All Habs Headlines: Saturday August 11, 2012
On this day in hockey history… Happy 47th birthday to Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin!
ALL HABS HEADLINES
► Gally leads prospect class: Hockey’s Future’s ranking list of Canadiens prospects for Fall 2012 is out, and to no one’s surprise, Alex Galchenyuk is their top choice. Despite the glowing evaluation, HF believes (as we do) that Galchenyuk would be best served by spending another season in the OHL.
“Galchenyuk is the big playmaking centerman the Canadiens have coveted for well over a decade and has the high-end offensive talent to eventually center their top line. The big center has excellent offensive skill, vision, and hockey sense, but also possesses good character and a strong work ethic.” — Hockey Future’s David Thicke.
While we would quibble with some of the rankings (particularly the overly optimistic views of Leblanc and Palushaj) the evaluation of the future talent of the Habs is well done.
Read more: Alex Galchenyuk among many new faces in Montreal Canadiens’ Fall 2012 Top 20
“We are very pleased to welcome Cristobal in Lausanne. His professionalism, work ethic and natural leadership are all assets and examples in the locker room.” — Jan Alston, Sports Director, Lausanne Hockey Club
► Pacioretty’s hockey camp: Max Pacioretty is quickly becoming well-known for his contributions to the community in addition to his on-ice exploits. Last November, Pacioretty unveiled a Foundation in his name to support the Montreal General Hospital. This summer, Pacioretty is hosting a hockey camp for peewee aged players in Stamford, Connecticut not too far from his childhood home of New Canaan.
“There’s a good mix of age and skill level and it’s good to see everyone come out. They work pretty hard during the first session and then it’s more fun and games after; they know that if they get the hard work out of the way that they can have some fun.” — Max Pacioretty
Read more: New Canaan’s Pacioretty conducts week-long youth hockey camp in Stamford
► THN predicts 13th place: The Hockey News is predicting that it will be another season without playoffs for fans of the Montreal Canadiens. THN believes that the Habs will finish 13th just ahead of the Winnipeg Jets and just behind the Toronto Maple Leafs. As we have been saying all summer, THN is concerned about the lack of scoring for Les Glorieux.
Read more: The Hockey News 2012-13 NHL regular season predictions
► Spitfires clobbered by commissioner: On Friday, players from the Windsor Spitfires, including Canadiens prospect Brady Vail (pictured left), headed to the baseball diamond for a home run derby and a charity 3-pitch softball game with local media.
Earlier in the day, OHL Commissioner David Branch had levied the largest fine in league history against the team and stripped them of five draft picks. The Spitfires will pay $400,000 and lose its first-round pick in 2013, 2014 and 2016 as well as second-round picks in 2015 and 2017. The penalty follows an OHL investigation that determined Windsor had violated the league’s player benefit and recruitment rules and policies.
In a statement, the Spitfires denied any wrongdoing and accused the league of not following its own procedures.
“We are in receipt of the decision by the Ontario Hockey League regarding the Windsor Spitfires hockey club and completely deny all accusations that have been put forward. It is the team’s position that there is no evidence to support this decision, nor did the league follow due process or its own rules regarding procedural fairness in the making of this decision.
“We will pursue all avenues of appeal regarding the decision made by the commissioner, David Branch. We are proud members of the Ontario Hockey League and will be vigorously defending the well-deserved and established reputation of our hockey club as an exemplary organization both on and off the ice, through the appropriate appeal process.
“We will have no further comment until the appeal process is complete, in which we are confident will result in this decision being overturned.”
Read more: OHL fines Spitfires $400,000 and strips club of five draft picks
► New at All Habs Hockey Magazine:
Who’s This Guy? All Habs Special Edition – Pablo
Engineering Hockey Sense: Teaching the “Unteachable”
Canadiens Player Bio – Max Pacioretty
Amazing Impact of a Little Blue Bird on the NHL
Biographie CH – Max Pacioretty