The Montreal Canadiens and the Hamilton Bulldogs (OHL) have a definite connection
Marc Bergevin offered tryouts to two Hamilton Bulldogs players earlier this week, Avery Hayes, a very smart forward, and Tag Bertuzzi, a power winger who has been slowed by injuries. As mentioned here yesterday, these two players will be ones to watch very closely as they could very likely dazzle the Habs' players as well as the fans.
Before the Canadiens offered Hayes and Bertuzzi this opportunity, they selected Jan Mysak in the 2020 amateur draft, who is also a Hamilton Bulldogs product. Mysak was the 48th call-up in that draft, following a 25-point, 15-goal campaign in 22 games with the Bulldogs. He also played 26 games that year with the Czech HC Litvinov.
That said, why did so many Bulldog players end up with the Habs? Is it just a coincidence? Absolutely not. These players are being scrutinized by Michael Andlauer, who owns both the Bulldogs and a minority share of the Montreal Canadiens. That explains it, right?
By the way, may I add a little something about Tag Bertuzzi? Bertuzzi, despite a lack of involvement on occasion, according to some observers, was considerably slowed down by injuries during his junior career, which caused him to be left out of the draft. But his potential is immense, as he was seen as a top tier prospect when he was 17. All this to indicate that he could really impose himself during the Montreal Canadiens' rookie camp... and carve out a position for the official training camp.
