Since the start of training camp, the head coach of the Tricolore, Martin St-Louis, has already tried several experiments to find the perfect combinations for the first game of the season against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Indeed, the organization’s young prospect, Emil Heineman, and the CH’s new acquisition, Tanner Pearson, have had an excellent opportunity by playing notably alongside Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield during intra-team games.

Of course, as the preseason games officially start today for the Canadiens and several players will be cut in the coming days, we will have a better idea of the lineup that Martin St-Louis will want to set on October 11th.

Moreover, the journalist assigned to the activities of the Bleu-Blanc-Rouge at Sportsnet, Eric Engels, made his prediction for the start of the season, and a very big surprise is in his lineup. Indeed, he believes that the young Swede Emil Heineman, who collected nine points (including seven goals) in 11 games with the Laval Rocket last year, will manage to dislodge Michael Pezzetta, Joel Armia, and Jesse Ylonen to carve out a spot on the team’s fourth line.

Here is Eric Engels’ projection for the start of the season:

Cole Caufield — Nick Suzuki — Alex Newhook

Juraj Slafkovsky — Kirby Dach — Josh Anderson

Rafael Harvey-Pinard — Sean Monahan — Brendan Gallagher

Tanner Pearson — Jake Evans — Emil Heineman

Extras: Michael Pezzetta and Christian Dvorak (injured)

Mike Matheson — Kaiden Guhle

Arber Xhekaj — David Savard

Jordan Harris — Johnathan Kovacevic

Samuel Montembeault

Jake Allen

Cayden Primeau

Certainly, it will be very interesting to see how Heineman will perform during the preseason games, as he seems to have a chance to start the season in Montreal.

Moreover, we would greatly like to see what a line composed of Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, and Alex Newhook could achieve in enemy territory. This line has all the assets, with the exception of size, to be extremely successful.

The coming days promise to be very exciting for the fans of the Tricolore!