BELLEVILLE, Ont. – The Canadiens rookies took to the ice for the first time on Saturday, facing the Ottawa Senators, a team that bulldozed the Winnipeg Jets by a score of 8-1 the previous night. Montreal controlled the play, outshooting Ottawa 36-24, though they fell 4-2.

The good news is that Senators teammates Jon Gruden and Logan Brown did not get into a fight, though that hypothetical Gruden-Brown altercation probably wouldn’t have made the news. But I digress…

A few obersvations:

Nick Suzuki steals the show

Suzuki was the clear standout from an offensive standpoint, offering a glimpse of his talent at various points in the game. He took advantage of a disjointed defence to create several scoring chances, as well as a rather embarrassing moment for the Senators rookies.

His chemistry with Ryan Poehling was quite evident, with Poehling acting as the playmaker and Suzuki being the trigger man, especially on the power play, where Suzuki failed to capitalize on a few decent scoring chances. For the record, they shared faceoff duties on Saturday night, though Poehling received the majority of them.

But we all know Suzuki has offensive talent. On top of that, his defensive play wasn’t just good, it was excellent.

Joël Bouchard only has one gear

It may only be early September, but Bouchard doesn’t care much about calendars, nor does he tolerate wasting an opportunity to teach.

Following the morning skate on Saturday the Canadiens brought out two players, Jake Evans and Cale Fleury, with the promise of more shortly thereafter. But the scrums were cut short by Bouchard, asking whether the media would like to take part in the penalty kill video session.

The message was sent with a smile, but it was also quite clear.

He has a finite amount of time to work with some of these prospects and he’s eager to get going.

Weight watchers

Cale Fleury’s exit meeting with the Canadiens focused on one thing: his weight.

Fleury is the most NHL-ready of the defensive prospects, and his play on Saturday night was further proof that he’s inching closer to the NHL. He was easily the best defenceman on the ice, throwing well-timed hits, driving the play up the ice and preventing a few high-danger chances against his goaltender. That’s not out of character for Fleury. He’s a smart defenceman and plays an impressive brand of hockey when he can keep up with the play. On Saturday night he didn’t just keep up with the play, he was often the one leading the charge.

That’s partly due to the work he did this summer, splitting time between Brossard and Calgary, with a focus on his skating, the one obvious flaw in his game. He also lost 10 pounds, as per the team’s orders, and now weighs-in at a solid 205.

Man seeking contract

Rafaël Harvey-Pinard is slated to play in the QMJHL this season as captain of the Chicoutimi Saguenéens.

Unless he turns pro, a notion that was, and probably still is, far fetched, though he made great strides on Saturday night when it came to convincing Marc Bergevin and company that he’s ready to take the next step.

He played on a line with Suzuki and Poehling, but he wasn’t just a passenger, he was leading the charge with what seemed like an endless supply of energy. He also scored the line’s lone goal of the game, taking advantage of the time and space available in the offensive zone.

He won’t earn a contract with the Canadiens just yet, especially since they’re already sitting at 48 professional contracts, but a deal with the Rocket is not out of the question. If he keeps impressing, it’ll become a legitimate discussion.

The numbers do lie

Cayden Primeau allowed three goals on 23 shots, finishing with a lowly .870 save percentage on the night.

He was beaten by a screen and a perfect 2-on-1 one-timer. The one goal he could have saved took place after a terrible giveaway by Josh Brook, which gave Vitaly Abramov enough time to draw up a game plan, consult several mentors via telegram, write a part of his memoirs, and eventually score.

Goals aside, he demonstrated the type of calm demeanour Canadiens fans are accustomed to seeing in the NHL from a goalie that we won’t bother naming, but you can probably guess his name.

For example, he made a breakaway save halfway through the second period after Gianni Fairbrother eschewed his defensive responsibilities. It wasn’t spectacular, and it was far from his best save of the game, but it evoked memories of…well, you know who.

Of course, it’s unfair to make such comparisons this early in Primeau’s career, but it’s also impossible to ignore how little energy he wastes while making saves. He already looks like an NHL goalie.

Brook’d it

Josh Brook is just 20. He only has seven professional games under his belt and he is one of the Canadiens’ best prospects on the blue line.

He’s going to need a fair amount of time to put it all together. Probably more time than most have anticipated.

It’s not that he lacks talent. It’s his lack of experience that is hurting him at the pro level.

His time in Laval last season was unspectacular, as was his game against the Senators, although that’s probably a little too kind. To put it bluntly, he wasn’t good.

That’s fine.

He wants to do it all at once and that’s simply not how it goes for most hockey players. He’ll learn, and the best way to do that is by working through the mistakes, which were plentiful on Saturday night.

Revenge is a dish best left in the fridge

At one point in the first period, Jake Evans had an opportunity to absolutely demolish Jonathan Aspirot with a clean hit. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because Aspirot is the one who concussed Evans at the rookie tournament last season.

Instead of going for the obvious hit, Evans stole the puck and created a scoring chance, a much smarter hockey play, though certainly less satisfying for the Canadiens prospect.

Import draft

Otto Leskinen is a newcomer in North America, but his professional experience in Europe has clearly shaped him into a confident, smooth-passing defenceman that has the ability to drive offence from the back end. He got pushed off the puck rather easily and had a hard time finding forwards with crisp passes, though that was mostly due to the lack of chemistry among the players. Overall, he made smart decisions with the puck and looked good when used as the power play quarterback.

Surprise impressions

I was keeping a close eye on some of the second-tier prospects, such as Allan McShane, Cam Hillis and Cole Fonstand, but it was Liam Hawel that took the glory. The 2017 Dallas Stars 4th-round draft pick doesn’t have the same skill level as the aforementioned players, but he outplayed them by a significant margin. At 6-foot-4, he’s one of the biggest players in camp, which led to power play time with Hawel creating plenty of shade in the crease.

Good vibrations

You never expect a team assembled in this manner to have much, if any chemistry, and that was definitely the case for the Canadiens against the Senators. However, compared to last season’s rookie team, this year’s edition has an overabundance of talent.

You can’t expect every key prospect to score a hat trick on any given night unless his name is Poehling, and even then, that may only work against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

But you do want the best players to stand out, especially against fellow rookies, and for the most part, that was the case for the Canadiens prospects.

(Top photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)