In a funny way, some fans are dismissing Gorges as some small Sharks cast-off. A veteran who couldn't cut it in the West. Well, he's no such thing. If Josh Gorges were drafted and bred in Hamilton, then I feel that Canadiens fans would be calling for him in Montreal.
Some things you should know about Josh:
1) His last name is Gorges (not Georges)
2) He is younger than bona fide prospect O'Byrne
3) He cracked the Sharks at age 21, youg for a defenseman and already has 104 games in the NHL under his belt at 23
4) He was the captain of his junior team
5) He led a team with only one current NHLer (Shea Weber) to a Memorial Cup (2003-04)
6) He was born the same day (one year earlier) than Weber his Kelowna teammate
7) He posted 15 points in 17 games in that Cup run (2003-04)
8) He was better than point-per-game in 2002-03 in both the regular season and in the playoffs (20 points in 19 games in the playoffs)
9) Played for Team Canada at WJCs
10) Mike Boone likes him to make the team this year
11) So do I
Gorges didn't impress me at all in the 3 games he played last year but he's having a solid camp and could stick with the big team!
ReplyDeleteI think there's 2 spots open on D (#6 and #7) and 4 guys are battling for it: O'Byrne, Gorges, Brisebois, Dandenault. Because he signed him this summer, Gainey won't cut or trade Brisebois, so that leaves only 1 spot open and the coaches seem to really like O'Byrne... which means Dandy and Gorges would be off the team.
I think Gorges will make it too, but not in the top 6. A big reason he will make it is that the Habs most will likely keep 8 dmen this year, given their depth at that position and that both Dandenault and Streit can also play O (assuming Dandenault makes the team)
ReplyDeleteI'm originally from Kelowna, so I've gotten to see a lot more of Gorges than probably 95% of Habs fans out there. He's solid defensively, he has a good eye for making that first past, and he doesn't make a lot of mistakes. Yeah, his first shift with Montreal was a -2. Don't let that 90 seconds overshadow what has been a tremendous young career to this point.
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