Quotes of the day: Evans, Chiarot, Poehling & Julien

BROSSARD - The Canadiens practiced at the Bell Sports Complex on Friday.

Following the on-ice session, forwards Jake Evans and Ryan Poehling met the media, along with defenseman Ben Chiarot.
They were followed by head coach Claude Julien.
Here are a few highlights from their Zoom-based Q&A with reporters:
Long before Evans was a regular with the Habs, the club made him a seventh round selection (207th overall) in the 2014 NHL Draft. The fact that he was plucked from the bunch so late didn't keep him from reaching his ultimate objective, though:
I always had that belief that I could. To be honest, I didn't really know how pro hockey would go. I didn't know exactly how I'd feel out there. I always had that belief that I could eventually get there. I knew I had a lot of work to do. Getting to Laval, I still had that belief, but I knew there was a long way to go. Then as the games went on, as the years went on, I started feeling like I could eventually get there.

During his media opp, the 24-year-old University of Notre Dame grad recalled an important conversation earlier this season in Edmonton with associate coach, Kirk Muller, that left a lasting impression on him:
That was a great chat we had. I was pretty frustrated with my game, honestly, after Toronto. I felt like I didn't do much and didn't help out faceoffs much. He basically told me to forget about it and move on. I think that really helped me out. He's a very positive guy and that went a long way with me. I just forgot about that game and focused on the next one, and I think that definitely helped me out. Instead of thinking about all my mistakes from Toronto, I just focused on Edmonton and focused on myself and how I could be better. He's a great, positive influence and he's always willing to work with guys, too. That helped me out a lot.

For his part, Chiarot detailed why he believes his partnership with captain Shea Weber is rock solid on the back end:
I think we just work off each other really well. We see the game pretty similarly. We're both pretty straightforward with the way we move the puck, and then defending, we're both big guys that move pretty well in our own end. I think it's just been a good pairing because of that. We defend hard and we try and be hard to play against, and then as soon as we get the puck, we try and move it up as quick as possible. We're not really dancing around with it, so I think we've just been really effective because of those two things.
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Asked if Weber was all business when it comes to practice, Chiarot responded:
He is, on the ice especially, he's very serious. No matter what it is. If it's an optional practice, practice, anything. Anytime we're on the ice, he's all business and very serious. He sets the tone for the team with the way he practices and the way he conducts himself. That's what a leader does and that's why he's our captain.

Poehling, meanwhile, described how he's handling his taxi squad duties and watching the action from afar:
I think your mind plays a big role in it. For me, just mentally staying sharp and realizing how good of a team we are. You always have to take advantage of what you can, and I think for us, there are so many good players on our team and a lot of older guys, so just learning from them and kind of watching how they play, and even in practice, learning a few things can go a long way so when your time does come or when I play a game, you can just be ready for that. There are a lot of guys on the team that you can definitely learn from and I think I can take advantage of that as best I can.

The 22-year-old Lakeville, MN native considers himself fortunate to have mentors like Corey Perry and Michael Frolik nearby:
I played with both of them at the start of camp, and then obviously Pears got called up. It's always good to see that. Me and Froli have been with each other and it's nice. I sit close to both of them in the locker room and you can always talk to them, especially guys like that where they've both won Stanley Cups. I think it's important to just get feedback from them whenever you can and take it with whatever you're thinking. That's kind of a big thing, too. They're both used to winning and they've been in the League for a while, so not just success individually, but team success. Those two things are important.

When it was Julien's turn at the podium, he confirmed that Poehling and Cale Fleury aren't joining the AHL's Laval Rocket at this point in time. He believes they're both better off remaining with the big club:
It isn't in our plans at the moment. The Rocket will start their season in February. I think they can benefit from training with us right now. They're ready to help us if we ever have injuries. Nothing is changing right now.

Given the the Canadiens' impressive 5-0-2 record thus far this year, Julien fully expects division rivals to be harder on them on a regular basis:
The more we have success, the more other teams will be prepared to face us. It's a kind of motivation for the other teams. It definitely gets tougher and tougher. We're aware that the season is young. There are still a lot of games left. Teams will improve. We have to make sure that we don't let up, but continue to improve. We have an experienced group that is capable of understanding that things will probably get more difficult as the season rolls on.