Lernout: An opportunity ready to be seized

CALGARY - Now on his third recall with the Habs, Brett Lernout hopes to take full advantage of the opportunity he's been presented with in the NHL.

Knowing full well his recall is directly linked to Shea Weber's injury, Lernout is nonetheless very happy to be back in the Canadiens' fold. After getting a couple of short looks the last two seasons, the 22-year-old defenseman is once again ready to take on the challenge, especially in light of feeling like he's much improved since training camp.

"I think my skating is better and my defensive game has improved a lot compared to the start of the season. I'm playing almost 20 minutes per game in Laval and that's helping my confidence," outlined Lernout, who arrived in Calgary just a few minutes before the start of Habs practice on Thursday. "[Matt] Taormina has a lot of games under his belt and he's been in the League and he's a leader. He took me under his wing. He's an easy player to play with, he makes it easier for me."
Habs management have had plenty of opportunities to observe the progression of the 6-foot-4, 214-pound defenseman this season in Laval. And though his recall may just be a preventative measure given that the team currently has six healthy defensemen, Claude Julien said after practice on Thursday that he had not closed the door on Lernout's participation in his club's Friday night tilt against the Flames.

One thing is certain, however: the Montreal head coach knows exactly what to expect from the Winnipeg native, having seen him on the job twice at the end of last season.
"He was called up because he's playing well. He's one of the best defensemen in Laval. He's stable. We saw him last year with us and he has continued to improve. He's playing some good hockey. He's tall, he's big, he plays physical," concluded Julien. "He's a good defensive defenseman."