The Canadiens are going young.
Victor Mete (19 years old), Charles Hudon (23) and Jacob De La Rose (22) all earned a spot on Montreal's 23-man opening day roster, the team announced on Tuesday.
Mete, of Woodbridge, Ontario, will be making his NHL debut. The defenseman has been impressing early in camp, standing out to both coaches and the rest of the team.
Most importantly, goalie Casey Price said, Mete was at ease and having fun.
"It's always a special time for a 19-year-old to be able to come in and play," Price said. "You could see the smile on his face. He's enjoying himself. It's always fun to see a kid go through that, having done something similar myself. You watch him play and he's got a lot of confidence. He sees the ice really well. It takes a special person to be able to step into the NHL and play with that amount of poise."
Hudon has a little more experience under his belt, having played in six games over the past two years for the Canadiens when he wasn't down in the AHL.
De La Rose has the most experience of the three, but played only nine games last season for Montreal. Last year, though, he appeared in 22 games, and in the 2012-13 season he played in 33. The Sweden native has scored four goals and seven points in his career.
He's shined in the preseason, though, and is fresh off a two-goal performance this past weekend against Ottawa.
"I think a lot of it has to do with confidence," De La Rose said. "I didn't become a different player overnight. I keep working on things and try to play with more confidence and get more involved. I talked a lot of with Sylvain Lefebvre, the coach down in St. John's last year. He told me to do more of that stuff, like skate with the puck and not to think too much out there."
The Canadiens also announced Tuesday that defenseman David Schlemko is on injured reserves. They also announced that forwards Andreas Martinsen and Byron Froese were sent down to the AHL's Laval Rockets on Monday.
Montreal opens up its season on Thursday night on the road in Buffalo against the Sabres.