BUFFALO -- Sean Farrell is taking the lessons he's learned into a bid for a roster spot with the Montreal Canadiens.
The 21-year-old forward got a brief taste of the NHL last season, playing six games and scoring once following two seasons at Harvard University, where he had 81 points (30 goals, 51 assists) in 58 games. He signed a three-year, $3.47 million contract with the Canadiens on March 26.
"It gave me a good couple of points for me to work on in the summer," Farrell said at the Prospects Challenge tournament. "For me, it was definitely about trying to get a little bit stronger and be able to hold my weight with guys who are bigger and defensemen who are a lot bigger. I think that's kind of the main thing that I took away and I think it helped me a lot going into summer having that in the back of my mind."
Farrell worked on several areas during offseason training in Boston, including consistency, getting in the gym five days a week and paying attention to his eating habits to ensure he would get enough calories to put on proper weight.
"Right now, my goal is to try to make the team," Farrell said. "Just try to have a good camp and bring my best to the rink every day and kind of take it day by day."
Kent Hughes has been Canadiens general manager for less than two years but his familiarity with Farrell, a fourth-round pick (No. 124) in the 2020 NHL Draft, goes back to Farrell playing mite hockey in the Boston area.
Hughes lived in Boston for more than 20 years and coached youth hockey before joining the Canadiens. He's seen the hockey sense and playmaking abilities combined with character and compete. The latter two are especially crucial, Hughes said, notably for a player of Farrell's size (5-foot-9, 175 pounds).
"It's such a hard game today to be successful without them, particularly if you're an undersized player," Hughes said. "I think that he does have that -- that he's a smart kid on and off the ice and that he is competitive. He's undersized, but he's not shy."
Farrell's mind being NHL-ready will help him adjust to the professional game. The Canadiens have already seen glimpses of it.
"Since he turned pro, it's just trying to adjust to the size and the speed difference where no matter where you go out on the ice, the guys can skate and step with you," Hughes said. "He was adjusting last year at the end of the year. I'm anxious to see what he does at camp."
Though new to professional hockey, Farrell is no stranger to some of the highest levels of the game. He played for the United States at the 2022 Beijing Olympics and the IIHF World Championship in 2022 and 2023.
"Just knowing that I played at that level with the guys who are the best players in the NHL, I think, for me, I'm not maybe as nervous or scared to be on the ice with them," Farrell said. "Like now it's normal, and I think just try to play my game and not worry too much about everything else that's going on around me."
Where Farrell ultimately lands will be determined in training camp. The Canadiens left the door open for him and others to make the roster, but they won't rush anything.
"Most of our young players will likely start in the American Hockey League but it's certainly open if somebody comes in and was dynamite," Hughes said. "We intentionally didn't bring veteran players in that might have made us a smidgen better for this season because we wanted to create that that space and opportunity for players. But I don't think it would hurt any of our young guys to spend some time in the American Hockey League."
