The start of the hockey season is always marked by the Rookie Training Camp, and it was no different 10 years ago. In 2009, 29 players were called to join the Montreal Canadiens to begin their evaluation period.
There was no rookie tournament in 2009 like there is now, because General Manager Bob Gainey did not like the tournament format to start camp, claiming that the risk of injury was too great, and prospect evaluation could not be properly accomplished in such a competitive environment. So, from 2007 to 2015, the rookies basically took part in what was deemed a pre-training camp for younger players to acclimatise to the coaches and environments.