An excerpt from HabProsects.com (montrealdan):
Going into the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, it was clear that the Montreal Canadiens were thin on D prospects with just a small handful of prospects, now flash forward to just over two years later and the club now boasts one of the deepest prospect pools of defensemen. The team opted to take two defensemen in the first round in David Fischer and Ryan McDonagh while trading down in 2006 where they acquired Mathieu Carle.
The team has D prospects in just about every major development league, and while the majority are right handed defensemen, overall they have a solid mix of size, strength, physical play and offensive skills. With PK Subban, Yannick Weber and Mathieu Carle you have some impressive offensive defensemen, and with others like Ryan O’Byrne, Ryan McDonagh, Alexei Emelin, and Pavel Valentenko you have tough physical defensemen that bring good size, strength, speed and skating, in addition to David Fischer who doesn’t bring the same assets as the rest of the group but still is a quality prospect.
In addition the team also has a very solid group of lesser known D prospects, guys like Phillippe Paquet, Nichlas Torp, Joe Stejskal and Greg Pateryn. All of these lesser known prospects may have a harder time making the NHL, they all have good frames and are said to enjoy the physical game, in fact you could say some of them are among the most physical prospects in the Habs entire farm system
You missed a real sleeper, and that is young Greg Pateryn who was acquired in the deal for Mikhail Grabovksi. Pateryn was the biggest player in camp, by weight, despite being the youngest (aside from the practice goalie). Moreover he has excellant puck skills, a heavy shot, and is a very good skater for a player his size who just turned 18. His numbers in the USHL were better as a 17 year old than Mike Komisarek or Ron Hainsey managed at that age. He will enroll at Michigan this fall weighing more than Mike Komisarek did when he arrived, though he is a couple of inches shorter. He has a very similar blend of size, skill, and competitive fire to the 18 year old Komisarek.
Hey Rob,
The above excerpt was from Habsprospects.com though I did take notice of Greg Pateryn when I attended two development camp sessions last week and noted it in my article(Days #4 and #5 of Canadiens Development Camp):
“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.”
Like you, I was impressed by his overall play and solid size. He will only get better at Michigan where legendary head coach, Red Berenson will teach him the fine points of playing defense. Fellow Habs prospect Ryan McDonagh will certainly help in his transition into the NCAA as well.
This might be another trade that in a few years will bite the Maple Leafs in the ass especially if Grabovski doesn’t play well. If Pateryn develops as expected and the Habs make a solid pick with TO’s 2nd round pick at next year’s draft, then Gainey will be laughing and Leafs fan will be crying again!!!
Rob, thanks for your great insight regarding Greg Pateryn, I truly appreciate reading intelligent comments from hockey fans.
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