, we had a great team at Northeastern and all my best friends are there,” mentioned Harris. “The only time where there was a little time for reflection was when some of the organization members got let go.”
That’s ancient history now, though, and Harris is squarely focused on absorbing as much information as possible from St-Louis, the rest of the coaching staff, and his new teammates.
And he feels that he’s in the perfect environment to learn quickly and succeed.
“It was more just the concepts of the team that I was really excited about, the way Kent sees the game, the way Marty sees the game, and getting to see the past couple of days the way Marty has led the team has been amazing. I’ve already picked up a lot of stuff,” explained Harris. “Obviously the way that Kent sees the team moving forward, possessing the puck, playing fast, everything like that, it just seemed like a good fit.”
The now-former Huskies’ captain, who has watched the likes of blueliners Cam Fowler, Matt Grzelcyk and Miro Heiskanen closely over the years, won’t be rushed into action by St-Louis.
The Hall of Famer indicated that Harris will be slowly integrated into the mix.
That should give him a little extra downtime to finish his final college class in organizational behavior to graduate with a business administration degree in May.
Barron: “It was a pretty easy assist”
Newcomer Justin Barron collected his first career NHL point on Tuesday night in Sunrise.
The 20-year-old rearguard picked up the secondary helper on Joel Edmundson‘s first goal of the year, and he was given the puck to mark the milestone.
“I’ll probably keep it with me, probably take it home to Halifax in the summer. It was definitely pretty special,” said Barron, who was acquired from Colorado at the trade deadline. “It was a pretty easy assist. Suzy did most of the work for me there, going end-to-end, and then Eddy had a great shot, so it was nice to get my first point out of the way.”
Video: MTL@FLA: Edmundson rockets home 1st of year
Speaking of Suzuki, he was the player who ensured that Barron got the momento.
“Suzy kind of knew right away on the ice. He asked me if it was my first point, so he went and got the puck for me, which was awesome,” added Barron. “The guys were kind of congratulating me in the second period and in the intermission as well, so it was pretty cool.”
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