Canadiens Rookie Camp Highlights: Thorpe, Bentley Stand Out

The Montreal Canadiens rookies faced the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday afternoon, the first of two games that will take place during the team’s rookie camp.

Before we get going with the highlights, it’s important to note that the Habs clearly lacked the same level of offensive firepower as the Jets. Such is life when you graduate most of your top prospects to the NHL.

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Simply put, they had no answer to Jets players such as Brayden Yager (14th overall, 2023) and Viggo Björck (8th overall 2026), resulting in a 3-1 win for Winnipeg.

We also have to acknowledge this was a very disjointed game for all involved, par for the course when analyzing a game full of players from various leagues and teams. Chemistry is always difficult to come by in these short camps. With that in mind, we’ll avoid criticizing the players who had a difficult game.

Montreal Canadiens Standouts

Luke Mittelstadt served as Montreal’s captain, and though he struggled with puck control in the third period, he was clearly the best defenceman on the ice for head coach Daniel Jacob.

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It was an encouraging sight, as Mittelstadt is set to play an important role for the Laval Rocket in 2026-27, with a chance that he may even get a look from the Canadiens should injuries take hold of the lineup.

At 23 years old, he was among the oldest players on the ice, and was tasked with being the powerplay quarter back, resulting in an assist on the only goal of the game for the Canadiens, scored by Alexander Legkov. Tyler Thorpe also provided an assist on the play.

He was quite solid in transition throughout the game, using a strong stride to quickly gain speed through the neutral zone before heading into the offensive zone.