His presence in the organisation will make those ahead of him better and speaks volumes about the players that Bob Gainey has managed to bring in, sometimes recuperate from the hockey scrap heap as in Danis' case (and Mark Streit's).
Take a look at some ofthe things that Yann Danis was saying to reporters in West Toronto:
“I’m No. 4 in their organization. Not that I think I’m a No. 4 guy. I know I can be a No. 1"
“It’s hard to explain. I just came in and tried not to put too much pressure on myself,’’ said Danis, whose 141 games played is a Bulldogs goalie record. “I’ve played this game for so long. I’ve been successful most of the time."
Oozing maturity and professionalism, not to mention confidence in his own abilities.
If there were a prototypical player the Canadiens are looking to have in the depths of their organisation, it would be Yann Danis. He has played through adversity – the disappointment of not being drafted, the disappointment of being unseated as next in line for the Habs number twice now – and come through the fire. The maturity he has won over the journey will help him in his future careers (hockey and otherwise) and will surely rub off on some of the young starlets we have down there for their apprenticeship. For me, he is a living ad for playing your hockey in the US College system vs. Canadian Major Junior. He has perspective and poise (and an Ivy League education to boot).
We can't ask much more than Yann Danis than to work hard to improve his play, stop shots, win games and keep saying all the right things. Keep doing what he is doing, and (really) what he has been doing since his Brown days.
If he keeps it up, I think he'll be in the NHL sooner rather than later, if only because he'll make his trade value so high that the Canadiens won't be able to resist trading him... and that will be a good day for Yann and Bob, both.
Agreed. Danis has never been bad. He has only had bad luck to be in an organisation ripe with fantastic goaltenders.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Carbo, if the team selection was based solely on performance in camp, Danis would have been #1 by a long shot....poor guy just never seems to get the same hype as the other three.
If he keeps making noise down there, he'll be a prime candidate for trade bait.