Without a doubt, a great support network is what puts a great team in the best position to take home the Stanley Cup. Montreal Canadians have it. Coaches include head coach Guy Carbonneau, assistant coach Kirk Muller, assistant coach Doug Jarvis and assistant coach Roland Melanson. The coaching staff is strong with Senior Team Manager Pierre Gervais, Assistant Team Manager Pierre Ouellette, Assistant Team Manager Patrick Langlois, Video Coach Mario Leblanc, Senior Athletic Therapist Graham Rynbend, Athletic Therapist Nick Addey-Jibb and strength and conditioning coordinator Scott Livingston. The Canadians’ medical staff includes team chief physician and chief surgeon David Mulder, orthopedic surgery consultant Eric Lenczner, sports medicine consultant Vincent Lacroix, dentist Jean-Francois Desjardins and ophthalmology consultant John Little.
Although the Canadiens are in fourth place in the NHL Eastern Conference with 27 wins, 13 losses and 6 overtimes, there is still a long way to go in the 2008-2009 season. In January, the Canadians have three more games against the Lightning, Panthers and Kings. In February, the Canadiens will host games against the Bruins, Penguins, Maple Leafs, Senators, Canucks and Sharks. For the remainder of February, the Canadians will travel and take to the ice as visitors in games against the Flames, Oilers, Avalanche, Canucks, Capitals, Penguins and Flyers.
By March, the heat will be on and the Canadians will hit the road for more road games against the Sabers, Thrashers, Stars and Senators. At home, they will have the opportunity to host games against the Oilers, Islanders, Devils, Rangers, Maple Leafs, Thrashers, Lightning, Sabers and Blackhawks. In April, expect to see the Canadians in road games against the Islanders, Maple Leafs, Rangers and Bruins. Home games for April will be against the Senators and Penguins; the last of which will be the last game of the season for the Canadiens. The final game will take place on Saturday, April 11.
The 2008-2009 roster features forward players Steve Begin, Kyle Chipchura, Matt D’Agostini, Christopher Higgins, Saku Koivu, Andrei Kostitsyn, Sergei Kostitsyn, Tom Kostopoulos, Alex Kovalev, Robert Lang, Maxim Lapierre, Georges Laraque, Guillaume Latendresse, Max Pacioretty, Tomas Plekanec, Gregory Steward, and Alex Tanguay. Unfortunately, Higgins, Laraque and Tanguay are currently on injured reserve.
Canadian defensemen include Francis Bouillon, Patrice Brisebois, Mathieu Dandenault, Josh Gorges, Roman Hamrlik, Mike Komisarek and Andrei Markov. As with the forward players, the current injured reserves claim defender Dandenault. However, both goalkeepers, Jaroslav Halak and Carey Price, are fine.
The list of prospects for the Canadians is long and comprehensive, including forwards Mathieu Aubin, Andrew Conboy, David Desharnais, Ryan Flinn, Oliver Fortier, Mike Glumac, Patrick Johnson, Danny Kristo, Oliver Latendresse, Yanick Lehoux, Ben Maxwell, Alexander Perezhogin. , Steve Quailer Ryan Russell, Brock Trotter, Maxim Trunev, Ryan White and James Wyman.
Potential defenders include Chad Anderson, Shawn Belle, Andre Benoit, Mathieu Carle, Marvin Degon, David Fischer, Alex Henry, Scott Kishel, Konstantin Korneev, Ryan McDonagh, Ryan O’Byrne, Phillipe Paquet, Greg Pateryn, Joe Stejskal, PK Subban, Nichlas Torp, Pavel Valentenko, Yannick Weber and Alexei Yemelin. Possible goalkeepers include Mark Denis, Cedrick Desjardins, Loic Lacasse, Robert Mayer and Jason Missiaen with neither of these two groups injured.
