Every day, I enjoy going to the arena and meeting my teammates. I love hockey like I always have
he said.
After experiencing great disappointment in being passed over in the most recent draft of the NHLeven though he was listed as the 145th ranked North American prospect, Marc Lajoie received an invitation to the rookie camp of the Golden Knights of Vegas.
He spent a week with the organization in September and played two of the team’s three games in a tournament featuring rookies from six teams in the NHL.
I felt like I belonged and loved the experience
says the player who will turn 19 in May.
The Golden Knights haven’t offered him a contract, meaning he’ll be eligible for the amateur draft again. NHLin June.
An increasingly complete player
The season has been difficult for the Americans of Tri-City, but individually, it was excellent for the defender of Saint-Albert.
Marc Lajoie scored 12 goals and had 26 assists for 38 points in 68 games. He was fourth in team scoring, first among defensemen. Not bad for a player known for his defensive game.
Marc Lajoie completed his third season with the Tri-City Americans.
Photo: Courtesy Americans of Tri City/Scott Butner
His offensive explosion did not come at the expense of his defensive game. At the season-ending Individual Awards, he received the team’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player award for a second consecutive season.
I think the difference is the confidence with which I started playing when Christmas came back, it was going well offensively and it continued like that for the rest of the season.
he points out.
Statistics fans will notice that Marc Lajoie finished the season with a differential of -44. This is explained by the fact that his formation had a difficult season and that he had to face, in each match, the best players of the other teams.
Always the same dream
After having tasted a little NHL at the Golden Knights camp, Marc Lajoie dreams more than ever of playing there on a regular basis.
He has no illusions about the next repechage, because he has already been disappointed once. He would love to be picked by a team, because it’s every hockey player’s dream, but knows that 19-year-olds are rarely drafted.
There is more than one way to access the NHL
he says, citing as an example Zachary Sawchenko, another Franco-Albertan, who joined the NHL after a stint with the Golden Bears from the University of Alberta.
During the winter, he had discussions with a few teams from the NHL and wouldn’t be surprised to receive at least one invitation to attend a rookie camp in the fall.
I will be very happy if I receive an invitation, if I receive more than one, I will try to choose the team which needs a player like me the most and in which I have the most luck. to drill
he shares.
Whatever happens, Marc Lajoie should return to Kennewick, where theAmericansfor a fourth full season with the team.
Even if we lose our three 20-year-old players, the ones who scored almost all of our goals this season, we should have a better team.
believes the defender from Saint-Albert.
We have several good young players who will have a bigger role and we will not always play against the same teams in our division, which should help
he adds.
During the summer, the defender of one meter 96 and 100 kg intends to continue working on improving his skating.
It’s hard for a player like me to skate as fast as a player who is 100 pounds lighter, but I can always improve that aspect of the game.
he concludes.
Reference-ici.radio-canada.ca