Habster:
It was only two hours of practice drills without an NHL player on the ice (at least not yet!!) but it was hockey regardless!!!
Just being able to watch the Canadiens future flying around the ice surfaces at the Centre Sportif Candiac /Les 2 Glaces was a sign of great things to come. The smell and feel of being in an arena was an absolutely joy even if it meant losing two hours of summer sun.
I always treat the Habs development camp as the start of the hockey season as strange as that sounds. It gets the dormant hockey juices/spirits flowing after a long (I know it’s only been 2 months!!!) hockey hibernation after a truly wonderful 2007-2008 season for the upstart Canadiens. Development camp really has a “domino affect” which preludes the season: Development camp, Rookie camp, Pro training camp, preseason and BANG!!! (my John Madden moment)……the start of the 2008-09 season.
With that being said, the Canadiens organization and their fans are starting to see the great progress of their prospects. Being on vacation allowed me to attend day #4 and #5 of this year’s camp and I came away very impressed with numerous players.
The arena was packed with fans who took in every drill and were switching back and forth from ice surface #1 and #2. Last year’s development camp was at the Lasalle municipal arena where only one ice surface exists so the players were thrown together and the ice surface was divided into two halves. This year’s camp used two ice surfaces with the forwards and defensemen divided into two groups. The goaltenders remained on one rink with the forwards and defensemen dividing time between rinks.
The camp was very well organized as usual with skating and puck handling drills on rink#1 while shooting drills and goaltending drills were most handled on rink#2.
On ice instruction was handled by coaches Gaston Gingras (former Habs/Leafs defenseman), Tim Turk (pro shooting instructor), Paul Lawson (skating instructor), Roland Melanson (Habs assistant coach and goaltending guru) and Chuck Weber (Cincinnati Cyclones head coach) who did a great job keeping the drills fun while teaching the players.
The players appeared to be having fun and were learning while gauging their own skill set against their future teammates.
Because of the two ice surfaces being used and trying to jockey for viewing space, I did my best to watch every prospect and drills being done but it was challenging. I also was able to record some of the action which has and will be posted on All Habs and YouTube- All Habs over the next day or two.
Now, some thoughts and feedback concerning the players from a non-expert point of view:
- The most improved player from last year’s development camp was by far Max Pacioretty who looks like a pro with his skating, size, hard/accurate shot and all-round game. Trevor Timmins told the Gazette’s Pat Hickey that Pacioretty is physically capable of playing in the NHL but he believes Pacioretty would be better served playing another year at the University of Michigan. He will get more ice time and take on more of a leadership role in his sophomore year. From what I saw the last two days, I wouldn’t be surprised if he leaves the NCAA after this season and signs an NHL entry level contract with the Canadiens. He probably will start with the Hamilton Bulldogs if and when the time comes.
- I can see why the pint-sized David Desharnais won the ECHL scoring title and was named the league’s MVP. He maybe small in stature (5’6” 177lbs would be generous) but he certainly has a nice touch around the net, picking the high and low corners of the net consistently. He also got around the ice very quickly and sees the ice very well. Desharnais remains me of a much more offensively talented Chad LaRose (Carolina Hurricanes forward) when he is skating around the ice. Some have compared his game to Martin St. Louis which wouldn’t be a stretch but I’m not sure if he is as good a goal scorer as St.Louis. He definitely is as good a playmaker as St.Louis. Unfortunately, the Canadiens have to get bigger at the center/forward position so Desharnais will start this year on the Hamilton Bulldogs roster where he should continue his offensive production.
- This selection might surprise you but in my humble opinion, the most improved defenseman from last year’s camp was 2007 draft pick (133rd overall) Joe Stejskal who didn’t look as out of place as he did at last year’s camp. He can really fire the puck and has improved his skating which was strong but needs some refinement. He also looks like he has hit the gym at Dartmouth by adding some muscle to his 6’3″ frame.
- Like Pacioretty, Ryan McDonagh is a physical specimen who has a very solid pro frame with a skill set to match. McDonagh will probably turn pro after another year at the University of Wisconsin as he is that good. His composure with the puck and skating stride are what you notice the most when watching him perform drills…..he will be a top 4 defenseman for the Habs for years to come. I didn’t pick McDonagh as the most improved simply because he didn’t have to improve as much as Stejkal.
- Two other defensemen who caught my attention the last two days were P.K. Subban and Nichlas Torp. Subban probably has the best stick handling skills among the defensemen at this year’s camp and showed it when he was able to rush the puck on some drills. He also has a heavy slapshot which he didn’t always hit the net with but his wrist shot was very good and accurate. He was also very active discussing things with the coaches/teammates and eager to strut his stuff on every drill. Torp showed he is more than just a good defensive defenseman by showing good puck handling skills and appears to have added an extra half step/stride to his foot speed. Torp also has the best wrist shot among the defensemen which isn’t surprising for a Swede. I just hope the injury bug which has plagued Torp the last two seasons will not be an issue this coming season as it has greatly slowed his progress within the Canadiens prospect ranks.
- Among the forward group, Andrew Conboy was less clumsy this camp and appeared more confident with the puck on his stick. He also appeared quicker than last year and would be an asset on the wing with his 6’4″ frame. I also liked what I saw from Brock Trotter. He has a nice compact skating stride and handles the puck well from the blueline to the net.
- The class of 2008: I thought Danny Kristo (Habs’ 2nd round pick) looked right at home the two days I was there and I understand why Trevor Timmins is so high on his all-round game. He has very good speed and a wicket shot (both slap and wrist shots were hard and very accurate) which found its way into the net more often than not. Another U.S product and the Habs’ 3rd round pick, Steve Quailer also didn’t look terribly out of place and has a really nice, long fluid skating stride (good speed as well). He definitely needs to put on some serious muscle on his 6’3″ frame but that is to be expected at the age of 18. Defenseman Greg Pateryn who was obtained from the Maple Leafs in the Mikhail Grabovski deal is a very solid kid (he’s listed as being 6’2″ 223lbs) and he just turned 18 years old on June 20th. I’m not sure if most that weight is muscle or there is some baby fat hanging around but it’s easier to shed the weight than to add it. He looked solid on his skates and had above average mobility. The Habs have a bountiful of good defensemen and I’m not sure where they fit into the organization’s long term plan. I guess it’s a good problem to have and can also be used as trade bait.
- Goaltenders: If the Canadiens want to start a charity basketball team, they certainly have a center or power forward to feed the ball to in the name of Jason Missiaen. He is very noticeable for his size more than his goaltending. That’s not meant as an insult but more as a simple observation. Missiaen covers a lot of net when he is in his butterfly which is most of the time. He relies a lot on his size and doesn’t move well both laterally and as he goes back into his net when the puck carrier come towards. He does have a good glove and his rebound control was good. The Canadiens probably see the potential in him and consider him a project. He needs to play more to develop and gain confidence which hopefully he will if he can dislodge the Peterborough Petes starter, Trevor Cann. If anybody can help his game, it’s certainly Rollie Melanson. I was more impressed with junior try-out Robert Mayer who went undrafted because of his inconsistent play in the QMJHL for the St. John Sea Dogs. He was highly ranked by some scouting services at the beginning of the junior season but fell due to his poor play. He is more athletic than Missiaen and very agile, both laterally and moving into his net. He has a very good glove hand as well. At 6’1″ and 193 lbs, he has good size which is always an asset for a goalie. Whether he has impressed Melanson enough to get an invite to the rookie camp remains to be seen but he seemed solid from a layman point of view.
- Other try-outs: I didn’t notice the Testwuide brothers much but as I said before, it was hard to see everybody because of the two rinks being used and the configuration of the seats in the rinks. Alexandre Monahan is an average skater and didn’t really stand-out in the crowd which is something a try-out player has to do. Erik Boisvert also wasn’t front and center but skated pretty well similar to his father.
- Other notables were Ben Maxwell who has a solid skill set and skates very well. He really needs to avoid the injury bug that has greatly slowed his progress. When he does play, he is very productive. Olivier Fortier looked good and is a strong skater but doesn’t have the flair of some of the other prospects.
Overall, the future looks incredibly bright for the Canadiens organization with so many solid prospects in the pipeline heading towards the NHL. As I walked out of the arena, I saw Trevor Timmins and congratulated him for doing such a great job of drafting solid players. He thanked me for the compliment and said it was all part of trying to make the Canadiens a better team for years to come…….I couldn’t agree more with him!!!