"Well, we have depth, right? I had Sammy in St. Louis. I really liked the player and the person. He's physical. He has good puck skills. When I had him in the minors, he scored 30 goals. He has good skills. When we got Pavel Buchnevich in St. Louis, Sammy went to New York, so that's how it happened. I am happy to have him back. I look forward to working with him again here."
"In the minors, he scored a lot of goals - he has really good hands and a good shot - but in the NHL, sometimes you have to alter your game to stick, be an NHL player, and find what works for you. I really liked him. He is a heavy, heavy hitter. He hits people hard. He is strong on the forecheck."
"How does the familiarity help you as a coach and help Blais as a player? Berube: It's both. He knows what I expect out of him, and I know what I am getting out of him. More than anything, I know what type of player he is and what he brings to our team. He knows what I want. I think it is good that way."
Sammy Blais brings physicality, strong forechecking, good puck skills, and a history of high minor-league goal totals, but must adapt his game to stick in the NHL. Familiarity with coaching expectations and prior experience together should speed his integration and clarify his role. Blais had a productive camp in Montreal and will need to learn team-specific systems. Final practice lines show roster deployment and lineup structure, including forward combinations and defensive pairings, with Stolarz and Primeau listed as goaltenders. The team emphasizes depth, role clarity, and system adaptation heading into the season opener.
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