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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Knightfall" data-source="post: 3073549" data-attributes="member: 2012">Canadiens deal with rearguard injuriesCanadian Press9/19/2006 3:59:23 PMMONTREAL (CP) - The battle is on for jobs on the Montreal Canadiens defence and two former Cornell University rearguards are in the thick of the fray.The Canadiens need to replace Francis Bouillon, who is out until November with a knee injury, but the leading candidate, Jean-Philippe Cote, went down with a knee injury during a scrimmage on Sunday.Cote went for an MRI exam on the knee Monday and results are expected later in the week.Ryan O'Byrne of Victoria and Jon Gleed of Milton, Ont., who both left Cornell this past summer, are among six players fighting for a spot."With injuries always comes opportunity, that's part of the game," said O'Byrne, a six-foot-five 234 pounder who was considered the anchor of the Big Red defence last season."You never want to see a teammate injured, but all you can do is go out and try to impress them. There were a couple of injuries here and there's a chance I'll stick around longer than I expected, so I'll run with it and see what happens."O'Byrne has been among the most impressive young defencemen in camp for his smooth skating and strong physical play.The six-foot-two 210-pound Gleed expects to play in Hamilton in the AHL this season and isn't getting his hopes too high."I want to take one step at a time here," he said. "I don't want to look too far ahead."There's a lot of talented defencemen here. I just have to play my game and see what happens."Mark Streit, who was mostly used as a seventh defenceman last season, is likely to fill in for Bouillon, which could leave one back-up spot open.Another battling for the job is Dan Jancevski, a Windsor, Ont., native who was signed as a free agent from the Dallas Stars organization and is known to head coach Guy Carbonneau and general manager Bob Gainey, who both spent time in Dallas.The 25-year-old Jancevski played two games for the Stars last season.James Sanford and Andre Benoit, who both played in Hamilton last season, are also vying for a job, as is Danny Groulx, who is in camp on a try-out after playing last season in Germany.  Another prospect from Hamilton, Andrew Archer, is injured.  Carbonneau said it is up to the young defencemen to show they belong in the NHL."The veterans are showing me that they came into camp in good shape and they're ready to start the season," said Carbonneau. "The younger guys have to show me they deserve to stay here."I know there's going to be a lot of pressure on O'Byrne and Gleed and Groulx and Benoit, but that's what it is. If they want to make it to the NHL, they'll have to deal with the pressure."The incumbent starters are Craig Rivet, Sheldon Souray, Andrei Markov, Mathieu Dandenault and Mike Komisarek.O'Byrne and Gleed were to play their first NHL pre-season games Tuesday night against Boston.Gleed, selected 212th in the 2004 draft, graduated from Cornell in the spring with a degree in sociology and business organization."I'm glad to have that in the back pocket if I need to use it," the 22-year-old said. "It's great to be done with school and to have graduated."I was in a mindset where I wanted to finish school and have that just in case anything happened - injuries, or if hockey didn't work out. I wanted that for the future."O'Byrne, drafted 79th overall in 2003, left after only three years in the hospitality business program at Cornell."It was my own decision," he said. "I came to the prospects camp here in early July and had a really good experience."I had a really strong year last year and I was at the point in my college career where I didn't have a lot to prove. I felt it was time for me to chase my dream."The Ithaca, N.Y., university also lost defenceman Sasha Pokulok, who signed with Washington. The Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que., native was drafted 14th overall by the Capitals in 2005 - the first Cornell player ever taken in the first round.And the Big Red's scoring leader, forward Matt Moulson of Mississauga, Ont., signed with the Los Angeles Kings."They'll have some rebuilding to do there, but they've got great coaches and I'm sure they'll do well this year," said Gleed.On Wednesday, Gleed and O'Byrne will have a chance to meet perhaps the most famous hockey player ever to emerge from Cornell - goaltender Ken Dryden.Dryden and former defenceman and general manager Serge Savard are to attend a news conference at the Bell Centre to announce that their jerseys will be retired by the Canadiens this season."I haven't met Ken, but everyone knows him at Cornell," added Gleed. "There are pictures of him everywhere and awards named after him."They've had some great athletes there and he's one of the top."Another former Big Red skater is Florida Panthers star Joe Nieuwendyk.</blockquote>

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