Montreal Canadiens first overall NHL draft pick Juraj Slafkovsky and the rest of the Habs hopefuls took to the ice at the Bell Sports Complex in Brossard, Que. on Monday.

Defencemen Kaiden Guhle, Arber Xhekaj, and Logan Mailloux will not be skating with their teammates at the Montreal Canadiens development camp due to injuries.

The first on-ice sessions of the four-day camp took place Monday morning.

Mailloux, who is recovering from shoulder surgery, skated alone before an intrasquad game.

GM Kent Hughes said in May that he would not be negotiating a contract with the former first-round pick but plan on retain rights to the player.

Mailloux's draft caused a firestorm of controversy and condemnation after the player requested teams not draft him, as he was charged and fined in Sweden after sharing intimate photos of a woman with his teammates without her consent when he was 18.

Xhekaj (upper body) and Guhle (lower body) recently competed in the Memorial Cup.

Forward Nick Rheaume (shoulder) will also not skate with the rest of the team during camp.

The Habs also announced that defenceman Justin Barron (ankle) and forwards Israel Mianscum (hamstring) and Jack Smith (shoulder) will participate in on-ice workouts, but not in intrasquad games.

HABS SIGN SCHUENEMAN TO TWO-WAY CONTRACT

The Canadiens signed defenceman Corey Schueneman to a one-year, two-way contract Monday.

Under terms of the agreement, Schueneman will make $750,000, including $350,000 guaranteed, at the NHL level next season. He is set to make $275,000 at the AHL level.

The 26-year-old from Milford, Mich., registered six points (two goals, four assists) in 24 games with the Canadiens last season.

Schueneman scored his first goal on March 17 against the Dallas Stars.

He also found the back of the net four times and added seven assists in 32 games with Montreal's AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket, last season.

Schueneman has 45 points (11 goals, 34 assists) and 49 penalty minutes in 118 career AHL games with the Rocket and the Stockton Heat.

HABS DON'T EXTEND QUALIFYING OFFER TO REM PITLICK

Montreal submitted qualifying offers to five players on Monday, but not to forward Rem Pitlick, in addition to agreeing to one-season contracts with forward Michael Pezzetta and Schueneman.

By not receiving qualifying offers, Pitlick and defensemen Kale Clague and Josh Brook will be eligible to become free agents without compensation on July 13 at noon.

Pitlick, 25, was acquired from the Minnesota Wild via trade and went on to score nine goals and 17 assists in 46 games with the Tricolore.

He seemed to have made his niche with the Habs, but will obviously have to find a new destination to do so.

Clague was also acquired through the draft, in his case from the Los Angeles Kings. The 24-year-old had two goals and three assists in 25 games with the Habs, posting a minus-8 rating.

For his part, Brook, a second-round pick of the Canadiens in 2017, finished the season in the ECHL with the Trois-Rivieres Lions, and it was clear he was no longer in the team's plans.

-- This report by the Canadian Press was first published July 11, 2022. 

-- with files from CTV News.