LAVAL-SUR-LE-LAC – It was a beautiful sunny day for the Canadiens’ golf tournament to mark the start of the season, and the outlook for 2025-26 is looking equally bright.
Players and management met the media ahead of the annual event and were united in the optimism they all shared for the upcoming campaign.
Here is a selection of quotes from their various press conferences:
Please note that some answers have been modified for clarity and conciseness.
Jeff Gorton on what he loves about this team:
What do I love about my team? There’s not much I don’t love about our team. I love the energy of our group. I love the youth, the enthusiasm. I love that our best players have still more room to grow. I think it’s a great group of guys, and I think there’s a lot of upside in that room.
Gorton on whether Ivan Demidov can drive a line from the wing, and whether he’s able to do so at his age:
I think we all see it. Everyone sees that he can make plays and that he’s a very gifted player and that he wants the moment. That’s really important to be that kind of player, to have those qualities. So no, I don’t think it’s too soon. It wasn’t too soon for Lane [Hutson] to do what he did. It’s not too soon for Ivan to do what he wants to do. Can he drive a line? We think he can. Can he do it tomorrow? I don’t know. We’ll find out. But I think [the] early signs are pretty good.
Gorton on Kirby Dach:
I think Kirby looks great. He feels great. He’s healthy. We have a plan in place to get him ready for opening night. So that’s what we’re going to try to do. We might be a little bit slow off the mark with him, but our plan is to have him opening night.