Although the Habs did not taste victory in eight pre-season games, we still had the chance to discover some good young players in the organization. Filip Mesar, Owen Beck, Emil Heineman and many others have nothing to be ashamed of with their performance, even if they were cut. As for the first overall pick, Juraj Slafkovsky, it hasn't always been easy, but there have been some nice flashes that show us that you don't need much to belong in the NHL. According to Renaud Lavoie, Slaf will stay in Montreal: <q>I would tell you that it would be surprising if he was traded. [...] The logical thing would be for Slafkovsky to start the season with the Canadiens. You're going to keep Slafkovsky before Jesse Ylonen. And it's 100 per cent certain you're going to keep Slafkovsky before Michael Pezzetta. Offensively, other than that, there's not really anything else. There won't be any surprises.</q> As for Arber Xhekaj, Lavoie said he plays too important a role not to stay with the team: <q>When things are shaking a bit on the ice, he's able to calm things down and warn opposing players. The other player who can do that [for the Canadiens] is Josh Anderson. But there is a downside to Anderson. Last year, in a fight, he injured his wrist. He was able to finish the season, but he couldn't fight anymore. The team will be particularly young. When you think about Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Slafkovsky, you have to think of a way to protect those players.</q> <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/TVASports/status/1577808254561828866?t=2I44ccbGKieYQEizT_3FOw&s=19'> </a></blockquote></div> In addition to being a policeman on the ice, Xhekaj is capable of playing hockey, even as his sense of anticipation and attack is surprising: <q>He's definitely not just a fighter. He has a very good offensive sense. His skating stroke is more than reasonable, if not perfect.</q> Obviously, we can't predict anything at this point, but we'll know the fate of the two rookies very soon. <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/DLCoulisses/status/1577848132880289793?t=294cw7QpQRhzyuen9uhljw&s=19'> </a></blockquote></div> Credit: <a href='https://www.habsetlnh.com/equipe-lnh/canadiens-de-montreal/Annonce-majeure-imminente-pour-Arber-Xhekaj-et-Juraj-Slafkovsky-Renaud-Lavoie-se-prononce-et-ca-pourrait-en-dire-long' class='link_marker' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Habsetlnh.com</a>