“If you look around you, there’s 20 or 30 people,” Gallagher said in a locker room at the CN Sports Complex in Brossard during a speech filmed by the Canadiens. “Realistically, two or three of you will be in the squad at some point. Gallagher added that it should be a fun and exciting time for the young players and they should celebrate where they are in their careers.
“It must be encouraging to know that you are so close to achieving your goal of playing in the National Hockey League,” Gallagher said. “You have to take advantage of it. It’s such an important moment in your career that if you don’t, other players will work hard and pass. If you do, you have the opportunity to make your dream come true. »
Gallagher defied the odds as a 5-foot-9 winger selected in the fifth round (147th overall) of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft and enters his 13th season with the Canadiens.
The odds are better that Owen Beck will reach the NHL after the 6-foot, 194-pound center was selected by the Canadiens in the second round (33rd overall) of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, but Gallagher’s speech it also had an impact. on the 20-year-old Beck. Of the 14 forwards invited to the Canadiens’ rookie camp, Beck is perhaps the closest to securing an NHL spot. Rookie camp ended Sunday when the Canadiens lost 5-4 to the Toronto Maple Leafs in a potential showdown at the Bell Centre. Emil Heineman, Jared Davidson, Tyler Thorpe and Logan Mailloux scored for the Canadiens in front of a packed house. After Sunday’s game, Beck said Gallagher’s speech highlighted not only how competitive it is to land a spot in the NHL, but also how difficult it is to keep your job.
“He’s a guy who could be closer to the end of his career, but he’s going to fight every year, every game he’s left to keep his place and he told us that,” Beck said of Gallagher, 32. which has three seasons remaining on his contract. “I think it affected all of us. I think it’s not something you necessarily understand when you’re just trying to get into the league because you’re so focused on getting there. But there are other guys who are already there and they’re trying desperately not to leave.