Matt D’Agostini is hoping that his only NHL action last year against the Maple Leafs will be a more regular occurrence.
The Montreal Canadiens announced Monday that 16 players have been assigned to the AHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs. The Club also returned defenseman PK Subban (Belleville – OHL) and forward Olivier Fortier (Rimouski – QMJHL) to their respective junior teams.
Thirty-two (32) players are still at training camp, including three goaltenders, 11 defensemen and 18 forwards. The Canadiens will play their remaining three preseason games at the Bell Centre on September 30th (Detroit), October 1st (Boston) and October 4th (Minnesota). The Canadiens’ training camp will move to the Mont Tremblant area on Thursday with practice sessions at St-Jovite arena on October 2-3.Following are the 16 players reporting to the Bulldogs, who will begin their training camp on September 30th, 2008, at Mile One Centre in St-John’s, Newfoundland.
Goaltenders (2)
Cédrick Desjardins
Loic Lacasse
Defensemen (3)
Pavel Valentenko
Shawn Belle
Chad Anderson
Forwards (11)
Brock Trotter
Ryan White
James T. Wyman
Mike Glumac
Olivier Latendresse
Yanick Lehoux
Ryan Flinn
Mathieu Aubin
Ryan Russell
David Desharnais
Thomas Beauregard
Habster:
No real surprises as the Habs roster is pretty much set. The only surprise I have is the sluggish performances of Pavel Valentenko who could have been invited to the Mont Tremblant training camp session if he had played better during the preseason games. He could still be the first defenseman called up if there are injuries during the season.
With players like Yannick Weber and P.K. Subban making strong impressions on the coaching staff, Valentenko will have to find the strong, gritty defensive game he displayed in his rookie AHL season with Hamilton last year.
It’s never a good thing when other prospects move up the “depth chart” but Valentenko will be turning 21 years old in three weeks so he’s still very young and certainly has the talent to be a solid, shutdown type NHL defenseman.
While Valentenko was a training camp disappointment, Matt D’Agostini, Ben Maxwell and Max Pacioretty have given team management/scouting staff a lot to be happy about with a glimpse of what the future holds.
All three players have been solid throughout training camp as well as during pre-season games. They are very deserving of their invitation to the Mt Tremblay portion of training camp. They look like they belong in the NHL and have displayed some serious skill.
I wouldn’t be shocked to see anyone of them in a Habs uniform this season or in the near future. All three skate well and have excellent visibility on the ice.
Maxwell has #2-#3 center potential while D’Agostini has a great, quick shot and can be a better skating Michael Ryder. Pacioretty is always around the puck and isn’t afraid to drive to the net with authority. He also has an effortless skating stride and has playmaking capacity as well.
In the end, Bob Gainey is in a position of strength heading into the 2008-09 season with the best NHL and AHL depth the organization has had in the past 15-20 years. If the Canadiens run into injury problems and/or want to add another player for the stretch drive, Gainey definitely has the player depth to fill a need whether it be by trading assets or calling up a player………what a great position to be in for a change!!!
Maxwell is a bit of a surprise in that he has missed at least half of each season since being drafted. That is a lot of lost development time. He is half a year older than Weber and Pacioretty, but lost the equivalent of one full year of hockey experience.
Rob,
You’re bang on as always when it comes to knowing the Habs prospects.
Can you imagine how much better Ben Maxwell would be if he hadn’t missed the time due to those injuries? He’s been very solid in the pre-season games he’s played.
I was surprised to hear Pierre McGuire say Maxwell might have trouble keeping up with the speed of the NHL game due to his foot speed issues……..every scouting report I’ve read has stated otherwise, saying Maxwell strengths are his skating, playmaking and hockey IQ.
From the games I’ve seen him play in preseason, his skating/foot speed isn’t an issue.
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