This year, the Montreal Canadiens’ traditional parents’ road trip has been replaced by a mentor’s road trip. While many players still opted to bring family members (Cole Caufield brought his brother Brock, and Arber Xhekaj brought his sister Sophia), captain Nick Suzuki chose differently.
The pivot’s guest on the trip is a former professional hockey player: Joey Hishon. The 34-year-old was a Colorado Avalanche first-round pick in the 2010 NHL draft, the 17th overall selection. After being drafted in 2011, he sustained a concussion that threatened his career, but he did manage to play a few games in the NHL (13). His pro career was spent mainly in the AHL, where he played for parts of four seasons before heading overseas. He then played a season in the KHL and another one in Sweden before retiring at the end of the 2017-18 season.
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Straight after that, he returned to his junior team, the Owen Sound Attack, as a regional scout and skills development coach. That’s where his path crossed Suzuki’s as he worked with him as a skills coach. Suzuki also attended his summer skills camp. Clearly, the coach had a significant impact on the captain, who decided to invite him on the trip.
Hishon’s role has evolved over the years, and his passion for hockey has enabled him to serve not only as an assistant coach but also as an assistant GM. He learned about scouting and how to build a team, everything you need to have a successful hockey career, even if it’s not on the ice, but behind the scenes.
In addition to the many mentors who have tagged along with the Canadiens on this trip, two familiar faces also rejoined the group: Kirby Dach, Kaiden Guhle and Patrik Laine. They still have some way to go before returning to play, but they made the trip according to TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie, who reports that the only injured player he didn’t see in Pittsburgh is Alex Newhook. He did add that it doesn’t necessarily mean he’s not on the trip.
The Habs players will spend a day off with their mentors on Friday, as the practice initially scheduled was cancelled after the Canadiens’ win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
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