BROSSARD, QC — At the Canadiens 2010 development, the one ingredient in short supply is passion. For the most part, it has been a quiet, polite affair. After two days, the most intense person on skates has been Habs’ assistant coach Kirk Muller.
An exception to the rule is Danny Kristo. Kristo approaches every task with enthusiasm. He also seems to be injecting some creativity in repetitive drills. While Kristo navigated the cones like everyone else, he banked the puck off the boards to give the exercise an additional challenge.
Kristo seems to be enjoying himself and is showing some leadership qualities by chatting otherwise silent teammates.
The forwards went through a number of skating drills on Wednesday morning. Kristo has good acceleration but it was Joonas Natinnen who excelled with powerful cuts and excellent body control. Gabriel Dumont and Michael Cichy were clearly the weakest of the group.
When it came time to shoot, it was Steve Quailer who impressed with his quick release and heavy shot.
When the defenseman ran through some passing exercises, it was surprising that the hulking Myles Harvey, 6’5″ 230 lbs., was so mobile. Joe Stejskal is the only right-shooting defenseman in camp, and showed maturity and confidence. Scott Kishel went through the drills tentatively with his head down and eyes firmly on the puck.
Brendon Nash, a free agent signing playing at Cornell, has a solid shot. Marc-Antoine Desnoyers suffered from Gaston Gingras syndrome whistling most every point shot high and wide.
Goaltender Petteri Simila looked frustrated after shooters took advantage of a suspect glove hand. Simila has an interesting style holding his bright yellow trapper straight up as he invites players to go high glove. They did, often. After some coaching encouragement, he looked better.
Try-out invitee Thomas Baumle from Ambri-Piotta in the Swiss league seems very comfortable and is having a hard time suppressing a big wide smile.
There’s been no sign of Hamilton Bulldogs coach Guy Boucher yet. Word is that he has been occupied with a personal matter and will arrive Thursday. Let’s hope that Boucher hasn’t been shopping for real estate in Columbus.
Here’s a shout out to the geniuses supposedly doing construction on the Champlain Bridge who thought it was a brilliant idea to close two of three lanes midday. An end-to-end trip normally five minutes took 75 as they lounged in the back of trucks. How about joining the rest of North America and do construction on major arteries overnight or on weekends?
The development camp continues through Saturday in Brossard.
Pick up your copy of the Development Camp roster here:
2010 Canadiens Development camp roster
(photo credit: Getty)