Solid performances set stage for Canadiens-flavored Canada/U.S. showdown

Below are excerpts from the Hockey’s Future article by Jason Menard. I only added Trevor Timmins evaluations of the Canadiens prospects participating in the tournament (for some reason, Niklas Torp wasn’t mentioned in the article):

Timmins on Ryan McDonagh:

“I only saw him the first game and it wasn’t much of a challenge for the team [an 8-2 victory over Germany],” Timmins said. “He’s playing on the first pairing and the first PK unit. They’re counting on him to be a shutdown guy and he’s doing his job. He’s playing physical.

“I know he’s got more offensive ability in him than he’s been allowed to show in this system — I guess we’ll see tomorrow night against Canada.”

Timmins on Danny Kristo:

“[Kristo]’s a young player on that team and he’s on their fourth line, their first PK unit. I thought he handled himself very well that first game,” Timmins explained. “He hurt his knee blocking a shot in the next game and didn’t get to play too much in that one, but the coaches have told me that he’s going to play a lot [in Tuesday night’s game against Kazakhstan]. He’s a young guy and he’s filling a role — so far he’s done a great job.”

Pat Quinn on P.K. Subban:

“He didn’t play a lot last year, but he was around and saw what the others had to do to win a gold medal,” explained Pat Quinn, Team Canada’s head coach, who was in attendance at last night’s USA/Kazakhstan contest. “He’s really an energy person. He seems to be well-liked by his teammates and he plays with a lot of heart. He’s been a good addition to our team.

“You always want characters that have character and he seems to be that kind of young man. He’s got a good sense of humor and the guys, you know, they really seem to like him. I mean, you can go around but if you’ve got a bunch of sourpusses then it’s pretty hard to get through stuff. So he gives us some comic relief at times — he and John Tavares are like Frick and Frack, they seem to have a lot of fun together and [P.K.]’s been good that way.”

“I think he’s been in the right place at the right time, let’s say. We’ve got some good players here and plus/minus is a good statistic, clearly,” Quinn explained. “He’s been playing mostly with Cody Hodgson‘s line and that whole five-man unit has been pretty good. They’ve been not playing the other teams’ better lines — they’ve been mainly facing their second lines, so they have an advantage in that way. It seems to be paying off for us so far.”


Timmins on P.K.Subban:

“Well, everybody loves P.K. He’s had an outstanding tournament so far. He’s on the first PP unit and if you look at the power play so far he’s unbelievable,” Timmins said. “He’s tied for eighth in scoring [at the time of the interview]; he’s the top plus-minus player at plus-10. I just can’t say enough good things about P.K. Hopefully he keeps up this level of play and helps Canada progress through the tournament.

“It’s not just at this level, but in the OHL and with us in Montreal, his development and maturity [have increased] — he’s a year older. He’s developed a lot as a person, as a prospect, and as a hockey player. He’s learned a lot over the past year from his experience here, to what we teach him at development camps and training camps, and his playoff experience in Belleville. He’s a year more mature all around and it shows in his development both on and off the ice. You see it especially with his decision-making with the puck and his play without the puck. It’s really matured and he’s well on his way to becoming a good pro.”