Rocket defender Marc Del Gaizo hopeful he can stay with Canadiens
There might be worse places to spend a Monday than Columbus, Ohio.
Laval Rocket defenceman Marc Del Gaizo was recalled by the Canadiens for Monday’s game against the Blue Jackets. It marked the third time this season the 26-year-old was summoned by Montreal. And it marked the sixth game in which he didn’t dress.
By Tuesday, Del Gaizo had been assigned to the Canadiens’ AHL farm team. He was paired with Adam Engstrom during Wednesday’s 3-2 loss to Syracuse. Engstrom, who might be closer to the NHL than Del Gaizo, scored Laval’s first goal.
He seems to get the call for every road trip, and the Canadiens have a three-game road trip next week with stops in Salt Lake City, Las Vegas and Denver.
“I’m kind of knocking on the door to play up top,” Del Gaizo said after a 30-minute practice at Place Bell on Thursday. “You always want to be in the NHL. You do what they ask you to do — whether it’s to take warm-ups, not play, play, skate in the morning, not skate or work out. You do what they want. You can leave a good impression by how hard you work. That’s something that comes naturally to me: hard work and being prepared.
“I think they have something special (in Montreal). I want to be a part of it in any way I can, whether it’s playing a handful of games or a lot of games. Whatever it is.”
Del Gaizo был частью западного канадского тура “Кайзерз” в прошлом месяце, в Калгари, Эдмонтоне, Ванкувере и Сиэтле. Его вызвали в этом месяце, когда “Монреаль” отправился в Нью-Джерси. Он получал зарплату НХЛ, хорошо питался, летал на чартерных рейсах и останавливался в отелях первого класса.
Del Gaizo, ростом 178 см и весом 90 кг, был выбран “Нэшвилл Прэдторс” на четвертом раунде (109-й номер) в 2019 году. Хотя он перемещался между АХЛ с “Чикаго” и “Милуоки”, он провёл 46 матчей за “Нэшвилл” в прошлом сезоне, забив два гола и набрав девять очков.
Он подписал однолетний двухсторонний контракт с “Кайзерз” 2 июля. Зная, что существует возможность снова провести время в АХЛ, Del Gaizo хотел подписать контракт с организацией, где материнская и филиальная команды находятся в пределах досягаемости. Он провёл 30 матчей за “Милуоки” в прошлом сезоне и проводил периоды, проживая в отеле.
Защитник “Прэдторс” Марк Делгайзо столкнулся с капитаном “Кайзерз” Ником Сузу в третьем периоде в “Нэшвилле” 6 апреля.
Когда “Кайзерз” оставались с шестью здоровыми защитниками, Del Gaizo сказал, что в какой-то момент он думал, что сможет сыграть в этом сезоне, заменяя Арбера Хеккай или Джейдена Струпбла.
“Кажется, что я весь сезон был в пути”, – сказал Del Gaizo. “Это было весело. Независимо от того, играешь ты или нет, всегда можно произвести хорошее впечатление. Я стараюсь оставаться готовым и получить эту следующую возможность. Каждый раз, когда я поднимаюсь, я чувствую себя более комфортно в команде… более частью ее.”
Del Gaizo is considered a defenceman with good skating and puck-moving skills. While he lacks NHL size, he compensates with his intelligence and reliability. The native of Basking Ridge, N.J., has four assists in 12 games with Laval. He turned pro after three seasons at UMass-Amherst. He won the NCAA championship in 2021, earning Hockey East all-rookie and NCAA championship all-tournament team honours.
Del Gaizo majored in sport management and has aspirations of becoming a general manager.
“I was always undersized,” he said. “Everyone has kind of written me off. I went to college because I wasn’t drafted in the OHL.”
As an undersized player, Del Gaizo said he must be consistent to earn regular NHL employment. “I think I’ve done a really good job of defending, killing plays, using my skating and my stick to defend. It’s something I feel I’ve really improved on.”
While Rocket head coach Pascal Vincent didn’t know Del Gaizo well before he signed, an AHL team can never have enough defencemen with NHL experience. Laval was also seeking depth on the blue line after the departures of Tyler Wotherspoon and Gustav Lindstrom.
“I was excited for the organization because he’s a guy that can play in the NHL,” Vincent said. “He’s a real mature man. A good pro. He knows the role. He knows what it takes and he knows who he is. He has good compete. He can kill plays. He can make a good (breakout) pass. He’s got good feet.”
Despite the promotions of forwards Jared Davidson and Joshua Roy to the Canadiens, Laval (10-6) remains in a three-way tie for first place in the North Division. Laval entertains Belleville Friday night and Saturday afternoon.
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