Rookie Habs defenceman learned some important lessons, including how to handle bright spotlight, as a young baseball player on a big stage.
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Veteran Canadiens goalie Jake Allen has been impressed with the poise and efficiency defenceman Jayden Struble has displayed during his first 10 games in the NHL.
Veteran defenceman David Savard has been impressed with the confidence the 22-year-old Struble has displayed since getting called up from the AHL’s Laval Rocket after injuries to Savard, Arber Xhekaj and Jordan Harris.
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The way Struble has played — scoring a goal and adding an assist to go along with a plus-1 differential while averaging 12:38 of ice time — is going to make it hard for the Canadiens to send the 6-foot, 205-pounder back to Laval. When Savard returned to the lineup Sunday night — a 2-1 loss to the Nashville Predators — after missing 22 games with a fractured hand, it was Gustav Lindström who was returned to Laval, not Struble.
Canadiens management and head coach Martin St. Louis are going to have some tough decisions to make on the blue line after Harris recovers from a lower-body injury that has sidelined him for the last 10 games, while Arber Xhekaj continues to play in Laval after recovering from an upper-body injury.
“I’ll cross the bridge when that happens,” St. Louis said after Sunday’s game. “I don’t think about that right now.
“Jayden’s being evaluated every game, every day,” the coach added. “He’s brought some energy. You see he’s a strong kid, good skater. He’s got good touches, too. It’s not just one thing, because he could be a strong kid that impresses you. He could be fast, that’s impressive. But I think it’s the total package. I knew he had assets, but I didn’t know how they would all kind of look combined — and from what I’ve seen so far it’s been good.”
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Very good.
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The pressure of playing in the NHL under Montreal’s very bright spotlight hasn’t fazed Struble, who was selected in the second round (46th overall) of the 2019 NHL Draft. He got his first experience playing under a bright spotlight as a 12-year-old baseball player when his Cumberland Americans team from Rhode Island went to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa. Struble was a first-baseman and cleanup hitter.
One of the most memorable moments of that Little League World Series was the speech Cumberland coach Dave Belisle gave to his players after they were eliminated with a heartbreaking 8-7 loss to Illinois. It went viral.
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“There’s no disappointment in your effort in the whole tournament, in the whole season,” Belisle said after gathering the players around him on the field. “It’s been an incredible journey. We fought … look at the score, 8-7 — 12-10 in hits. It came to the last out. We didn’t quit. That’s us! Boys, that’s us!
“The only reason why I’ll probably end up shedding a tear is because this is the last time I’m going to end up coaching you guys,” Belisle added. “But I’m going to bring back with me, and the coaching staff is going to bring back with me and you guys are going to bring back is something that no other team can provide but you guys. That’s pride, OK. Pride. You’re going to take that for the rest of your life what you provided for a town in Cumberland. You had the whole place jumping, you had the whole state jumping, you had New England jumping, you had ESPN jumping. You want to know why? They like fighters. They like sportsmen. They like guys who don’t quit. They like guys who play the game the right way.
“The lessons you guys have learned along the journey you’re never going to forget.”
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Struble certainly hasn’t forgotten those lessons and he smiled after practice last week when I asked him about the viral video with his old coach.
“I don’t really go back and watch it, but I’ll see commercials on it every once in a while and it’s cool just to kind of relive it,” Struble said. “It was such a cool experience being that young and on that big of a stage. You’re playing for your town and your state. It was a super-cool experience. I do think about it every once in a while. I’ll get tagged on something with the Little League World Series. It’s a good memory.”
Struble played many sports while growing up in Rhode Island — including lacrosse and basketball — but hockey was the one he loved the most. His maternal grandfather, Paul Struble, started him in hockey when he was 3 and was also his first coach.
“He still texts me all the time,” Struble said. “He normally goes to bed around 7, but he has stayed up for every Montreal game that I’ve played in.
“He didn’t stay up when I was in Laval,” Struble added with a laugh. “He’s proud of it. He’s like, “I stayed up for every one of them.’”
Struble’s grandfather has a lot to be proud of.
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