Making Your NHL Club

There was probably a time in the not too distant past where training camp really was a legitimate opportunity for a young prospect to take a run at a roster place. Years of accumulated commitments, collective bargaining agreements and roster regulations have changed that for the young hopefuls. Nowadays, a young player being invited to an NHL camp only needs to take a quick browse of the CapGeek website before lacing the skates to know how the Vegas odds makers are handicapping his chances of success.

After Game 5 of the preseason, in which Therrien iced an almost identical lineup to last year's edition of the Habs, we can reflect on how training camp has gone and why at the end of it we won't see the slowing veterans turfed by energetic youngsters by whom they were significantly outperformed.

The First Cut Is The Deepest: The Reaction To Leblanc's Demotion

Louis Leblanc was cut from Canadiens camp yesterday. You may have heard.

Tempest in a teapot  is what comes to mind as descriptor for what came from the announcement that a player with a marginal chance at helping the Canadiens on the 4th line after an abysmal season would be given some time in Hamilton before getting another NHL minute. But, putting aside the irrational and oddly broadcasted feelings of his girlfriend (tennis star Aleksandra Wozniak), the reaction to cut across all quarters is much more interesting than the real implications for Leblanc.

To understand why this might be interesting at all, one has to put back some of the context.

Game #77Blown Call By Linesman Helps Habs And Panthers

Details

Date: 27/03/2012
Opponent: Panthers
Location: Montreal

Loss: 2-3 (SO)

Habs Goalie: Price (L)
Opposition Goalie: Clemmensen(W)

Habs goalscorers: Cole, Leblanc
Opposition goalscorers: Wolski (1, SO), Samuelsson

Play of the game

St. Denis made a great play at his own blue-line to take the puck that totally caught Florida off-guard. A pass to Leblanc came with the interception and, wouldn't you know it, the Habs had a are 3 on 0. Leblanc was in first and instead of trying to get All-Star game cute he did it all himself as he deked the goalie and put in a beauty of a goal.

Dome hockey team

The 6 players we're playing in a no changes, do or die contest in the dome

Forwards

Max Pacioretty - Game Puck
Max was buzzing all night in the offensive zone, especially during OT. He didn't score tonight, but did take an incredible 9 shots on goal. He hasn't scored in a while which actually suits me and the Habs just fine. We all know that he is playing well and that he is a good player, we no longer need numbers to tell us that.

Louis Leblanc
Tonight was actually one of Leblanc's better games of the season. I was already thinking of giving him a dome spot when he took a high-sticking penalty. That I didn't like, but I have seen worse. But then his goal sealed his spot as it was truly a nice one. Even after tonight I am not convinced that he is top-6 material, but it is nice to know that come next Fall he will be realistically competing for a spot on one of the top lines.

Erik Cole
Cole scored his 31st tonight which is a career high for him and that was also his 56th point. He is now only 5 points from his best in that category too. It is a surprise to me that after all of the signings gone wrong in Montreal over the years Cole would come in here and be our best player and have one of his best years. If anything, Erik has made this season fun to watch when he and his linemates are on the ice.

Defencemen

Frederic St. Denis
I really liked what I saw from Fred tonight. He seems to know when to keep it simple and when to go for it. In my opinion, he is a superior defender to Campoli in every aspect of play and that should be enough cause to let Chris (as if they would keep him anyway) walk away this summer. His pass on Leblanc's goal was just one of many strong offensive plays St. Denis offered up tonight.

PK Subban
Markov and Emelin had rough games and Campoli wasn't that great either. So, of PK or Gorges I go with Subban tonight. He offered more than Josh in each zone throughout the game, but I can't say that I was too thrilled by some of his give-aways. He did, however, play 28-minutes of +1 hockey and added 4 blocked-shots to his season total.

Goaltender

Carey Price
Price was very good again tonight and can't really be faulted on either of the goals. The second one was a fluky goal that should have been whistled dead anyway. On top of that I don't think he had a good look at it and I don't think this was a case of losing focus because of a presumed offside. That kind of stuff happens way too fast for someone to just stop playing.

Comments

There wasn't much to that game really. The Habs had a couple of nice plays and Florida, quite frankly, got lucky to bag two points. The loss is what we wanted though, so it is a shame that it had to come after regulation yet again. 1 point, at this point, is still better than 2, however.

What I don't really understand is why the organization is trying to win at this point. I don't think that there is a rule that states you have to try to win (and even if there was we could have easily lost while still making it look like we wanted to win). From a coaching perspective I feel that Cunneyworth may want to win as he is likely gone anyway, so each win is better for his career - fair enough. The players should be torn here, though. Maybe certain guys want to stay in Montreal and, thus, don't want too many good players, via the draft coming in, but surely our top players (Cole, Price, Patches, Subban, Markov) must see the advantage of losing. And, seeing as those players are the reason we win (or get to OT) I am a little surprised with the constant desire to win. I think that losing on purpose can breed a losing attitude, but I am talking about 5-10 games here, not a season, surely these players could take a break from character-building for a few weeks, no? Lastly is the front office, now why would they want us to win. Revenue is what it is as the games will sell out and tv deals are done. A good businessman must know about short-term pain for long-term gain, shouldn't they? I think that the message should come down that we are happy with the points we have now, that from now on we ensure we finish 29th.

The league has made a stupid rule where losers are rewarded and there are a few former Habs execs that would be all over taking advantage of this flaw in the system. I see nothing wrong or unethical with trying to lose as the fans, players and management are all in this together for the long haul, with one goal in mind; to be better next year than they are now. We have 5 games to get that 29th spot and I hope that the team can do that for us. I mean, isn't that the least they could do after making us sit through what has been a very disappointing season?

On a more comical and heart-warming note we are now just three points back of Toronto. They will miss the playoffs again this year which comes after a start that many believed would carry them into a playoff spot. My hope is that they win their last few games and don't get a top-5 pick. I would especially enjoy a win when we play them in the last game of the year.

Game #73Close Game Puts Habs Back In Comfort Of Last Place

Details

Date: 17/03/2012
Opponent: Islanders
Location: Montreal

Loss: 2-3 (SO)

Habs Goalie: Budaj (L)
Opposition Goalie: Montoya (W)

Habs goalscorers: Palushaj, Leblanc (Desharnais, Bourque - SO)
Opposition goalscorers: Streit, Nielsen (1, SO) (Moulson, Bailey - SO)

Play of the game

Subban's good play continued tonight and he was at his best on our second goal. After taking a pass from Budaj (who now has as many points as Engqvist, Staubitz, St. Denis and Geofrrion combined; Peter has played 27 less games than those guys combined) he rushed up the ice and caused confusion. A nice pass found Leblanc open in the slot and the kid went against the stream, upstairs with a backhand. It is the type of goal that only a puck-carrying defenceman can generate and is a big reason why I always take notice when PK takes off.

Dome hockey team

The 6 players we're playing in a no changes, do or die contest in the dome

Forwards

David Desharnais
David played well throughout and scored a spectacular goal in the shootout. Surprisingly he played over 24 minutes of hockey as it has become obvious that the team's goals don't line up with mine.

Louis Leblanc
Leblanc only played 11 minutes and took 2 penalties, but I can't stop thinking about that backhand goal. With 9 points in 33 games I am not sure that he is really going to be the player that all hope for, but when he scores goals like he did tonight it certainly helps to fuel that fire.

Erik Cole
-1 and only 2 shots, but still in the dome, way to go other forwards. Tonight was a chance for guys like Palushaj, White, Bourque or Eller to step up, but again there was nothing. Aarron did score a soft, fluky goal which was long overdue, mind you. I guess there is a reason that Cunneyworth refuses to give ice-time to certain players as they aren't really proving that they deserve it right now.

Defencemen

Andrei Markov
I really enjoyed watching Markov tonight as it makes the games that much easier to sit through. I was also happy to see him back in after missing yesterday's game and wonder if they didn't want him to play two days in a row so soon so sat him yesterday? He almost hit 22 minutes tonight and I am hoping that he stays there for the rest of the year. He has proven he is still elite and is worth hanging on to, so now it is all about getting minutes under the belt; 9 more games then World's please.

PK Subban
Subban has taken all year to get to this point, the point where I feel he is playing some of his best and most consistent hockey as a Hab. Like the Desharnais line it will be hard for him to miss a dome from here on in. And, like Markov, send him to World's too as I feel that could go a long way in healing relationships with other NHLers (seems like no other players or fans like him at all) which may end up helping him down the road.

Goaltender

Peter Budaj - Game Puck
Since no other player really stepped up and Peter played pretty well this seemed like the right choice for the game puck. I thought that he made some great saves, especially that one on the Bailey partial break where he really stretched out to make a toe stop. 9 more games for the Habs means 3 more for Budaj, I think. Both goalies may also go to World's which, again, won't hurt at all.

Comments

Losing in OT when you are unsure about winning or losing being the goal is the worst possible outcome. There is no 'well, at least we killed the other team' feeling, yet you still get saddled with a point. I am not surprised that we are going to OT so much though as teams at this time of the year are very cautious starting at about 15 minutes to go in the third. It seems that most teams are happy to take their chances in the skill contest as long as they are guaranteed a point. I bet that a bad team who was horrible at shootouts would still get 100 points on the year if they 'tied' every game just based on odds. So, you can see why so many bad teams take that route (us and the Islanders have gone to OT a combined 40 times this year, translating into 56 points).

How about a system where coming 9th is better than 15th? Instead of rewarding teams that come last with high draft picks and making fans sit through game upon game that means nothing the league makes finishing higher worth something. No team would rather the first pick than playoffs (if they did, then the current system would still work for them), so, I suggest having 17th get the first overall pick and 30th gets the 14th. Letting Columbus, Edmonton and the Islanders draft high every year doesn't create parity anyway when you think of it. So, how about giving all 30 teams 82 worthwhile games.

Game #69Montreal Takes It To The Cream Of The West

Details

Date: 10/03/2012
Opponent: Canucks
Location: Vancouver

Win: 4-1

Habs Goalie: Price (W)
Opposition Goalie: Luongo (L)

Habs goalscorers: Geoffrion, Cole (2), Subban
Opposition goalscorers: Kesler

Play of the game

Tough call in this one, but I am going to have to go with Geoffrion's goal. Not only was it a tying goal, it was also a good goal put together by two players that mean a lot to this organization (Blake and Leblanc). The goal was a Geoffrion's first as a Hab since 1964; let's hope we don't have to wait another 48 years for the next. Think Blake will still be with us in 2060?

Dome hockey team

The 6 players we're playing in a no changes, do or die contest in the dome

Forwards

Erik Cole - Game Puck
Erik played a fantastic game and seems very intent on making sure we don't draft any forwards that would immediately drop him down the depth-chart. That, and he must have some serious passion and pride. His two goals tonight were both hard-working goals and they put him at 25, oh so close to the 30 mark (the high in his career).

Max Pacioretty
Patches kept it rolling tonight with 2 more points. I believe that with 13 games left he will hit 35-30-65 which is something that even the most opptomistic weren't always saying. I find as the games and weeks have gone by he looks more and more like a complete NHL player. His play is giving me a lot more hope for next year than I had just a month ago.

Blake Geoffrion
Why not? He did what his Dad couldn't do and that is score a goal as a Hab. That is not a shot at his Dad, but just praise for Blake because of what he could mean to this team. Imagine how excited Edmonton fans would be if Gretzky's Great-Grandson were to play for them in the 2060's or Detroit's if the Lidstrom name came back 70 odd years into the future. I think that Blake was a good move by this team and I was happy to see him pot his first. Besides that, I felt that he played quite well as there were a couple of other chances too.

Defencemen

Andrei Markov
He looked out of place at times and unsure of himself, but I still felt that he played quite well (and, I need someone new to write about). What he hasn't lost is his offensive vision and his incredible skills of keeping the puck in at the point. Tonight was just the first game in a long road back to being our best defender and best overall player and I think he did well considering everything. My hope is that his utilization and confidence increase over the next 13 games so that we can all have a summer where he doesn't have to be the unknown that he has become during recent off-seasons.

PK Subban
I hate to say it as PK has been fantastic for a lot of the year and above what one would expect for all of it, but, don't you think that if he played and shot like he did tonight a little more often from October to February we may be talking about playoffs and not lottery? Again, however, his play has me more excited for next year than wondering what could have been in this one.

Goaltender

Carey Price
If Cole only scores one the game-puck is Carey's. That doesn't mean that he played any worse, just that Cole really stepped it up. Price was very, very solid tonight and totally outplayed the often shaky Luongo. I would assume that Carey will be playing for Canada in a few weeks at World's and think that it will be good for him to get back to playing behind a solid, winning team.

Comments

I was hoping for the loss tonight, but still found myself happy with the goals and with Markov's return. Ideally, I suppose we play an exciting game, but lose something like 4-5 in regulation. That way we get what we want and still get some entertainment. We still have 13 games to lose, however, so I am hoping that we'll get back on track against desperater teams. Tonight was indeed an exciting hockey game and, standings aside, I think we played well and showed that we can be a decent team. I am done thinking abut the Fall and what could have been, though. My sights are firmly set on the draft and on a return to the playoffs as soon as next year.

It was fabulous to see Markov back, but no one could have been more happy than he is. I am sure that he wants nothing more than 14 wins and a trip to the playoffs as I am sure he feels bad for his teammates and fans for being out so long (although, it was not at all his fault). It was nice to see an assist from him too, on the 5-on-3; a PP that he bumped Kaberle off of. People are talking about him taking it easy and skipping World's (if selected) because of the risk to his knee. I, however, believe that if it is healed then it is healed and, if so, he is no more of an injury risk than any other player. So, I hope that he plays a lot down the stretch and does go to World's as I feel a happy, healthy, game-ready Markov is the exact thing this team has been missing and is the main thing that we should be excited about come October.

Game #62Habs in Last; But Rejoice, They Scored On The Caps This Year

Details

Date: 24/02/2012
Opponent: Capitals
Location: Washington

Loss: 1-4

Habs Goalie: Price (L)
Opposition Goalie: Neuvirth (W)

Habs goalscorers: Bourque
Opposition goalscorers: Perreault, Chimera, Ovechkin, Ward

Play of the game

You'll only see the type of goal that we scored tonight at the only game more boring than our game was tonight: the All-Star game. Don't expect, however, to ever see multiple Habs at the All-Star game, at least not from this squad. So, tonight's goal was unique, maybe a one-off. On the PK Plekanec started a great tick-tack-toe play with Emelin and Bourque. It was Rene who finished up with his 17th.

Dome hockey team

The 6 players we're playing in a no changes, do or die contest in the dome

Forwards

Rene Bourque - Game Puck
A goal and two other decent chances was enough for this third-line, mid-season pick-up (slash Calgary cast-off) to take the game-puck. When a bad game by Bourque stands out our problems don't even have words.

Tomas Plekanec
Sadly an assist and only -1 isn't bad compared to the rest. If you don't believe me check the stats or re-watch the game.

David Desharnais
He had a rare sign of passion tonight. What will it take for others to catch this? Ca we build a team that cares? A team where all 20 players care every game? Sadly, looking around the league, I feel that 10 guys caring 50% of the time would be enough in the East to make the playoffs.

Defencemen

Josh Gorges
Was solid on the PK and was the best of a bunch that had a few real duds. Is he key to our future though? Will he be here after Tuesday? Does he want to be? I hope that he stays, but it is clear he isn't a #1 and if he is then it is of a 25-30 team. Whether it be Markov or someone else, our D needs help.

Alexei Emelin
Alexei had a great pass on our good play of the night and I certainly took notice (there was little to make me forget that moment). Emelin can be better though, but is still better than we all thought he would be at this point.

Goaltender

Carey Price
No goalie is going to win behind the team that played tonight. It could have been 1-10 and the dome would be his. If Budaj was in and let in 10, likewise, the dome would belong to Peter. I am not one of those who never blames goalies, but come on Habs, how did you think we were going to win this game? Pathetic.

Comments

This was painful. Yes, we needed the points and this was a 4-point game, but beyond the standings it was still not an easy one to watch. That has been the Habs lately, though. They have been a bad team all year and have been hard to watch on more nights than not. I now have a deeper appreciation for real fans of teams like the Islanders and Jackets as those guys must have watched hundreds of games like this over the past few seasons.

We have 20 games to go and a trade deadline. I am not sure what if there will be much excitement left in the season, but it would be nice if we put on a few good shows as it will help keep those of of us who watch 3 games a week sane.

Game #54Very Solid Effort Lifts Habs Over Pens

Details

Date: 07/02/2012
Opponent: Penguins
Location: Pittsburgh

Win: 3-2

Habs Goalie: Price (W)
Opposition Goalie: Fleury (L)

Habs goalscorers: Leblanc, Eller (1, SO), (Bourque, Plekanec - SO)
Opposition goalscorers: Dupuis, Neal, (Malkin, Kunitz - SO)

Play of the game

The play of the game was the shootout, our lowly, pathetic shootout. Price contributed with some big saves and we got 3 goals. The best of the bunch was Bourque's as it put us up right off the bat and gave the team and the fans confidence that a win, against the Pens in this fashion, was indeed possible.

Dome hockey team

The 6 players we're playing in a no changes, do or die contest in the dome

Forwards

Tomas Plekanec - Game Puck
He was dynamite on the PK early on and did a fantastic job at shutting down the league's best player all night. In the end he was rewarded for his selfless efforts when he scored the game-winning goal in the shootout. When he plays like he has done the past few games we are a better team. Let's hope that he keeps it up.

Lars Eller
Lars had an up and down game. He wasn't that dominant at times, but still managed a very timely goal and a beauty in the shootout. He didn't stand out too much beyond that, but it is notable that he was our only player that was +2.

Louis Leblanc
The kid scored a fantastic goal to put us up and played a pretty solid game otherwise. He was a threat in their end with 4 shots and played very well along the boards. I hope that he continues to progress, wherever he plays for the rest of this season, as there seems to be hope that he could be a good one in the years to come.

Defencemen

PK Subban
He was in their top players' faces all night and you could see the frustration building within the Penguins. Tonight he did everything right and was at his best. It has been a long season of realizing that he isn't a PP specialist, but it has been a thrill to watch him excel in our own end. He made the save of the game in the second when Price got caught; it was an impressive sliding stop.

Josh Gorges
Like PK, Josh was outstanding in our own end. He played the type of game against Malkin and Neal that Spacek and Hamrlik did two years ago in the playoffs vs. Ovechkin then Crosby. Josh is a coach's dream in the way that he works and follows the plan; is it just me or are more and more people following him?

Goaltender

Carey Price
Carey's weak aspects were on display tonight, but boy, so were his good ones. He made poor choices with the puck a couple of times and was almost caught way out for a goal. In the shootout he could have easily let him his usual 50% (4), but thanks to two posts only let in two. He also made 4 very good saves. Throughout the game, however, he was alert and was a huge reason why Pittsburgh never had a lead. Are he and his team heating up at the same time? Surely it is too late, right?

Comments

This was a fantastic game to watch and may have been the closest thing we'll have to a playoff game all year in Montreal. The fact that it was scorelss for so long made things get really intense and really exciting. Our PK generated some serious chances that got the fans into it and so, there was a great atmosphere in the building. We scored a very good goal and then a very lucky one thanks to a bit of cheating by Fleury. We didn't have too many offensive chances beyond those, but we kept it close. That is because our defensive play was spectacular. The short-handed goal was another demonstration of how bad our PP is, but otherwise our play was sound as we respected the gameplan.

Cunneyworth impressed me a few weeks ago when he started using 7 defenceman all as D rather than putting one on the 4th line. I like that concept and am happy to see it is still in effect. Another concept that I really like is the creation of a defensive line. Tonight Plekanec (probably our best all-around player) skated with Darche (who played 21 minutes; second amongst the forwards) and Moen. Having such a solid defensive unit which can shut-down the opposition's best is genius. Yes, Tomas is 'wasted', but we are then able to slip a 3rd and 4th liner on there and get better results than if we had Bourque or Kostitsyn on that line. This then frees up the Desharnais line and players like Eller, Leblanc, Kostitsyn and Bourque to play more freely. I liked what he did as I always am for new thinking in the game. You never know, the concept of having your top centre play with your two bottom wingers on a checking line is something that just may catch on!

Habs By Half: League-Indexed Shot Metrics

I didn't have the time to do the LIW pie charts for you this time, but thought you'd still all like to see the data. It comes from Behindthenet.ca and shows even strength scoring for and against together with shot metrics (shots, misses, blocks) pooled into attempts on net.

As you'll see, there are colours to indicate where the members of the Canadiens fall amongst the 700+ players that have played 10 or more games this season. It's not a perfect assessment, but it does give some context which is good when looking at single team's worth of numbers.

General notes

Just before the data, some general notes. Behindthenet is best for looking at ES data (and by that I mean only 5-on-5). And the Habs, as bad as they have been in our perception and the unforgiving standings are actually a good even strength (5-on-5) team thus far this season.

The team ranks 10th in goals for at ES/60 and 21st for GA/60, but come out even (with 1 more goal against than for). As a result, the Habs come up in the whole rainbow of colours and seem about an average team -- despite the obvious possibility as suggested by the January 9th standings that they are below average.



Anyway, keep that in mind as you peruse.


Forwards (ranked by ES TOI)



Notes on the forwards:
Who's good? Who's bad? This chart really does contain a lot to both reinforce perception and blow it right out of the water.

Take Scott Gomez. His Corsi number is staggering and it's based on a top-notch offensive generation of attempts, together with a well above average defensive prevention of attempts. It's food for thought for those who still think he's good for nothing. I still contend there's food for thought for those who need to reconcile what we see with this.

The other excellence that shows are Louis Leblanc's and Andreas Engqvist's goals against in only a few games, and Pacioretty and Palushaj's shots for. Of the four stats, I think we should probably only take the Pacioretty attempt generation stat too too seriously. The guy shoots. He didn't use to, but now he does at league leading levels. Unfortunately for Max, he's practically team leader in misses and blocked shots per game too, so his attempts should be viewed with this consideration. Concern perhaps also that for 63 releases of the puck, this goalscorer's line is outside the top 20% of all players in the league for goals per ice time.

ON the negative side of things, Blunden whose low ice time should probably not be questioned despite his recent skill display, and the offensive output of virtually the whole fourth line. Palushaj, either very unlucky or very keen on shooting from the worst possible positions was getting a goal per 100 of his line's league top ten percent chances taken. The word waste might be considered.

The other, and perhaps more surprising, member of the bottom 10% club is Tomas Plekanec at even strength GAA. A relic from the 1980s, his 3.47 must surely be a matter for concern going forward. It takes away attention from the high attempts against number as well, which is practically team worst at this point.

Guys that avail themselves well here: Cole, Leblanc and Engqvist!

Guys that need to pull up their skates (a lot): Plekanec and Nokelainen

And on a team that flutters about the uninspirational average in this area, the rest of the guys display positives, but not too many and negatives, but not too few.


Defencemen (ranked by ES TOI)



Notes on the defence:
St. Denis had an excellent spell. And were it not for just about every other Dman being a rookie on the team, I think he'd get a longer chance. Talk about shielding all you want, one still has to perform under the shield and this AHLer clearly outperformed the lower line NHLers he was put out against.

Gorges has been the best all-rounder, but is painfully average in all but goals for (which if you have to choose one category is probably best).

Campoli is on paper exactly as he is on the ice, a nightmare on the back end, but in the NHL because somehow he involves himself with goalscoring.

Subban deserves credit for his balance sheet, as he plays against the better opponents all the time. His goals are balanced and his shots balance is slightly in favour of offence. He certainly hasn't put on the flash of last playoffs this season, but is becoming a more stable option according to these stats.

The rest are blending a bit. Gill and Kaberle nearly share a profile which is wacky. Showing that Gill is neither as good as he was once was at stopping chances or those that become goals and Kaberle is no longer that great at producing them or the goals.

Emelin, Diaz are learning and have the requisite below average marks, but could be worse. Weber still learning too, perhaps suffering from being at different positions.

Game #39Habs Slip Again In Sunshine State

Details

Date: 31/12/2011
Opponent: Panthers
Location: Florida

Loss: 2-3

Habs Goalie: Price (L)
Opposition Goalie: Theodore, Clemmensen (W)

Habs goalscorers: Moen, Cole
Opposition goalscorers: Fleischmann, Matthias

Play of the game

Cole's individual effort at the end was a thing of beauty. It wasn't good in the sense that it filled me with hope (I am getting pretty tired of believing that the Habs will come back), but was good in that in reminded me that we have Cole. Where would we be without this player?

Dome hockey team

The 6 players we're playing in a no changes, do or die contest in the dome

Forwards

Travis Moen
He gave us the dreaded first goal, but then did his best throughout the game to avoid the usual outcome. He was also the only player to improve his +/- by 2 this game. Moen has 9 goals which is great for Moen, but at New Year's isn't it a bit sad that he has more than Plekanec, Desharnais, Eller, Cammalleri and Gionta; I think there is some mirror looking to be done by quite a few players heading into 2012.

Lars Eller
This is mostly for his assist on Moen's goal. We need more of that from this player heading into a new year. Being a top-2 centre generally requires more than potential that was spotted 5 years ago and 12 points in half a season.

Erik Cole
Not a surprise to see Erik in here once again. He is good and he cares. And, not only is he good, but he also plays a good game. It has been a tough few weeks (months?) backing so many 'good' players who can spend half of a season waiting to heat up.

Defencemen

Alexei Emelin - Game Puck
He and Cole have been the 2 pleasant surprises so far this season and I can't imagine how painful some of these games would have been without #'s 74 and 72. His hipcheck on Versteeg had me out of my seat which is rare for any non-goal plays. He now leads all rookies in hits and is 16th in the league. Not bad for a guy that has to still fight for a spot and has only featured in 28 games.

Josh Gorges
Josh is now locked up for 6 years which proves that you can trade for Kaberle and sign Gorges to a long-term deal. It is also proof that he doesn't want out, that he isn't fed up and that he cares about this team. I see that every game and I am happy that our leader on D will be around for a while. He doesn't have much to explain after a decent first half, but can he rally his troops now to follow him in what will be the hardest half season in the last little while?

Goaltender

Carey Price
The second goal didn't look good, but otherwise he was fine. We can't expect him to be better than he has been as he has had a fine first half. But, if we want to make the playoffs he has to play better. When he is near the top of the league we are a better team. He is currently outside of the top 20 in the two main categories (which is obviously not his fault more than each of his teaamates') and that is not how this team (with not much in the way of skill or depth in front of him) will make the playoffs. Basically we need the player who was our best player last year to be even better now; it would be nice if his teammates gave him a huge hand in achieving that.

Comments

I don't have much to say because, like you, I am sure, I am ready to forget 2011. This game was another game of the same kind, a game that has come to characterize the Habs. We basically can't play 60 minutes of hockey anymore. We are good enough to not get blown out all the time (or much at all), but aren't good enough to win tight games, games that we used to excel at winning.

2011 was a rough year that may be remembered mostly for the playoff game-7 OT loss to the Cup Champions and by a very bad first half. 2012 doesn't have to be the same, though, we can turn it around. These players have been good players before, even with this team. So, it is time to put the past behind us and start fresh. We have 43 games left; let's just see what happens.

Game #36 Habs Accomplish Main Goal, Make Line Changes, Finish Game

Details

Date: 22/12/2011
Opponent: Jets
Location: Winnipeg

Loss: 0-4

Habs Goalie: Price (L)
Opposition Goalie: Pavelec (W)

Habs goalscorers: None
Opposition goalscorers: Wheeler (2), Glass, Stapleton

Play of the game

After Kaberle made one of the worst plays of the year, definitely the game, the Thrashers broke in clean on Price shorthanded. Price saved the first shot, gave up a rebound and slid across to preserve the 3-0 deficit for a while. Woo-hoo.

Dome hockey team

The 6 players we're playing in a no changes, do or die contest in the dome

Forwards

Petteri Nokelainen
This guy had no business being the player showing the most passion. He's not from Montreal, he's not even from Canada. He isn't a Canadiens career player, he's a journeyman likely with no future with this team. He played hard because he's a professional who can't live with the dissonance that losing brings (I presume). he just won little battles and did very little that would be recognized on most nights. It says something when you can sincerely say we need more players like Nokelainen.

Louis Leblanc
Louis has some talent, perhaps not enough to deal with this mess on his own. He had some opportunity to show his instincts at times. But like so many Habs forwards with instincts, it was all for naught on the scoresheet. Still, a dim light on the horizon here.

Tomas Plekanec
You can see it in his face. He is asking why when he is on a slump that no one else is able to fill in. A 60 point guy on 60 point pace. he played OK tonight and got the best honest chances. He's the only player you can look at and begin to suggest bad luck up front.

Defencemen

Alexei Emelin - Game Puck
Same as Nokelainen, he doesn't have the obligation to do what he did in this one. He played hard and at times very smart. He made some of the best breakout passes of the whole game and drew a penalty brilliantly. This is brilliant news for the Habs who cannot go on playing 5 offensive defencemen who have no wherewithal at the back forever. Emelin can find his way around the first two zones and is showing that rare quality on this Habs team - improvement.

Raphael Diaz
Again he was less bad than a few of his peers and makes the cut. He was better on the PP than Weber who played longer minutes and safer in the defensive end than the robotic Gill and Gorges.

Goaltender

Carey Price
Price had his moments, but he also has to do better. In the net, I have little to hold against him, but with a defensive unit as chaotic as this one, there is no excuse for playing the puck the way he has been. He needs to help his weakling partners back there by mkaing things simpler, not more complicated for them. It's not ideal, but for a veteran and leader of this team now, he must lead by compromising on his boredom release tactic.

Comments

What a shambles.

The Canadiens skated into the Christmas holidays with the most lacklustre effort I have had to sit through in a while. How many times do I have to watch a trailing team fight for 20 seconds to win the puck in their own end only to promptly dump the puck back to the opponent so a line change can be made exactly on time. How many times do I have to watch a shot from the outside on goalies who are clearly showing they are not troubled (didn't Martin teach you anything about easy defence and outside shots?).

The team nearly to a man is showing no nuance, no appreciation for the situation's they get themslevs into. How can a team approach the beginning of the third period of a game in which they trial by 3, in a streak that threatens to total 5 losses, within a season that slips through the fingers? The team is disinvested in the process and unmotivated by the outcomes. This has gone beyond slump in finish, to slump in start, follow-through and end. The feet do the talking in this case and most times, like the score board, they are not moving. Nor are the mouths, which is scary for other reasons.

Looking at the positive, this new depth may just prompt more than a patch. Perhaps practices will gain focus. Perhaps players will start to ask serious questions. Perhaps coaches will hold the responsible to some account.

Next game will see the return of two players who have shown they like to take matters into their own hands. With the spur of a benching, perhaps some more focus to the efforts of Subban and Eller is to come. One can only hope.

More importantly, we break now. Enjoy the time off, savour some fine wine and cheese. Enjoy the company of those you love. Merry Christmas to all. We didn't get a win for Christmas, but our team gave us the gift of endless conversation topics for Sunday's meal.

Game #32Refs Travel Back In Time; Calling Foot-In-Paint Heritage Rules

Details

Date: 15/12/2011
Opponent: Flyers
Location: Montreal

Loss: 3-4

Habs Goalie: Price (L)
Opposition Goalie: Bobrovsky (W)

Habs goalscorers: Desharnais, Leblanc, Cole
Opposition goalscorers: Talbot, Zolnierczyk, Simmonds, Meszaros

Play of the game

Cole's goal wasn't the prettiest of the night, but it was the goal that let the Flyers know that we were for real, that they would have to work hard to beat us. It was a PP goal on a night when we should have scored more of those, but at least we scored one. I always like scoring at the end of the period, this is because momentum rarely carries through the intermission and taking advantage of the type of momentum that we had going at the end of the second was paramount.

Dome hockey team

The 6 players we're playing in a no changes, do or die contest in the dome

Forwards

David Desharnais - Game Puck
I was very happy with Desh's play tonight. He scored a goal and an assist and was our best forward throughout. His goal was a smart goal, the type of goal one would expect from a player like David, a player that has had to be very smart just to make it to the show.

Erik Cole
Erik played another good game and because of it was a no-brainer for the dome. Other than the stellar offence, that he obviously brought, there were hits, 4 of them in all. Is it just me or is he a better player now than the one we remember in Carolina?

Michael Cammalleri
I am starting to feel a bit bad for Camms. He is getting a very bad reputation of late and I think it all stems from his low goals total. To call him useless other than when he scores is a bit unfair to him as a player. He isn't Cole or Plekanec, but he isn't Darche, Nokelainen or Blunden either. One thing that he rarely gets credit for is his defensive play, specifically his play on the PK. Tonight he played over 3 minutes man-down and helped the Habs go 6 for 6 against the hot Flyers. Oh, there were also 7 shots (10 attempts). The goals aren't going in, but the effort was there tonight, in both ends. The goals, I assure you, will come.

Defencemen

PK Subban
Kaberle was OK, but didn't do enough on the PP to work his way to the dome. Gill was solid throughout, but his wasted offensive opportunities were frustrating to watch. Didn't like what Campoli brought tonight, scary in his own end at times. A player that I was happy with was Subban. Nothing flashy, just good strong, positional hockey. He doesn't get many a night off when it comes to tough assignments, tonight was no exception.

Josh Gorges
I was happy to see Emelin back in and was happy with the 6 hits. I even liked the pinches he made, but I still felt that tonight Josh was my man. For many of the same reasons as PK, Gorges finds himself in yet another dome.

Goaltender

Carey Price
Carey has had better nights, but he wasn't that bad. The Flyers are a good team and unless you are excellent you can expect at least 2 against you. I guess we won't win many games by letting in 4 goals, but I didn't feel that anyone could have done a much better job than he did. Oh wait, there is one: Chris Lee. If he learned the rules of hockey we likely would have won this game.

Comments

A loss isn't great, it is zero points after all. But, when we accept that we can see that the Habs put the effort in tonight. There were good chances and they played well enough at both ends to warrant a win on most nights. There are things, however, that we can't control. Those that we can control include the PP and making sure that we go more than 1/9. This has been the story of our season and will continue to be until we turn it around. We can't blame the Habs too much though as guys like Cammalleri, Desharnais, Subban and Weber are no Kovalev, Koivu, Markov or Streits when it comes to playing with an extra man. So, we can't expect to be top of the league anymore, but I guess asking for Kaberle to turn us into a top-20 team would be a suitable Christmas wish.

Things that we can't control are things like the reffing. Tonight I felt that there were three goals that could have gone the other way. All were because of goalie interference type things and all three calls went against the Habs. The first was a Montreal goal that got called back. Lee called the famous 1999 (non cup-winning, of course) foot in the blue rule. Remember the one where a player like Cole screens the goalie, doesn't touch him, but has his skates in the painted ice that really has no purpose whatsoever? Ya, of course you do. The next two were called as goals for Philly. Both goals involved contact on Price, both probably should have been disallowed. It is thus surprising that Lee can find a hockey helmet big enough as he didn't even have the courtesy to seriously review any of those calls. The call on the ice stood all three times. We may not have won the game had these three (or even one of them) gone our way, but it would have helped. The good thing is that we don't really have to change the way we played, we just have to change who we let ref our games.

Game #27Montreal Bags Crucial Road Win

Details

Date: 03/12/2011
Opponent: Kings
Location: Los Angeles

Win: 2-1

Habs Goalie: Price (W)
Opposition Goalie: Bernier (L)

Habs goalscorers: Plekanec, Kostitsyn
Opposition goalscorers: Penner

Play of the game

Louis Leblanc has looked pretty good this week and will likely have a spot on this team in the next few years. He picked up his first ever point today on a very nice passing play and now has just one fewer point than Darche, Nokelainen and Palushaj combined (as a group they have played in 62 games). The play started when he held up at the line and found the trailing Kostitsyn. Andrei passed to Eller before almost imediately getting the puck back and one-timing it up and over Bernier.

Dome hockey team

The 6 players we're playing in a no changes, do or die contest in the dome

Forwards

Andrei Kostitsyn - Game Puck
Kostitsyn was down on the third line tonight, but as has happened before this year he made the line the team's best. They may get third-line time, but they were our top unit in the limited time they had. He was a force to be reckoned with tonight and was the biggest factor in both of our goals. He now has 7 goals and 12 points in 17 games which is a 34-goal, 58-point pace.

Lars Eller
Lars only played for 11 minutes tonight as again his usage remains a mystery. He isn't used much on special teams which I can live with, but I would like to see some more ice-time overall somehow. It isn't like he is playing with Darche and Palushaj either as we want to see more of players like Kostitsyn and Leblanc too. I didn't like his penalty on Doughty today, but otherwise felt that he played a strong 2-way game.

Tomas Plekanec
Can you imagine if Plekanec had players like Ovechkin or St. Louis on his wings? He is such a smart hockey player, as we saw tonight, but often has to play with odd bits. Gionta and Moen are decent enough players, but I am guessing that to win a cup your top-line probably needs a little more power from the wings. Regardless of who he played with today Tom did the job. He scored a PP marker and did well to create things for himself and his wingers.

Defencemen

Josh Gorges
With the news today that Markov will need another few weeks I am comforted to know that Gorges is currently at his best. He played like a #1 today as he continues to do a great job leading this young corps. He led the team in ice-time with 26 minutes and, apart from a great deflection from Penner, stayed out of trouble. If Subban was at his best and Markov was back can you think of any other team that would have a more dependable #3?

Alexei Emelin
Nothing flashy from Alexei today, just good hard hockey. Funny, isn't it, that he is getting into the domes now on nights when there isn't even a huge amount of hits. His play has been so good, and was again today, that his normal play is top-3 material on our current squad. If there is one thing about the past 3 weeks and even the past 3 games that excites me it is Emelin's play. I can't wait to have a full defence corps with Emelin playing alongside a Markov, Gorges or Subban on a regular shift.

Goaltender

Carey Price
Carey was great today and was one of the biggest reasons that we walked out of the Staples Center with the 2 full points. He fought hard to see everything and to get in the way of everything. This was one of those games where you could tell that he was in the other team's head and no matter what they tried to do it would always be too little. At least that is what it felt like watching from home. After a rougher that hoped-for start he now has some very good numbers after today's game - 10 W, 2 SO, .919 and 2.23. If he keeps it up he'll be off to Ottawa in January for the world's most dull weekend of hockey.

Comments

The Canadiens once again jumped to a first-period lead in this game, but, unlike the other California games, were able to hang on. The two biggest reasons for that were that they kept attacking and that their PK was again phenomenal. LA has a good team that we may lose to if we played them tomorrow, but the Habs showed up today to let us all know that they still do too. We got into all sort of penalty trouble today, but our PK units kept us in the game as they have been doing all year. As for our other special team, the PP, we looked good. Not only did we score a goal, but we also showed some life. I was happy to see AK46 logging 4+ minutes with the extra-man as I feel he is a part of the solution. We were quicker, crisper and more creative today and I think that it has a lot to do with Kostitsyn who may give us that element we have been looking for, the link to the Kovalev, Koivu, Ryder PP units of years gone by that seemed to have it all figured out.

Was this a disastrous trip out west? It felt like it for a while, but 3 points in 3 games in 4 nights isn't bad for this team (or any) on the road, out of your time-zone. This was probably one of the harder trips we'll take all year and the fact that we were missing Pacioretty among a bunch of others made it that much harder. In the end we got the 3 points, some players stepped it up (Price and Kostitsyn come to mind) and we saw a lot of good stuff from guys like Leblanc, Eller and Emelin. The future doesn't look that bad people and, upon reflection, neither does the present.

Notes from Camp (Part 1 of 2) - The Forwards

With the last of the preseason games now in the books, training camp now moves into its last phase before the regular season starts - the team building phase. Here are my thoughts on training camp so far in a two-part series starting with the forwards that for one reason or another made an impression:

Andrei Kostitsyn

Although neither a lover or hater of Andrei Kostitsyn, he seems to me to have an added maturity and more of a veteran presence. Maybe this was just a short-felt impression that I had which was accentuated by the fact that he was in fact surrounded by lots of kids in camp but I have a gut feeling that this will be a good year for #46.

This is a big year for Kostitsyn as he becomes an unrestricted free agent at the conclusion of this season. Although many believe that he’ll sulk on the third line if played there (as appears likely), I believe that you’ll see a completely different Andrei. Any of his negativity this year will not only translate badly for his reputation amongst Habs management but also amongst all 30 GMs in the league. Andrei has a very smart man as his agent in Don Meehan who I’m sure has advised his client that any misgivings that he may have with the Habs can be erased from his memory very easily by bearing his head down and playing hard which in turn will earn him a contract from any of the other teams in the league. In fact, if he plays so well, he then forces Pierre Gauthier to offer him a very rich contract in order to avoid going to free agency. In my opinion, Kostitsyn simply has too much raw skill and talent for it not to translate into a great year should he put forth the effort that I believe he will - just don’t expect him back next year.


Brendan Gallagher

Like everyone else, I was absolutely enthralled by young Brendan Gallagher this preseason. I’m also happy to say that although I was surprised by how well he competed I was not shocked. A close friend of mine had pointed him out to me early last year as Gallagher was ripping it up for the Giants. That being said, I’m very positive about the kid’s future and really believe that he will be a fun prospect to watch over the Christmas holidays when he plays for Canada at the World Juniors.

I will tell you what did shock me - the number of people (especially from the English media) calling for young Gallagher to stay on with the team. In all honesty, please explain to me what was so different about his camp from that of one young Guillaume Latendresse (other than the fact that Latendresse performed even better in his camp). This case is no different, the French media were wrong then and the English media is wrong now. Both kids were not ready for the leap to the big leagues at such a tender age just as Max Pacioretty wasn’t ready when he first made the team. These kids are good (no doubt) but they do need to get their seasoning in the AHL it bodes for a better NHL player down the line.


Louis Leblanc

Another interesting observation that occurred during preseason was something that I noticed on twitter. All of a sudden twitter was abuzz with how Louis Leblanc’s development had suffered a major setback due to his injury and how his career potential was at best a solid 3rd liner. Look, I’m not going to sit here and say that he’ll be a 1st or 2nd liner but at the same time I felt like it was undue criticism. I don’t like projections being made of a player people have yet to see perform at a NHL let alone AHL level. Everyone has the right to see what they want and they may eventually be right but the point is you at least allow someone to show you what they have. Being injured is not great for development but it also doesn’t mean that development is stalled forever.


Erik Cole

I’ve been very pleased with Erik Cole so far and as I discussed earlier during this off-season, I believe that he will be a very important key to helping this team take the next step forward. It’s not just the size but the tenacity for driving the net coupled with the speed that he has. I was a tad worried that with his age he may be starting to lose a step but on more than once occasion, Erik put the pedal to the metal and impressed me as he wheeled around and past a defenseman almost effortlessly.


Scott Gomez

It’s way too early to make any judgement on Gomez but I will say this, the guy looks like he cares and seems to be putting in the effort to show it. Really, at the end of the day, that’s all we can ask at this stage of his contract. Hopefully, he continues to show night in and night out that he cares and more importantly puts forth the actual on-ice effort to demonstrate that care in the eyes of all the Habs supporters. I’m cautiously optimistic on Scott Gomez.


Andreas Engqvist

I’m not sure if this is just a case of bad scouting but I simply don’t see where and how a projection was made on this kid being able to effectively center the 4th line. I was unimpressed with his performance during his brief call-up last year and although he apparently excelled in a defensive role in the AHL under the tutelage of Randy Cunneyworth, I find it very hard to understand that these coaches don’t realize the massive disparity between the NHL and AHL. In fact, I’m quite sure that they are more than well aware of it considering their experience. So what’s the deal? And to top it off, Andreas put forth a disappointing effort during training camp. I hope we all get to see what it is that management sees in this kid because at this point, not only do I not see it but I’m actually worried that this might very well be the team’s Achilles’ heel.


And with that, I conclude the first part of two blog posts outlining my feelings on training camp. Next post will tackle the defense.

Scouting, Not Denouement

I believe that I speak for a large number of fans whose main interest in these relatively unfamiliar names remains on their hockey abilities, more so than the years-long route taken to the Brossard arena this Monday.

I guess what I'm saying is that I don't want to hear again about years past. I don't want to hear about how the guys feel (sorry, but it's predictably optimistic and thrilled). I want to know how they skated, passed, positioned themselves and shot.

It would be nice to get a scouting report before a life story. After a summer of manufactured stories, it would be a bit of sweet music to read about a slick deke or crisp passing play.

For the most part, the very capable observers are set back to default. The score is reported, the scorers and the story is peppered with quotes. I know that Alain Berger scored twice in a meaningless scrimmage, but most sites tell me little about the player we've been waiting months to see in a Canadiens uniform. Forget about the guys that did not score.

I know it's only been a day, and I would be the fiercest critic of anyone who wanted to read too much from 45 minutes of meaningless shinny, but it's been a really long time since we laid a path for Brutes to win a championship.

If like me you do want to know about how the guys play (all of them, not just favoured picks) then do yourself a favour and check out Dan's Daily Dose.

Dan is doing the diligence that we'd all love to do by attending the rookie camp. Not only that, he's also breaking free of the mould and delivering impressions on the players he is watching on the ice before him.

Yesterday, he didn't cover every player, but he did cover a lot more than anyone else. Moreover, where else are we going to hear that Palushaj didn't look so great or that Ian Schultz still exists.

It's a true breath of fresh air for the Habs fan who's waited a summer for skates to scratch ice and needs to look beyond coincidences to the mundane aspects of hockey like skating and skills. For the fan who wants to know and rate the chances that we'll ever hear these names again, there simply isn't a better way.


What I'm taking away

I'll begin by saying one day is far too soon to form full impressions. One scrimmage as insignificant as one NHL shift in the scheme of things. But even so, trends begin to form:

- Bournival started on the right foot. The plucky Quebecois is someone I'll keep my eye on for sure.

- If it takes baseline skill level to break through to the NHL then Gallagher might be the man. Can the Habs afford to start another small forward? Well that's another question altogether

- Berger is fascinating. Forget two goals. He is big and clearly kept up with his peers that were drafted. Let's count him in the bigger mix.

- Palushaj likely not destined for first line duty. Not to dismiss a player after a day, but let's be honest, we've seen him before and we all thought the same. If you don't stand out with lower level players, it's a rare thing to stand out with high level ones. That said, I already thought he could ably play on a fourth line, so should we care?

- Olivier Fortier injured again. The end of the road sign squarely in his rearview surely now?

- Louis Leblanc generates far too much fuss for what he is, especially on a first day of camp where he played in a diminished capacity and still got headlines

- Goalies? Anyone? Everyone realises that 3rd in line for the Canadiens crease is not really locked up right? Everyone remembers how for every season in recent memory the Canadiens relied on a goalie to take them wherever they went right? Over-the-top monikers aside, it would be nice to hear about someone, anyone that might grab a mantle.

Canadiens Deadline Assets Votes In On Draft Picks and Non-Pros

Gonna take a half-way poll on this, as the trade deadline creeping closer. Still enough response to feel fan sentiment on these assets.



This list is interesting as it starts to show how precious Canadiens fans are with their assets. In terms of trade now, we're talking about late picks, and even those assets people seem to be willing to give away are only in the round 3+ range. I assume that if I had not pooled 3 and 4, 3 would be higher and four would be lower. Bennett is a player we don't know or hear about, so it's not too surprising he's in the tradeable book.

In the land of having to give to get, there won't be much available for teams that are precious about all their decent draft picks and all the players that are deemed worthy high choices. We'll see how people feel about Hamilton prospects.

Once again, those who haven't voted and still wish to, the poll is still open (I will keep updating the stats, perhaps to publish again closer to the deadline):

Canadiens Deadline Assets Draft Picks and Non-Pros

Had some great voting on the current players (Forwards, Defence and Goalies).

A team like the Canadiens, if buying aren't likely to find many takers for their slag without using sweeteners like recent and future draft picks. This vote is where we get to see what kind of fans you really are.

WJC 2010 Primer The Drafted (Aka, Where's Tinordi?)

The World Junior Championships face off in 6 days. For hockey fans, this is a time to enjoy hockey organized and officiated by someone other than the NHL cartel, to see flowing hockey and watch players playing for pride and joy.

For most fans of NHL teams, most Canadiens fans included, it's also a time to get a quick look at some of the prospects that up until now (whatever your best intentions were to go see junior games) you've only read about in a scouting report.

It is both a chance to evaluate the prospects and the scouting department, as other teams prospects (passed by in the draft) emerge as well.

This year the Montreal Canadiens were looking primed for a very good representation at the championships. Up until last week, they had three forwards poised to play for Team Canada (the team it means most to make). Unfortunately for those keen on seeing Bournival and Brendan Gallagher, they were cut at the last moment. As a result, Habs fans will have to make do with watching 2009 first rounder Louis Leblanc on Team Canada and 2009 third rounder Joonas Nattinen on Team Finland (both centres).

By all accounts, Louis is set to have a possible scoring breakout and could well be the star for Team Canada. Nattinen, on the other hand, seems to be along for the ride. Even so, it should be a good week's worth of amateur scouting for us all. Hopefully there will be pleasant surprises.


NHL draftees

As I said, it will also be a chance to observe many other drafted players from other NHL franchises as they power their teams to wins and cause the mistakes that lead to losses.

In all there are 93 juniors on the rosters as they stand right now (some include players who may yet be cut). So, Montreal's twosome is below the NHL average for sending players to Buffalo.

The teams that will be required to send the most representatives for scouting and schmoozing with their prospects are Florida, Minnesota, Detroit and Washington. Each team has 6 prospects spread over a few different teams.



So what does this say about Montreal scouting? Well hard to say really. Getting players onto Team Canada is the hardest thing to do, and Montreal almost had three. Had those two not been cut, we'd also be talking about a top tier team.

Yet, it's still difficult to compare Montreal's scouting of a first rounder and Nattinen to Detroit's haul of six players while winning the NHL and relying on late rounders yet again to make up ground. And Florida just did it in style as they posted two to team Canada and three to the next strongest American squad. Washington and Minnesota relied on Euros for their good showing, yet Minny has Granlund who may end up being the star of the show, and Washington has some underrated Russians on board.

If it's quality rather than quantity that spells success, then lots of Timmins reputation is riding on Leblanc's shoulders. , as there's no guarantee he'll be the player for Canada or among the top at the tournament.


The Timmins Watch

For fun, I looked through the rosters of the junior teams and looked at players the Habs could have drafted.

There are a boatload of players that were chosen before the Canadiens had a pick, and so nothing to do with Timmins (17 in all).

The following group are those who were passed over in favour of Louis Leblanc. Based on play thus far, we can't really call these mis-picks. there are 16 in that group at this tournament.

Where it starts to get interesting is the group that could have been had instead of London Knights "stalwart" Jarred Tinordi. Remember, the Canadiens traded up a pick to get Tinordi and could have potentially had a couple from this group of 28 players:



Obviously it's too early to write off Tinordi altogether, and big D's have the habit of being slow developers (yet worth waiting for). Still, there are a quite a few exciting names here, and a tournament of hockey might start to raise questions about that June day trade and pick.

The American defenders alone, all selected to vie for the medal ahead of Jarred, will be interesting to keep an eye on.

The lists get shorter and less interesting as we go. But as we get a chance to see Nattinen, it might be interesting also to watch the 18 players drafted behind him in 2009.



Many of those players were also selected behind Mac Bennett (also not a National team calibre player yet), Alexander Avtsin, and Dustin Walsh (whose currently 6th in scoring at that powerhouse which is Dartmouth).

Finally, while no one would ever confuse Michael Cichy as a candidate for the National Team, it worth keeping an eye on two players who were taken after him in the 7th round of the 2009 draft: Carolina defender Tommi Kivisto (Finland) and yet another Detroit Swedish defensive find (possibly), Adam Almqvist.

There's the undrafted by the score, but no scouts thought those would be worth more than Petteri Simila, so it's hard to fault anyone for missing them.


So as you're all watching Louis Lebalnc skate circles around Americans and wondering where on earth Tinordi is. Have a look around and notice the wealth in talent at this tournament.

Camp Is Slipping Away Some Counted Out, Others Missing Their Chance

Last night, Tobalev and I were lucky enough to take in the exhibition game in Kanata from the bottom bowl. Decked in our Habs sweaters, we strolled with confidence into the Habs country home. Scotiabank Place doesn't have all the comforts of home, but traveling fans made sure to bring all the paraphernalia, chanting and booing that makes us so likeable as guests.

The game itself was an interesting enough affair. The final score as you know wasn't positive (at least not for the majority of fans in Scotiabank Place), but the game had its moments.

Once again, we approached this game in a completely different manner to a regular season or playoff game. The result was not the goal, and therefore not the most important part to report. Even the scoring summary, though it holds interest, wasn't the be all and end all.

I'll start with what I found to be positive in the game (leaving out Alfredsson, who I wish we had on our team, and other Sens assets).

Ben Maxwell
I find it hard to relate what I thought of Maxwell before. i think written off is the closest I can come to mirroring my thoughts on him. So, a couple of preseason watches later and I have to say, I'm pleasantly surprised to say I was wrong about that. He's not been a full revelation, but amongst his peers (our prospects) he stands out clearly as one of the readiest. And where he was timid and mostly passive in the past, it's his initiative and ingenuity that now stands out most. His hallmark play now for me is his burst of speed through a seam with the puck. Last night, it won us possession on a few occasions and a penalty shot on another.

Yannick Weber
Don't get me wrong, he didn't have a stormer. But on second viewing this season, I thought Weber improved. He was once again a great option on the PP and though he didn't bolt down the back end, he at least didn't look worse than most of his teammates. Injuries at the back end seem more likely on this team than to forwards due to a combination of collective age and a system that asks for shot blocking every minute of the game. Knowing that there is someone behind O'Byrne that has something to offer other than cringe moments is positive.

Tomas Plekanec
The top from the veteran group and really the only vet that seems to be able to carry his play despite a rookie presence. His goal was a moment of brilliance, as he made beating the Sens D and Brian Elliott (what was the rest of the Habs made look an impossible task) look effortless. For those who overlook him as a leader, consider from the evidence that he is once again the readiest for the season to begin, reflecting what was probably a lot of hard work in the offseason.

Louis Leblanc
Tobalev and I spoke about many guys just not getting it, realizing, that is, that this represents their bast chance at cementing their place. Leblanc gets it. He won't get a place just yet as he still plays a level below the NHL skill, but his drive and at times his passing stand out as excellent.

Penalty drawing
It's probably nothing more than soft reffing and blind luck, but remember when the Habs couldn't draw a call to save their skins? In this game they drew a few. Maxwell did the best with the penalty shot, but there were a few other important instances where pens were drawn too.

First half
Until Ben Maxwell missed on a penalty shot, this game was going Montreal's way. That was 36:02 minutes that the shay last 23:58 has now eclipsed.



That's just about as much as I'd like to say about positives. On then to needs improvements. From our seats, these people and things stood out:

Bench management
Bad line changes and too many men penalties. I know its exhibition season, but this stuff is just basic. We joked the announcer should be calling "Penalty to the Montreal Canadiens, too many men on the ice... again"

Benoit Pouliot
Does he get it? We didn't think so. Last game I was very encouraged, now I'm disheartened. The score sheet papers over his game with an assist, but he was poor. He was slow all over the ice to react and exactly the opposite to what the top two lines need. He needs to improve both for the team and himself.

Travis Moen
Does it seem to anyone else like he just goes through the motions? He must be the only veteran on the team that never comes up in captain discussions and it shows on the ice. he's not invisible, but nearly every shift he played last night looked like an exercise in killing time. His job's not under threat, but setting an example to the youngsters might not go amiss. I guess I just expect more from the highest price tag grinder.

Jaroslav Spacek
Speaking of vets not helping youngsters. Look I know that it's the preseason and he'll be better with a real partner. And I know he wouldn't try half the things he did against a regular season team. But Spacek really should look to steadiness the way Moen looks to making some kind of mark. He's the veteran expert on a green corps on this night, there's no need for him to be "trying" new tricks, he's had two decades for that. Many egos could have been salvaged with a few more solid dump outs.

Jacques Martin
Again, just exhibition. Seriously, though, why dress Fortier if not to trial him? Why not give Pouliot a real chance to excel, not just see whether he can play the role of carrying a line, which you'd never ask him to do anyway? Why is Kostitsyn not with his linemates? Why the whole game for Carey? It's an uncomfortable amount of questions to ask about a vet coach. Maybe answers will become clearer to me at a later date.

Hal Gill injury?
We didn't notice Gill after the first. Turns out he played a few minutes in the second, but none in the third. Now there aren't any reports, and we didn't have the sense to watch the bench, but nearly 27 minutes for Weber? Nearly 5 on the PK for Weber? All signs point to Gill being injured. I pondered putting this in positive, but a little look at the alternatives over the past 3 exhibitions made me think again.

Carey Price
We can argue all day about the goals not being Carey's fault. I don't care to get into it. He needs to improve as well as the team.

I can identify two areas where I would advise Carey to focus his efforts:

1) Puck handling: Honestly, just stop. At the beginning of the third with the Habs down 4-2 and a chance to learn something about coming back, he came behind the net and passed right to a Senator with the net open. Most of his handling doesn't lead to clear chances. But nor does his contribution to the play justify even an occasional risk like this. Stay in the net for a while. Play it simply. It could save a lot of heartache for everyone.

2) Preparation: Coming into this season was always going to be hard, but with a lot to prove, we figured he'd worked hard and be ready. If he is, he doesn't convey it in his interviews or on the ice. He could gain a lot, I think from spending a summer training with Tomas Plekanec rather than his rodeo buddies. And before games? I'd love to see his 2nd period readiness in the first 10 minutes.

Still, it's not as negative as some would suggest. It's actually hard to tease apart how all the negatives above influence Price directly and indirectly. Doesn't help that the coach is in this column, in my opinion. But as I said the other day, all this brings his mind into sharper focus about what he needs to do to get ready for the real season. All these lessons need not be lost. What's more the lessons are given squarely to the team and coaches as well for their tough assignments on the year.


A fun night overall. A game in person really allows for a much broader view of goings on. And from where we were, we could see a lot of detail that's missed by cameras. Though I left it with the "needs improvement" section, I'm not too concerned. I still feel like half a team can't ever show me what the full team will be like. Cammalleri with Gomez instead of Palushaj is a different player, I spoke about Spacek. So, seeing as it's not all doom and gloom, I'll go back to the positive for the sake of aftertaste:

It's preseason!
Gotta be the number one positive. Nothing about this game needs to be remembered if the right people make the right decisions and adjustments.

Canadiens Invite Rookies To Camp

Canadiens Rookie camp is just around the corner. 31 players are invited in all.

While I'm sure you'll all get your fill of PK Subban highlights and Louis Leblanc worship elsewhere, I wanted to offer a look beyond to some of the more unfamiliar names involved with this upcoming camp.

The way I see it, the camp for rookies is multi-tiered. For players of the required age who have already played for the Bulldogs and the Canadiens, this camp is a warm-up. For returning players not already ensconced in the organization's own plans, it is the chance to jump up the depth chart, and for first-timers it's both a try-out and the opportunity to learn what separates them from pros like Subban, Weber and the gang.


Canadiens and Bulldogs

Andrew Conboy, Dany Masse, Ben Maxwell, Max Pacioretty, Aaron Palushaj, Ryan White, Frederic St. Denis, PK Subban, Yannick Weber

These players have some places already sewn up. The very fact they are present at this rookie camp should mean that barring a disaster they will be at the main camp as well. Main camp is where they must shine. Underwhelm here, though, and it's a strike on the count.


The returnees

Alexander Avstin, Hunter Bishop, Gabriel Dumont, Andreas Engqvist, Olivier Fortier, Louis Leblanc, Philippe Lefebvre, Dustin Walsh, Joe Stejskal, Robert Mayer

This group contains some of the more interesting names of the whole group. Leblanc and Avtsin top many lists of course, but let's not also forget that Robert Mayer is 4th on the whole organization's depth chart (2 injuries away from NHL duty).

For me the name of the group is Olivier Fortier. He's a rare QMJHL draft pick, and a Quebecois one to boot. Not only that, he's a Team Canada U18 alum. The story recently on Fortier has been injuries. An injury cause him to miss the Canadian U20 tryouts and last season an injury cost him the entire year. He's been pegged as a two-way centre, largely because he won an award to acknowledge his all-around play in the Q, but that might slight him.

In the book I was reading on scouting, Gare Joyce went out of his way to praise the young 17-year-old in his draft year, noting his on-ice intelligence was paired with off-ice academic prowess. If hockey is to be a career for Fortier, he will have to show intelligence and perseverance, just like anyone else. Where others might have trouble, Olivier already has lots of adversity to call on. I think he'll be an interesting one to watch.


The first looks - Draftees

Brendan Gallagher, Ian Schultz (StL), Morgan Ellis, Brandon Nash, Jarred Tinordi

It will be interesting to see how these junior players will stack up. But this probably isn't the year any one of them takes the Canadiens fandom by storm.


The first looks - Free agents

Kyle Klubertanz (Djurgardens)

This guy is more interesting than the draftees to me simply because he wasn't drafted. The move to earn an NHL contract from an undrafted position impresses me a lot more than being selected in the late rounds. Klubertanz had to perform well against men in the Swedish league to get a look at this camp. Last season was a breakout for Kyle, as he was 5th in defencemen scoring in the SEL. Prior to that, however, he was a drafted player and went a bit David Fischer for the Ducks. Unlike Fischer, he never had a 6 point season, however. And, as the Canadiens will know from watching Ryan McDonagh played a big role for Wisconsin in 2007-08.


The first looks - Try-outs

Jonathan Brunelle (Drummondville, dev’t camp), Sebastien Bisaillon (Kassel), Marc-Antoine Desnoyers (Drummondville, dev’t camp), Nicolas Champion (Rouyn-Noranda), Peter Delmas (Halifax)

Call it the Voltigeurs season-opening camp. Or maybe Habs goalie search 2010. This group of players is actually the most interesting of all the groups for me.

First, there's Jonathan Brunelle who played for Drummonville last season and was eligible for the draft but went overlooked. He actually ignored Don Cherry's advice, went to the draft and heard 210+ names but not his own.

The Canadiens used one of their now infamous 8th round picks to claim another Quebecer off the floor. What they have here is anyone's guess at the moment. But at the least they have a decent-sized forward who has played on a team with most of their other French-Canadian prospects. He himself went from 7 goal, 19-point man to 23 goal, 49-point man after he turned 17. If history is any guide, he might emulate Gabriel Dumont and become a scoring star in the QMJHL at 18. It can't hurt to have him in the wings.

Desnoyers is Brunelle's teammate, and teammate of Phil Lefebvre and Gabriel Dumont. Like them, he's a former companion of Dany Masse. 5 season in the Q, there aren't many he hasn't played with. His draft year he played with Mathieu Carle on the Titan and so has been on the radar for at least a few seasons. DesnoyersVoltigeurs. A Guy Boucher player and a local talent, he's another with a bit of intrigue.

Sebastien Bisaillon is the other defenceman. He's no spring chicken and not an unknown. In fact, he was an Oilers prospect for a while and even played for the NHL club. Comparisons were made by Oilers people to Marc-Andre Bergeron, so you get the idea.

Finally, the goalies. This time it's Halifax's Peter Delmas (a former Avalanche pick) and Nicolas Champion (a small undrafted goalie). Delmas is an interesting case as he was a second-rounder only two years ago for the Avs (a team not exactly stacked between the pipes). In 2008, he was a hot commodity for a while, and ended up the 5th goalie taken in his draft. He's slipped a bit, so I think the Habs are hoping for a rebound on his part. Given the organization's depth, he may not have to rebound too high to earn a contract. Champion is the better statistical guy. But he's small and we know how that hurts a goalie's career prospects. Since his draft (undrafted), he's gone the other way improving season by season. And last year, he put up some great totals by QMJHL standards. His play after his trade from Acadie-Bathurst to the contending Rouyn-Noranda Huskies was eye-opening. He usurped the number one role at once and posted 16 wins with a healthy 0.911 SV% (which is good if you've ever seen a QMJHL defence).


NCAA Absentees
Mac Bennett, Michael Cichy, Danny Kristo, Steve Quailer, Patrick Johnson, Mark MacMillan, Scott Kishel, Greg Pateryn

This group contains some of the more ineteresting prospects, or as we like to call then now, trade bait.Kristo is one of the team's top prospects and will be missed at this camp.


Conspicuous absentees

Petteri Simila (came to dev’t camp), Joonas Nattinen (came to dev’t camp), Maxim Trunev, John Westin (came to dev’t camp)

Apart from those with legitimate roadblocks, there were a few players who either weren't invited or didn't accept to attend. All are Europeans, so have actually begun playing (camps and such). Still, if making the NHL is a goal, it must be pursued wholeheartedly. I give a pass to Westin as an 18-year-old. At the very least Nattinen and Simila visited Montreal once this off-season, even if I do feel Simila's failed Niagara experiment is the end of the road for him with the Habs. Trunev was not expected as he's under KHL contract, but as time ticks on his road to Montreal only gets harder and harder. i'm ot sure who's been advising him, but no camps and KHL contracts - that's the way to play right out of the equations.


Unsuccssful try-outs

Tanner House, Myles Harvey, Thomas Baumle, Jean-Christophe Blanchard, Riley Gill, Francois Brisebois, Joseph Quattrocchi

The last group are those that tried out at development camps but didn't get this invitation. Four (Baumle, Blanchard, Gill and Q) are goalies, giving you all some idea about the trouble Montreal is having establishing some depth at this position.