Xhekaj, Beck + Ramage address the media on Day 3 of development camp | LIVE PRESS CONFERENCES

Xhekaj, Beck + Ramage address the media on Day 3 of development camp | LIVE PRESS CONFERENCES

e e e e e see e scrum scrum right hello Rob hey how’s everyone doing come I love you love okay okay fire we from Michael ha your thoughts on him uh being drafted and what You’ seen from yeah I mean it’s first viewing for me live uh saw a little bit of tape but uh pretty smooth you know uh you can see the skill set there great release um very confident out there for a young guy so yeah exciting kid like him looks like he even said like strength is one of the things he needs to University rig yeah yeah you know two games a week so they have that chance to to hit the weight room uh it’s a great program obviously we’ve uh put a lot of guys in the HL so I think it’s a a good development path for him do you think you need the whole four years or just a couple years should be enough for him well we’ll take it one year at a time right now it seems as though the the mindset has been changed a little bit for this camp this year with a lot of prospects not coming maybe more uh invitations more tryouts than than before yeah you know some of the European players uh especially the guys going to turn pro you know messar angstrom rather than bring them back and forth rinbers another one uh Ka and you know let them continue with their training back home uh they’ll get over here in August sometime before Camp I don’t know how much you knew about them at all before they draft him when you see clips of him or whatever what excites you most about as about de first yeah uh you know what I met met him briefly in Las Vegas after the draft solid um seemed like a confident young man very excited to be uh you know Montreal Canadian so um other than that you know just what I’ve read but what you guys say but for you for someone who who likes to follow up on these guys the fact that you won’t necessarily be able to do that with him if he’s playing in Russia I mean what’s that going to be like for you what is your I guess um how are you going to follow him how you come come up with the plan different with the Russians you know right now um especially with what’s what’s going on in our world but you know we’ll have eyes on them U we U Nick Bob obviously is very connected so we’ll do our best but um it’s a little bit more of a difficult situation what’s your message to these players that are on the ice so do you tell them what you want to see or you leave it up to them to try and show you well we’ll be doing exit meetings uh commencing tonight and tomorrow and uh you know it’s you know first time camp for for many of these guys um they all went through physical testing so you know we’ll have uh our Sports Science Guy sit in with us uh things they need need to work on physically and then you know just some of the goals get to know them but it’s a first it’s a first um introduction to them and you know we’ll be following them after after they leave here and get get into their regular season I know you visited Ryan backer a few times last year how did you how did you I guess observe him navigating what was obviously kind of a difficult set of circumstances last season what was what was your role in in helping him sort of yeah it was a it was a tough season in clo and they went through three coaches um he had such a good camp here you know he his uh maturity on the ice is beyond what he is off the ice so I think I I went in there end of November and he just come back from injury uh team was struggling uh he was struggling and um so we tighten some things we had some really good conversations were there I think there were a lot of voices um hitting hitting him on him at at that point and really wanted him to simplify that you know sometimes these guys um can really overthink the game and that will translate right into their their hands and their feet so we did that and uh his second half was better and then I think he played very well when he came to Laval how happy were you to get him in lval like how real happy was think whenever we can do that you know and that’s going to help him this year when he comes to camp and you know those were critical games we were fighting for a playoff spot and um he did well so in an Ideal World your prospects that are playing in Europe in your world you’d always like to see them coming to theel sooner rather than later yeah you know angstrom was in the same boat but um meaningful games they went to the championship in the shl so we don’t mind that at all you know he’s playing with Brandon Davidson um you know we we’ve talked about angram uh needs to improve his defensive play well Brandon was a great pairing for him uh kind of like a big brother a guy like flan Jacki what would it take for him to take the next step and maybe one day join his brother yeah I had great season last year um started off in the wing uh they put him at Center and um just took off but you know he’s he’s got the Big Frame like his brother he’s 64 I think he’s only winning at around 195 197 like he’s not going to be 240 like like uh you know the big truck um but once again like so many of these guys the office right now is going to be really important and he’s going to grow into it you know what uh there’s a lot to like about this guy regarding the 15 uh try out guys invitees just how much can you evaluate them in such a short window like can you get a much out of it or not really I’m not that good uh we we’ve got our Scouts here and um you try to do what you can cuz yeah they get two days on the ice and then a scrimmage tomorrow so they’re great you know what uh you know we’re here on Monday when they all came in and uh you could see how excited they were being invited to the Montreal Canadians development Camp it’s really kind of cool to see I know Bob Rob described floran as a unicorn when he got drafted um were you surprised by the offensive explosion he had last season yeah absolutely you know he had a good rookie rookie tournament uh he scored I think in the red white game but you know that wasn’t what we actually draft him as and then what 35 goals something like that I got to see him quite a bit this season and um very responsible though like his hockey senses was way better I think than everyone anticipated and um and he’s still raw so you know it’s like I said very excited about him is he locked foral or could go down to over yeah we’ll see you know that’s what training Camp’s all about uh the rookie tournament and and then get into training camp so um he’s certainly trending that way the hiring of uh Corp corosi there in uh Europe is you going to be taking less trips to Europe next year around well we’ll see but uh what a great uh pickup for us I think that was uh on Monday big big free agent signing getting uh Lori on board but you know he’s uh based out of he lives in turu where is where kuu is so perfect you know it’s going to work out really well capit yeah well we uh we haven’t disclosed terms yet uh see seeing Owen Beck the other day he physically looks like an NHL player like you can see the difference from in a couple years ago where is he made the biggest progress do you think and do you think he’s ready like to to compete for a spot this season well you know that’s what he’s he’s coming with that mindset and you know he his his Camp last year probably wasn’t as good as his his rookie camp and uh Paul Byron we we put Paul on him and Owen embraced everything Paul threw at him and his his game just took off so I think the pro habits um is what stands out the most for me and the determination like he goes to Saga uh you know he he went to win and he did he had a great Memorial Cup so I I you know you don’t mind seeing you know Ry backer’s case too them going through a little adversity at this point because they’re going to face it again it’s it’s how you respond and react to it and no one did that I mean his first 10 10 games in petow were really really tough you signs that the offense is going to translate to the next level because that I think that was always the question mark a little bit so over the last two years you yeah we’ll see I mean you know he’s once again as a coach you know you always like some offense but um You’ be able play the 200 foot game to get an opportunity to have that offense and he has that he’s a very smart young man you know he’s he’s going to figure it out he has kind of figured out to a certain extent it seems as though Philip Ericson surprised some people last year with the how effective he was offensively um in Sweden what what can you tell us about his season what were your impressions of how he’s been improving as a player yeah you know he came here last year he looked like he was 14 years old uh I mean really really young and you know he started with with a big team um was playing like seven eight minutes a night which isn’t great for development they sent him to the alens n brro and he took off and uh you know put up numbers he played really really well for them uh the big team called him back for the playoffs um he made an impression and actually uh he came in here Monday he was he was sitting eating and I didn’t recognize him like I literally kind of walked by him and then someone said you know uh Philip’s here I oh geez so you know he’s doesn’t look 14 years old maybe 17 18 now but he’s he’s developed you know right but to which extent his game is translatable to the North American game you think well he’s still in that velopment process but I think um you know the big Club there expect him to to find a seat and that’s once again that’s going to be critical you wouldn’t want to see him play in seven eight minutes he’s he wants to bump up the lineup and he’s on he’s on that path how valuable would it be for uh the move the captain’s making from Liga to the shl how do you think that’s going to help them prepare for North America yeah another guy last year you know I went out over before Christmas and saw him play he was he was pretty good he he played a good game then I was going over in February to see him and two days before I I left uh he got picked up by the national team so I went to Sweden watch and play uh two games and he was the youngest player on the team and you would never know it he was playing Power Play PK uh Yuri leton was a GM said we’re going to invite him to the world championship Camp don’t expect him to make it because we’ll bring bring back the NHL guys ends up playing you know he produces in the world championships so uh he he was on a great path is on a great path um he’s going to play for oie yenan who’s done a very very good job developing guys in Finland so I’ve talked to oie a couple times he’s excited about about having him but what I liked about oie said he told um Oliver go to Montreal with the intention of trying to make that Hockey Club which was pretty good for a guy that you know he could be his number one two Center in Sweden the coach is saying hey go and and and make a an impression and and go for it you talking about Byron with Beck how Paul making the adjustment how important is that your development to and what makes him good at at this new job that he has well he’s not that far out the game Paul’s uh like what a story I mean you know we picked him up on waivers and this guy you know found a way had a good career good solid career uh he’s very honest with young guys which is great um he has their respect right off the Hop and he’s a forward you know Frankie and I think a little bit differently you know I mean as Terry Harper told me never trust a forward um we’re trusting Paul Sam Harris uh went to Denver obviously won a national championship scored 14 goals as a freshman i y uh you know what did you think of his uh first year you know I went and saw him I think it was early February he was playing fourth line and kind of limited minutes uh David Carl who you know you know um we’ve had players in Den for the last 10 years so I know David uh great coach really good program liked them just said we got a really good team and um you know he’s going to have to find his way because right now there’s just you know we’re stacked they got some injuries and like I didn’t think I’d to go back and see him uh and he climbed the lineup and started scoring so I went back and saw him play and you know he had is interesting he had a poor they played a home and home with Colorado College he they lost in uh Colorado Springs the first night Sam had a few turnovers I’m thinking oh boy he’s going back to fourth line David threw him back out there the next night scored the game-winning goal so great great progression for him too good oh yeah yeah he’s a little Swagger too he’s you know he’s a champion back we got a couple of him you were talking about angstrom playing with Davidson and R it was he was playing on the right side mainly on his off side yes so do you think that the fact that he would come to North America on a smaller rise he would still be a candidate to play on his offside or the game being so different he’s more likely to be slotted back on the left well he has great feet you know his Mobility his skating is is exceptional so he’s certainly capable of doing it once again can he make that adjustment and we don’t know until he gets on that North American ice on a consistent basis but this guy’s a competitor he’s hungry what impress is you watching Adam Nicholas running the drills out there oh I mean hey he’s he needs a little more energy right uh no no you know it seems the young guys love it and um some stuff is a little bit outside the box which is cool you know this isn’t just basic meat and potatoes hockey and nor is the game anymore so um no you big cat as he’s known uh big voice how much just in terms of it’s the same drill the same drill two days in a row more or less right yes so as a development guy when you see that how much are you what are you looking for in terms of what players are picking up from one day to the next are you looking at that at all or no it’s you know what it’s July 4th the fireworks are happening South of the Border right now we’re just you know they’re they’re learning something trying to embrace it and yeah you you hope to see that it’s be the second day but once again we’re not reading too much into it okay okay thank you there yeah slowly just wondering what your your first impressions are on Michael H having kind of skated with him for a couple of days um yeah he’s a good player um you know he’s got some good size to him uses his body well to protect the puck and um you know he’s pretty explosive out of tight turns and uh got good hands to make plays so um yeah he should be a pretty good player down the road with the experience you’ve got at at camp this are you able to spot those who are in their their first Camp the nervousness and say ah he’s a newbie um not necessarily uh you know there are guys that ask ask questions about the routine the schedule whatnot but you know when you step out on the ice everybody’s a good player here um you know that’s the reason they’re invited and um yeah everybody just comes out and shows what they got and um you know this Camp so far has been pretty pretty competitive so um you know when you St out on the ice it’s pretty hard to differentiate against or between the guys that uh you know have been here a while and uh those who haven’t Rob ramish was telling you was telling us a couple of minutes ago how Paul Byron sort of made you his project last year would you describe how he helped you grow your game through the last season yeah um he you know took a lot of my video uh went through it um watched it a ton and um he would take clips that he like didn’t like and um I kind of just break down what he sees um you know ask me what I see and um you know kind of give me suggestions that kind of translate more to Pro um you know that would give me uh you know more of an advantage at the level I’m playing at so um yeah he and I talked a lot uh you know this season when I was both with petero and in sagon on I think it um you know helped me grow my game a lot sorry can I ask about your expectations for this coming season um yeah I mean just uh coming into you know next Camp um regardless of where I’m going to be I’m going to be playing pro hockey so um my mindset is just to you know prepare myself for that as best I can um come into the camp and just uh show what I can provide to to either the uh the Canadians or um the L rocket so um yeah just grow my game over this summer uh make sure I’m um physically mature enough to you know come in and play pro hockey and and be able to excel at that level um whether that’s the NHL or the AHL Rob ramage was saying one of the things that makes bying good at his new job is he can be honest with guys is there an example of him maybe being honest with you at some point about something you have to work on or something you have to do um yeah I mean never never any one um example really jumps out at me but um it’s just he’s never going to sugar coat anything um he’s going to tell me how it is and I mean at this level of hockey you got to expect that you got to be able to take it and um you know it’s not like he’s ripping me to shreds or anything but uh you know he’s he’s not going to hold back if he sees something because you know it’s only going to make me better in the long run so um you know whether I want to hear it or not at that time you know it’s it’s best for me and um it’s obviously something that’s just going of help me down the road how the last year maybe changed you you know you know with the experience at the world junior the experience of Memorial Cup how do you feel different maybe yeah just experiencing those bigger games bigger tournaments um I think they just kind of give you a feel of what uh the next level is going to be like um maybe better than some regular season games um in junior you know I think the intensity kind of levels up when you get to that level you’re playing against better players whether you’re playing against the first or fourth line um you know it’s generally the best players from their from their Club teams so um you know any of one of those tournaments any one of those experiences just helped me um grow myself as as a player um you know kind of teaches me how to play in those bigger moments bigger games and and how to excel in them you physically developed since you were drafted obviously have you noticed like when the testing at these camps have you noticed an improvement in different areas uh yeah they always give us our our metrics and um you know I believe from Camp to Camp I’ve uh slowly improved on on the test um you know I’ve yet to see this year’s uh results but um you know I’m not sure what to expect just coming off you know um like a a long season bit of rest and then not a lot of time working out but um as long as I can you know maintain it uh those results from last year for into this year I’ll be happy with that but um yeah I think you know the other area I see it is um just on the ice against um you know Junior players obviously when you come into the league you’re not the most physically dominant um but as you grow and get older you know you start to feel it uh the work kind of pays off and then when the younger guys come in um you know you start to feel more like you have a physical advantage over them um which is just the way the league works but um you know that’s kind of the process that uh that I’ve felt you’ve obviously been through tons of practices in your life makes Adam nichols’s RS or routines out here maybe a little different apart from have you ever heard a louder coach than that on he’s uh he’s certainly energetic intense enthusiastic um and those are great qualities to have in a coach you know he wants everybody to uh you know succeed and Excel and um be the best that they can be but um you know his drills are so intense you know he he um gives us you know a kind of selection of skills that he wants us to apply into into those drills beforehand and you know warm-up setting and uh and then we take it and we apply it in those drills and I think that um that’s a great way of doing it because you know you can get the feel for um the movement uh whatever skill it is and then you can apply it into a fast-pace high-intensity area um and I think that’s really one of the best ways to to improve your game Rob R was saying that um Philip Ericson looked the last year looked like he was 14 years old and he grew up a bit and looks older so it’s the second year that you see him at this devel development Camp have you noticed him a bit on the ice is there anything you can tell me about the appreciation of that play um yeah I mean I like it’s tough to see everybody individually uh especially when I’m trying to focus on um you know on my own stuff so it’s probably better to get ramer’s take on that but um yeah I mean I’m sure he’s a lot more comfortable in everything um coming to a second camp and everything and um you know I think it’s it’ll you know becomes easier you get familiar with the coaches the routine what not so um even that office aspect can um definitely help him grow e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e sorry to keep you guys waiting better be we used to waiting I didn’t wasn’t sure I had media so what was uh what was behind you a little delay to the start of camp that oh I just had to run some tests just to make sure everything’s fine it was just nothing really I was out there after the first uh session I was out there so everything’s good just this is your second one of these camps um I’m curious how you you know what’s the process for you ingesting all the information they’re giving you and what’s your kind of your take on the priorities that they’re trying to they’re trying to get put through to you yeah obviously it’s my second year so I’m a little more comfortable here and uh yeah I’m just trying to let the younger guys know like what to do and just be a good role model for them and yeah I feel super confident out there how how do you explain your Surge and goal scoring last season way Rob rers even he was a little bit surprised that wasn’t what they looked for you when they drafted you but obviously an added benefit yeah I don’t know I I always knew I had skill and and a good shot it’s just like opportunity I mean I got opportunity to play with some top players on my team and I just capitalize on it and yeah pucks were going in how do you think you improved the most last season taking away the stats just in general play I think I just got bigger stronger more confident in the OHL like confident as a person you know off the ice that helped a lot and yeah I think confidence with the puck handling the puck shooting everything yeah what kind of feedback does the staff give a player after a week like this Rob saying there’s going to be exit meetings what kind of goals yeah they’ll just let you know like what you need to work on for the summer and what their expectations are of you but usually we have a pretty good idea on what what they want to see out of you and yeah be ready for main Camp usually you feel it’s more physical stuff like conditioning or can you can they focus on also skills things yeah I mean it’s it’s everything it’s they’re obviously watching everything we do so they know us they know how we play and yeah they know what we need to do to get to the next level you said you got more confident of the ice as well how do you exp what why it just being drafted yeah obviously that’s a part of it I mean just having that label is pretty good and then I mean just like getting older I don’t know more comfortable in my body and stuff as I’ve been growing so yeah I just feel comfortable who from the Canadians development team spent the most time with you maybe last season was rob ramond somebody else would yeah it was probably uh Frankie Frankie and Rob they’ve been we had a few dinners with them and then uh Frankie would meet up with me after games so yeah both of them we we talk all year so yeah it was it was really good what do you think you took out of your your time in the AHL as brief as it was what what what can you take from that to carry over into this year and what benefit do you think it had yeah it definitely had a lot of benefit for me I mean playing with older guys obviously I was one of the older guys in the OHL and then going up for three games in the HL was was definitely definitely different I mean everyone’s bigger stronger older in general and just they’ve been playing the game for longer so yeah it was just took a lot from the game and obviously I’m trying to imply that with with my game and yeah be ready for wherever I play next year was it a was it a pleasant surprise to sign that deal at that time that contract instead of you know maybe having to wait until training camp and show that you know you’re ready and deserving in that contract yeah I mean to be honest like I felt like I was ready like I had a great year and uh it was just a matter of time I think for myself and uh yeah obviously it’s it’s better signing then and then kind of the weight off my shoulders a little bit I can’t looking forward to that but um yeah what do you like about the the sort of the atmosphere in playing in Lal and how sort of cool is it that it’s close to montal like you’re not off or somewhere like it used to be no it’s awesome I mean I played one home game there in practice like for a week there and yeah the rink’s unreal and the fans were they were unbelievable I mean I was walking in the rink and they were like yelling like trying to take pictures and stuff I was like guys I got to play a game like but yeah no it’s it’s super cool it’ be it’d be an honor to play there next year you made it to a couple of can games too right if I’m not mistaken I thought I saw you at one of them yeah watching yeah I watched I watched a few this year and then yeah I watched the last one when uh when Mayu and Hudson got called up to play yeah so I was watching them so yeah it was pretty cool your brothers still looking to sign a contract and had a qualifying offer I should say but kept in touch with him a lot before heading into this camp or yeah obviously he’s talking me about the camp and stuff and just like what to expect but obviously I know I’ve been here last year and I don’t really know too much about him with his contract I just kind of do my own thing when you say wherever I play next year you expect it to to be a challenge thinking no I mean like when I say that I mean like Montreal LVL or Bulldogs like I’m confident like I want to make the Montreal Canadians this year like that’s what I’m here to do so yeah when I say that that’s what I mean so your brother shocked Everyone by making the team a couple of years ago how surprised would we be how surprised would you be who made the team this year yeah I mean for him it was it was a pretty big surprise but I I mean no teams really had him on the radar because of uh CU Co and then he got the invite and uh kind of made made a name for himself but yeah same thing with me like obviously you guys kind of got the gist of my playing style and what I could bring to the table but yeah I’m just trying to work hard every day and hopefully that happens did you take part in those skates during Co in Hamilton you I know aror was there but did you did you do those or you too young or yeah like um my GM for Hamilton he was running skates out of the Hamilton Bulldogs rank well not anymore but yeah we were just running skates I was obviously pretty young I was I was 16 years old so I just signed Junior B that year during Co so yeah I was just getting better with older guys I guess you were a you talk about your your brand of hockey the physicality aspect of your game how do you see the challenge of using that physicality when you switch to a level of hockey when you’re one of the youngest guys and you’ve got you’re facing mature you know physically mature guys so I guess it might be more difficult to apply that that physical when you’re that yeah definitely I mean with my three games that I played like I’m used to playing against younger like smaller guys inl and I can kind of push them around like a lot easier and these guys are big like they’re grown men some of them have fames kids and I’m I’m show here like 19 years old I was like yeah like it’s tough for me to like push him around a bit but that’s why I’ve been like eating a lot working out a lot I’ve been gaining muscle and and wave for this upcoming season so yeah I’ll be ready do you have a little bit of bragging r or can you tease your brother a little bit the fact you were drafted wasn’t well no not really because every time every time something happens with him it’s just me after like I got drafted but he played a year in the NHL so yeah there’s not much bragging I can do but we’ll see in the future is your mom the biggest Montreal Canadians fans on the planet she loves a team yeah for sure I don’t know about biggest but uh yeah she loves it she’s passionate about it and she’s super happy that we’re both with the Canadians yeah thanks for your time awesome thank you guys

Director of player development Rob Ramage and prospects address the media live from the CN Sports Complex in Brossard on Day 3 of Canadiens Development Camp.

04:30 Rob Ramage
20:07 Owen Beck
38:34 Florian Xhekaj

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