According to Claude Julien, the potential of Galchenyuk is there and the patience is necessary

Photo: Graham Hughes The canadian Press
Coach Claude Julien was asked Friday to explain the reasoning behind his decision to put Galchenyuk in the fourth trio.

The absent are always wrong, says an old cliché, but Friday afternoon, at the Bell sports complex, they have monopolized the attention.

It was particularly question of the defender David Schlemko, who was playing his first game of hockey this year, on the Friday evening, with the Rocket of Laval after having been given up for fitness.

The journalists were also questioned head coach Claude Julien about Mark Streit, whose name had been submitted to the voting on Thursday and has also been demoted to the Rocket given the fact that none of the 30 other teams in the NHL has claimed.

Most importantly, Julien has faced a number of questions about the beginning of a difficult season for Alex Galchenyuk, who has not skated with his teammates because he was weakened by flu-like symptoms.

“It is too early to say if he will play tomorrow [Saturday]. He was to meet with the team physician, it will be re-evaluated and we will take a decision, ” said Julien, who had not met the media since the conclusion of the game against the Blackhawks in Chicago on Tuesday.

Julien was also asked to explain the reasoning behind his decision to put Galchenyuk in the fourth trio, to the left of Torrey Mitchell and Ales Hemsky during the training held the next day. “Alex knows a difficult start, has recognized Julien. With all the time he spent on the ice in numerical advantage, it does not seem to get scoring chances in that time. As a coach, I need to make the necessary, and this is not something that is only because there are other players that we believe can produce and which do not. And when you are dealing with a winger like Hemsky to the right, it is not as if you were playing with a player without skills. This is a situation where we move players, for a certain period of time, to bring us back in the right direction. “

And the other ?

On the way, Julien, recalled that he had not lost faith in his enigmatic striker, and that patience is necessary because it is still young. “There are players who it takes a little more time, observed Julien. With Alex, we see the potential. It is important to remain patient, and we will always work with [him].But you want the player, be it Alex or anyone else, also works. We have worked together. It can’t be a work one way, it should happen to both. It helps, it helps, and it’s always the same thing with the players with whom I have worked. “

The following question, which was aimed to understand if the trouble Galchenyuk were physical or psychological, Julien has expressed a bit of impatience.

“What I would say is that as a coach, I hear all the questions about Galchenyuk, but I hear no issues on other players who may have not been up to, he replied. Up to a certain point, a coach should not always be obliged to reply to the topic of Alex Galchenyuk, but to work with him. I do not dwell on Galchenyuk, but on several players. “

In addition, with respect to Schlemko, Julien said that the Canadian will evaluate the file on a daily basis, thus leaving floating the idea that it should be recalled in time for the game on Saturday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Bell Centre.

It could also be that Schlemko, away from the game since the second day of the camp due to an injury to a hand, participates in the second game against the Devils Binghamton Saturday afternoon at the Place Bell.

As for Streit, Julien did not know his intentions. In the late afternoon on Friday, the Rocket could not confirm whether or not the veteran defender 39-year-old was going to bring to the club-the school of Canadian.

“Mark is an excellent veteran who has had a good career in the national hockey League, said Julien. If he presents himself to Laval, it does not mean that we will not be here either. A veteran like him has the right to study the options available to him. For now, I think we’re going to be respectful of this side. “