Hamilton Scouting Report 1

[Cranky]

First of all, I have to tell you guys that it was like I was a teen again. Here we were, three guys yapping and enjoying the game like my friends and I use to do twenty five years ago.. Every play was “he did this”, “oh man why did he do that”, “did you see that”. All in all it was a ball.

First and foremost I went there to watch Komi and Ward play, I did not know who their opponent was and I could not care less. I missed a lot of the action because I was following every move Komi or Ward made and how they were positioning themselves and how they reacted to plays. For the first period we sat immediately behind the Bulldogs bench and had a perfect view of their size, demeanor and reaction to their play. The second and third period we sat up further to see the entire ice. As you read this report, please remember two things. It is based on one game and it is through my eyes. Whatever I say does not mean it is a career assessment.

The game report:

Overall the game was very fast and a lot of these guys have major league speed. What I noticed though was there was very little positional discipline and if someone thinks that Claude Julien is some wiz with game strategy, well, it does not show it at all. Not a lot of hitting and only a couple of fights.

The player report.

Komi: First thing you notice is his size. He is the stocky and large but he definitely is not in the 240 to 250 range. He is more in the 220 range.

He is a very smooth skater and has very good lateral movement. His acceleration is good but not elite level. He never seemed to “explode” with a quick first step. Considering his size, I am not surprised. His shifting from forward to back skating is smooth and seamless. His backward skating is good.

At the start of the game he was on the third defensive pairing and it was about 4 minutes into the game before we saw him get on the ice. This caused me to wonder why but right off the bat you could see a lot of hesitancy in his play. Nothing spectacularly wrong but a lot of marginal positioning where he had to scramble to cover his man. He kept up with the flow and joined the rush but on more then one occasion he was covering the wrong man and the wrong side of the ice. A lot of head swiveling and you could see that he was making A-B decisions by the shifts in his body but that extra second left him 3 to 5 feet away from his man. He got “picked” a couple of times too. He did about six shifts in the first period and every time he came back to the bench you could see he was looking down and cursing himself. He certainly knows how to use the “F” word to describe his play. Not a good period especially with Savard up in the press boxes. But, and this is a big but, he was mad at himself for his play and he knew the difference. Good sign.

By the second period he started to play better and he came out on the first pk and pp unit. In fact, he let a wicked, low wrist shot go on the pp that was converted into a goal. Nothing wrong with that cannon. In fact, it is a better weapon to use then winding up because the opponent can not read your intent. He was double shifted on the power play but what baffled me though is why Julien puts him on the left side when he played with some Oiler player and the right side the next shift. How the heck is that going to help him? He was much better on the second and third period. More confident and better positioning. He did play on the first pp and pk units ahead of Semenov who, for all intents and purposes is better then him as a defenseman.

His physical play was (deep sigh) more of pushing and using his strength to topple guys over. Time and time again he would back up along the boards, stop and then straight arm them with his right and topple them over. Nothing vicious and painful but very, very effective along the boards. What surprised me was his ability to do it even on the biggest guys. I think he has that down to a science but I don’t know how well that will translate to the NHL. His tying up of guys in front of the net was, well, not great. He certainly has the strength to do it and he did it a couple of times but more often then not, he just leaned on the guy and pushed him away but did not really take him out of action. As far as punishing people in front of the net. Nothing. Not on this night. He threw one small open ice check and a nasty one along the boards during the overtime. I think he heard me yelling “hit him Mike, hit him” at the top of my lungs and BANG! Instant PAIN. Made me happy (and dazed the other guy). Thanks Komi.

[Cranky]

Now we go into an area of major concern. He was consistently beaten to the outside. Not to the extent that the guy went around him but to the extent that a Zednik could turn him or a Bury would burn him. I am really not sure why although I have two theories. One, he is use to a slower pace of collage hockey and not to high speed game. The guys on both sides have real NHL speed and I think that he has not adjusted yet to players going to the outside at 25 to 30 miles an hour. Secondly, he is not reading the play fast enough and traveling in the same direction as the play. At 25 mph, the guys are traveling 18 feet in half a second. An instant of hesitation and the guy is on your side, traveling at full speed. The other reason can be is that when I watched him in collage games, he was always playing deep as a defensive defenseman. He also played more towards the center of the ice where as in the AHL he has to play more positional hockey. Maybe that is still confusing him. In fact, a couple of times I saw him cut off a player and follow him laterally on the ice and instead of handing off the man to his partner, he followed him around and took himself completely out of position. OUCH. I am not 100% sure but if he was taught to play man to man hockey in collage then this would explain a lot. Bottom line, major problem right now. Forget Christmas, the kid needs the year in the AHL. By the way, anyone who still wants to argue that there is not a big difference between AHL hockey and collage hockey should have his heads wrapped in a cold, wet towel.

Ward: Choppy skating. Gets from point A to B but not major league. Actually, his skating looks silly compared to Balej or Plecanek. He goes to the net and takes the punishment but his hands have a fine coating of cement. In one play he was right in front of a fallen goalie, lots of time and he shoveled the puck right INTO his pads. A small, silly little flip and he had a goal. OUCH. On this night, I did not see any rough or mean stuff from him, great effort but nothing that tells me that he is the next “corner” guy or the next Lindsay. You think that he would try to show the boss up there in the rafters that he wants to play in the bigs with fire and desire but, sad to say, nothing special. A typical Canadian style game with good effort and hustle for an AHLer but no serious NHL tools. (sigh)

Gratton: Fiesty. Good skater. Involved. One of the better players on the ice. Small.

Balej: One dimension, head down speedster that keeps trying to outrun the defenseman in FRONT of him. Somebody has to steal his blinders. Good shot. Did I mention one dimension? Needs to learn the two way game because, right now, I don't know if he is even aware there is another 90 feet behind the center line.

Placenak: Small frame. Smooth skater. Involved. Small frame. Does not appear out of place and did nothing special. Did I mention Ribs size frame?

Boullion: Short and stocky. Smart positionaly and reads plays very well. Small. Very, very good skater. Small. Someone has to give him some type of award for overachieving considering his size. I can see why Therrien likes him. He knows how to stay ahead of the play and take his man out.

Hossa: Very good skater and he has good size but did not stand out in anything. A little shoving and that’s it.

The guys that impressed me the most are on the wrong team. Stoll is a heck of a player in the Gilmour mold and Semenov is a monster. He takes his man out at will and punishes guys like they are bad little rag dolls. He is slower then Komi but he was not caught out of position and no one beat him to the outside. I think he will be a great defensive defenseman but his offensive skills are close to none.

Pheww, my keyboard is getting tired. That’s it for my OPINION of our players for THIS game.

You know, in all honesty, when you post over the net you never know if the other guys are okay or refuges from an insane asylum. So when we made the arrangements I was a little skeptical but it was way better then I had hoped and I have to tell you, Bob and Viper were great company. I can’t speak for them but I had a really great time. I hope we are going to do this every few weeks and I really hope more guys would join us.

[Viper]

Well i'll start with the end result which was slightly predictable as a 2 all tie. Komi and Hossa picked up assist's the Komisarek assist was on the PP and a nice play with a quick wrister just obove the ice that provided the nice juicey rebound goal.

Scouting well Komisarek may not be the Christmas present i've been hoping for. Of course one game is not really alot to judge by but positionally and defensively he was a couple second's behind on most play's his hitting is as has been mentioned not really monstrous but more push and shove. he got beat cleanly to the outside a few times and was caught out of position a couple other's. He may need the full season just to adapt to the style of play. he has good skating ability and a keener knack for the offense than i suspected. he was used on the PK and double shifted on the powerplay where he was used as both a right and left D on back to back shift's. This surely can't help him learn sound positional play bouncing around but it's nice to see Julien having the confidence to use him.

Plekanec holy crap is that guy small has great speed and good anticipation. reads the play very well with his size and smooth stride plus his instinct's he'll be a better skating ribiero in the future. Of course the little guy that he is may mean the future is soon

Balej has some wheel's and great puck control but i'm surprised he wasn't welcomed by a cement truck or two tonight, he seems to be lacking in the head's up hockey skills when he get's the wheel's rolling. That better change before he comes up to the bigs because it'll be the old deer in the headlight's look followed by the little cuckoo birds when guys like steven's see him coming. Another smallish type forward though in the habs mold.

Bouillon looked very solid It's a shame that talent and heart is in such a little body. he's got nice hands and a smooth stride also isn't afraid to take the body. would definately make a better 7th d-man than Travesty.

Hossa, I got the impression he's bored, it's time to give him a shot in the bigs for real i know there's no room right now but the guy has the size and skills to be here he just needs to be given the confidence of the organization IMO. I feel the way i did a couple year's back about theo regarding this guy. The talent and ability is there and the learning at the minor league level is done he just needs to be told "your the man do the job".

Ward, big guy showed some hard work and hustle but his poor skaing and not so soft hands make him a Chad Kilger type third line grinder if he can find a mean streak he'd be a nice addition if he works on his foot speed.

Beauchemin quietly went about his business tonight wasn't overly noticable but got the job done back there on the blueline in his limited ice time. He wasn't very impressive but i wasn't really paying much attention other than to notice he was out there every now and again.

If i never mentioned anyone HA and Bob will i hope and if they don't don't ask it's simple math 3 people who have nothing to say means there's nothing worthwhile sayin.

Also AS was in attendance sitting above us in the press area he reviewed several bit's of paperwork during whistle's shaking his head and muttering some nonsense about "hollow man what are they trying to say hollow man" the puzzled look on his face said it all. another muttering had to do with finding the Habsrus guy's that were in attendance fortunately for us he didn't find us HA may have unloaded a sunday rant and we could have been thrown out of the place.

My sentiment's regarding the game itself and the company of Bob And HA well i must admit i was pleasantly surprised. Obviously meeting people that you spend time talking to on a message forum (habs or otherwise) can be a bit of a worrisome event but it turned out to be a great night. It was just as though we we're old friend's getting together after being away for a little while. Anyone else that was thinking about going make sure you go next time. It was a great time all around.
cheer's

Viper

aka that Micheal guy.

[Cranky]

Well, we were all worried that my good buddy Andre would come over and b*tch slap that guy who wrote the Hollow Man article. I was ready to blame it on that BC guy but thankfully nothing happened. Mind you, with all the brilliant analysis we do in this forum, I am surprised he didn't come over for some advice.

Silly pride, I guess.

[seventeen]

Thanks HA, for the detailed report. Good of you to stay up to 1:30 to please us Western boys. Read a recap on Habfans from a guy who had seen the game and it's no where near as complete as yours. He thought Ward was great, and should be up in the show. Must be his favourite guy. Enlightening, huh?, seeing our prospects live, with all their warts.

[clear observer]

Thx HA and Viper.

A GREAT report and much appreciated!

I only wish I could have been there.

CO

[MPLABBE]

Thanks guys.

One thing you forgot about Komi...the Hamilton radio guys said he loves to join the rush with his speed...did you see any of this?

BTW I think this Semenov's 2nd or 3rd year in the AHL so no wonder he looked much better than Komisarek.

How about Fichaud? if we have 3 injuries again can we count on him?

[MPLABBE]

Here is what the guy at Hanfans had to say:

Subject: Went to the Hamilton Bulldogs game.



Name: STOKA
Views: 111

A 2-2 draw with Rochester (Buffalo's affiliate). Not matter what level. Politics exist in every sport. I do have my suspicions that JASON WARD is one of those effected by something other than his performance. What I'm going to say almost sounds like a broken record (or CD). Every time I've watched him play. Which includes last night. Ward hustles, hits and is noticeable in the offensice zone. Nowhere near star status. But, he's effective. Effective enough that he should be on Montreal's fourth line. Or, at least a spare player in the press box. How much better is Bill Lindsay than Ward? Can't be that much of a difference. Ward deserve another chance in my books.

MIKE KOMISAREK looks very poised out there. He nailed Rochester's Jason Botterill (6-4 220) with a stiff hit. He pinches in once in awhile. Not flashy. Doesn't panic. Just does it with good puck control and hockey sense. He had an assist. JOZEF BALEJ and TOMAS PLEKANEC are fast. Real fast. Both are very creative and play on the same line. They're fun to watch. MARCEL HOSSA looked rather ordinary. He strikes me as the type of player who will get his points without much attention. Hossa worked hard along the boards and made a nice pass which resulted in a goal. BENOIT GRATTON isn't a prospect. Although, he's a useful player for Hamilton on the power play and penalty killing situations. FRANCOIS BEAUCHEMIN played a quiet and rugged game on defense. Because of FRANCIS BOUILLON'S age (27) and NHL experience, he looks more confident than the rest of the players. His speed is very apparent at the AHL level.

Rochester has a former second round pick of the Habs, Rory Fitzpatrick (drafted in 1993). Not to mention the ageless wonder, Doug Houda (36).

[BadCompany]

Thanks for the report guys.

One thing I've noticed about Komisarek, and from what I am reading here seems to back it up, is that he is much, much more fragile mentally than I ever suspected. He seems to really lack confidence in his abilities - even in his first game with Montreal he admitted to being in awe, and slightly intimidated. He seems to have that same attitude so far this year in Hamilton - a little unsure of himself. Maybe the fact that he hasn't been playing hockey for all that long, and that he has never really dominated any league, could be a factor. Even his final year of collage, he only really dominated (and that's debatable) over the final 10-12 games. He had a rather slow start to the season.

What you guys have said about him tends to jibe with everything I have seen from him. He needs time. One thing I can add though, is as a defenseman who had a seriously bad habit of being beaten to the outside (that was the only reason I never made the show, really it was, honest, no foolin'), the main cause of this is slow feet. You will often here announcers or coaches say things like "he has to keep moving his feet" and this is a prime example of what can happen when you don't. As a forward bears down on a defenseman, who is skating backwards, the defenseman may get mesmerized by the forward, by his hands, his stickhandling, his head fakes, his eyes (defensemen will sometimes watch a player's eyes to see where he is going - its wrong by the way, don't do it). Since they are concentrating so hard on watching everything the forward does, trying to avoid the deke, they forget to keep their feet moving, to keep accelerating backwards, or at least maintaining their momentum. As HA pointed, even a fraction of a second is enough for professional hockey players to exploit. You don't keep your feet moving, you slow down from maybe 28 MPH, to 25 MPH, and BAM! The forward is around you.

Happened to me all the time. Maybe something to watch for with Komisarek - does he stop moving his feet as a forward approaches him?

Semenov, by the way, is a stud.

[Maritimer]

I'd have to agree with what HA is saying about Komi. I seen him play last weekend but was out of town for the week and didn't get to post.

The biggest weakness going for him is the mental aspect. He flubbed a few D to D passes on the breakout, missed a few chances to keep the puck in on the point on the pp...little stuff like that. OH and he got burned to the outside for the OT winner by Matt Lombardi. Do we see a theme here? Its probably good that they are rolling 3 d pairings in Hamilton. Semenov is a stud allright...and that Bergeron kid looks real poised.

[Cranky]

That's were I had difficulty determinig if it was his forward to backward transition speed, his ability to skate backwards at higher speeds or bad reads. It appeared to be his bad reads because it was more consistent with his overall game. Don't forget that in the bigs, fractions of seconds count.

It bothered me a lot to see that they were skating wide and he stayed more towards the middle, only to have to desperately try to stop them from turning him. No one actually did turn him but came close a few times. If you bring him up to the bigs, Zednik and Bure type players will have a field day with him. The kid has to learn that no one should get around him, maybe their helmets but not their bodies.

He had many chances to crush and hurt people without going out of position and yet he chose not too. Not in the open ice but along the boards, during broken play and yet nothing. Well at least not on this night.

As for you Mister BC, I heard that the only reason you didn't make the bigs is because you read War and Peace while playing defence. Let's face it, you are way to smart to be a hockey player. Didn't I tell you weren't "grunt" enough? As for getting beaten to the outside, did you ever consider attaching a parking lot stop sign on your butt? As soon as they made a move to the outside you could bring down the barrier. You see, I coulda helped you.

[MPLABBE]

BadCompany said:

Semenov, by the way, is a stud.

then why isn't he in Edmonton? can't be any worse than Scott Ferguson...

[Cranky]

MPLABBE said:

then why isn't he in Edmonton? can't be any worse than Scott Ferguson...

Offense. "Duh, what am I doing here?" kind of offensive thinking.

[MPLABBE]

HabsAddict said:

Offense. "Duh, what am I doing here?" kind of offensive thinking.

the Oil have offence from the back end(Brewer and Niinimaa). They could live with Semenov and his 5 points per year

[montreal]

Maritimer said:

I'd have to agree with what HA is saying about Komi. I seen him play last weekend but was out of town for the week and didn't get to post.

The biggest weakness going for him is the mental aspect. He flubbed a few D to D passes on the breakout, missed a few chances to keep the puck in on the point on the pp...little stuff like that. OH and he got burned to the outside for the OT winner by Matt Lombardi. Do we see a theme here? Its probably good that they are rolling 3 d pairings in Hamilton. Semenov is a stud allright...and that Bergeron kid looks real poised.

Hey everybody this is my first post, and this thread is how I found this site, so I thought I would drop by and add my comments. I've listened to most of the Bulldogs games on the radio, no offence Maritimer, but their announcers said the other day that Semenov and Bergeron have been their worst defencemen so far. (Allen they said has beeb the best, their words not mine) They said the Semenov has gone down hill from last year, but it could be due to him not making the Oilers this year. Bergeron, from the games, I have listened to doesn't seem able to hit the net much. I think Bouillon should do real well in Hamilton, and if he stays paired with Komi should help him out a lot with his experience.

As for Komisarek, I really like the offence he has shown so far. I know he doesn' t have any goals, but he gets a lot of shots, and sounds like he gets them off quick. I haven't heard him really crush someone yet, which worries me a little, but I think he's just having a hard time adjusting from being a man among boys to being a man among men that are faster and stronger and bigger then he's been playing against for the last few years (if not longer). I got a tape of him playing for UM and he was so much bigger then everyone else, it was funny to see players sort of avoid his corner.

Well thats all for now, I usually post at hockeysfuture.com under the same name. Drop by anytime.

[Cranky]

montreal said:

Hey everybody this is my first post, and this thread is how I found this site, so I thought I would drop by and add my comments. I've listened to most of the Bulldogs games on the radio, no offence Maritimer, but their announcers said the other day that Semenov and Bergeron have been their worst defencemen so far. (Allen they said has beeb the best, their words not mine) They said the Semenov has gone down hill from last year, but it could be due to him not making the Oilers this year. Bergeron, from the games, I have listened to doesn't seem able to hit the net much. I think Bouillon should do real well in Hamilton, and if he stays paired with Komi should help him out a lot with his experience.

As for Komisarek, I really like the offence he has shown so far. I know he doesn' t have any goals, but he gets a lot of shots, and sounds like he gets them off quick. I haven't heard him really crush someone yet, which worries me a little, but I think he's just having a hard time adjusting from being a man among boys to being a man among men that are faster and stronger and bigger then he's been playing against for the last few years (if not longer). I got a tape of him playing for UM and he was so much bigger then everyone else, it was funny to see players sort of avoid his corner.

Well thats all for now, I usually post at hockeysfuture.com under the same name. Drop by anytime.

Hi Montreal, welcome to HabsRus.

Viper said that he was going on a hunting expediton and wanted to catch some great posters and bring them over here. I hope he didn't break your leg in a bear trap or something. The kid is persistent.

Most of us are refugees from HF. I use to post there last year but got tired of people telling me that I was "stupid" and "moronic" for writing my opinion. It gets kind of tiring after a while to constantly wipe oneself from all the “spiting”.

*shrug*

Komi is not that much larger then players like Hossa and Ward. But he does stand out against the small skilled players that Savard is collecting. There is no question that the kid is strong. None. It’s just that I think that his confidence is a bit shaky because of the new environment and the higher level of competition. I am not worried even though I was getting ugly little recollections of Wilkie (in size and reads). Don’t worry, I slapped myself real hard and the thoughts went away. The kids skating is glass smooth and only Boullion was a his equal (for defenseman). He just needs to learn and grow to the next level.

I am in the mist of planning several more trips to Hamilton and I will post my thoughts after every trip.

Montreal, I am glad you found your way to our house and I hope you stay. Oh, by the way, I hope you like reading LONG and DETAIL posts because we kinda silly that way around here. Actually, we have been condemned as a environmental disaster area from all the trees we have cut down to make cyber paper for our posts.

HA

[montreal]

HabsAddict said:

Hi Montreal, welcome to HabsRus.

Viper said that he was going on a hunting expediton and wanted to catch some great posters and bring them over here. I hope he didn't break your leg in a bear trap or something. The kid is persistent.

Most of us are refugees from HF. I use to post there last year but got tired of people telling me that I was "stupid" and "moronic" for writing my opinion. It gets kind of tiring after a while to constantly wipe oneself from all the “spiting”.

*srug*

Komi is not that much larger then players like Hossa and Ward. But he does stand out against the small skilled players that Savard is collecting. There is no question that the kid is strong. None. It’s just that I think that his confidence is a bit shaky because of the new environment and the higher level of competition. I am not worried even though I was getting ugly little recollections of Wilkie (in size and reads). Don’t worry, I slapped myself real hard and the thoughts went away. The kids skating is glass smooth and the only Boullion was a his equal (for defenseman). He just needs to learn and grow to the next level.

I am in the mist of planning several more trips to Hamilton and I will post my thoughts after every trip.

Montreal, I am glad you found your way to our house and I hope you stay. Oh, by the way, I hope you like reading LONG and DETAIL posts because we kinda silly that way around here. Actually, we have been condemned as a cyber environmental disaster area from all the trees we have cut down to make cyber paper for our posts.

HA

Yea I know what you mean about HF. I've been there since before they changed the format, but it wasn't until this year that I started posting all the time. Thanks for the welcome, and I don't mind long post at all. I have been know to write up so very long threads, as I have a lot in my head, but can't always get it all out the way I want. I got a long one over at HF right now on our defencemen. Its a small book, and I wrote many even longer. Its all good. Anyway, Go Habs, lets beat them blues tonight.

[MPLABBE]

Actually Hainsey kind of reminds me(BC as well) of Wilkie

Both were first round picks, both are offensive d-man...let's just hope the comparaisons stop there!

welcome aboard Montreal! I was posting at HF this time last year and then in January that board became a nuthouse with everyone insulting each other and I came here. This place is great. Get used to the long posts though ;D

[montreal]

MPLABBE said:

Actually Hainsey kind of reminds me(BC as well) of Wilkie

Both were first round picks, both are offensive d-man...let's just hope the comparaisons stop there!

welcome aboard Montreal! I was posting at HF this time last year and then in January that board became a nuthouse with everyone insulting each other and I came here. This place is great. Get used to the long posts though ;D

Wilkie, oh no Now I'm going to have nightmares. I tried real hard to forget those days. I think Hainsey will get better, but right now, he's not playing with a lot of confidence. If not for Rivet's injury, I wonder if they would send him down. Traverse as hard as it is to say, is playing ok. Well I could go on, but its close to game time.

And HF is still a nuthouse. ;D

[MPLABBE]

remember the future BIG 3...Wilkie, Fitzpatrick and Rivet. Rivet was supposed to be the worst of the bunch

Actually those weren't real bad days...1995-96, 1996-97...the demolition hadn't really started yet and we had alot of young talent that gave us hope(especially Koivu and his 1.2 point per game pace in early 96)

[Viper]

HEY Montreal welcome aboard glad to see you got my invite.

I read your post on our blueliner's over at HF very well done but just between us i'll tell ya that kind of post will garner a great deal more respect on this board than that one.

Cheer's nice to see ya over here

(also sorry about the trap on your leg hopefully it didn't need to many stitches )

Viper.

[JohnnyVerdun]

Thanks to Dict and Vipe for the excellent thread and good to see "Montreal" among the carefully washed minority here at US....

I must have missed this thread because it's at the top of the board where all the public service announcements and codes of conduct are easily ignored once you get in the habit.

Anyway, briefly, on Balej: What I noticed during the pre-season was how adept he was at handling the puck in traffic and how good he was at finding space from which to unleash the one-timer.

On Komisarek: HabsAddict's report sounds right on the money and matches up exactly with what I saw back in September and early October. The boy needs time. I was a bit dissapointed to see that he looked to be about 225 or so rather than the hoped-for 240, but he'll have time to add the weight over the next year or so. I think he should improve hugely over the next year. It's easy to overlook, but the difference in practicing alone at the AHL level will be a learning experience. At least he's doing drills against players who are (at least some of them) really good prospects who are expected to make it to the next level. He'll see more of those guys in a half a week of AHL play than he would in a month in the NCAA. This is going to be a very good year for him.

Again, outstanding reportage, analysis and syntax, for which we are all indebted....

JV

[PTH]

montreal said:

Yea I know what you mean about HF. I've been there since before they changed the format, but it wasn't until this year that I started posting all the time. Thanks for the welcome, and I don't mind long post at all. I have been know to write up so very long threads, as I have a lot in my head, but can't always get it all out the way I want. I got a long one over at HF right now on our defencemen. Its a small book, and I wrote many even longer. Its all good. Anyway, Go Habs, lets beat them blues tonight.

Hey there, welcome aboard. I'm another HF refugee, though I've totally given up on that site since. It reminds me too much of student associations at school - tons of kids who want everything to be super cool, but aren't willing to put in the time and effort to make things super cool. And no one is mature enough to have anything close to a realistic view of things.

If you like long threads, you'll be very happy here. The trend for most of the good posters is to post relatively few posts that have some length, that way we avoid most useless babble and really get to talking about the nuts and bolts. No Chouinard, Garon and a 3d for Lecavalier around here ;-)

Welcome aboard and stick around !

[Cranky]

JohnnyVerdun said:

Anyway, briefly, on Balej: What I noticed during the pre-season was how adept he was at handling the puck in traffic and how good he was at finding space from which to unleash the one-timer.

I was not paying a lot of attention on Balej but from what I saw of him, I am not happy. He kept trying to beat his man one on one with speed only, like a mini Berezin. Concentrated on offence almost to the total exclusion of his defensive responsibilities. When he had a chance to draw the defender away and make some half assed attempt to make a play he did not even bother lifting his head. Him and Rita went to the same school of hockey vision, Horse Blinders High.

Can the kid skate? Sheesh. Great acceleration. Small radius turns. Quick. Not elite but damn good. BUT, I am not sure what it is going to take to teach him that there is 205 feet of ice surface to deal with and that he has 4 more guys on his side.

I am going down there next week and Hossa, Balej and Planks get my undevided, beady eyed attention. Unless of course I have that mutt Ribiero to look at. I better not see Hainsey there cause I'm gonna haf'ta break Q-balls fingers with MTheads face.

Can you imagine if Therrien ever gets demoted and he and I are only one glass pane away? Good God, evening news material fer' sure.

[montreal]

PTH said:

Hey there, welcome aboard. I'm another HF refugee, though I've totally given up on that site since. It reminds me too much of student associations at school - tons of kids who want everything to be super cool, but aren't willing to put in the time and effort to make things super cool. And no one is mature enough to have anything close to a realistic view of things.

If you like long threads, you'll be very happy here. The trend for most of the good posters is to post relatively few posts that have some length, that way we avoid most useless babble and really get to talking about the nuts and bolts. No Chouinard, Garon and a 3d for Lecavalier around here ;-)

Welcome aboard and stick around !

Well thanks for the welcome, I like this site already. I do post a lot, but its all nuts and bolts usually, and I just call it how I see it, no sugar coating. How is the prospects board, cause that's one of my favorite topics. I try and follow all of our prospects, and love to hear anyones opinions on any of our prospects. Well I be around here just posting away most likely.


Had to mellow out some after that game tonight, YUCK ! Damn it was ugly, but if not for that damn soft Rosey goal, with Markov taking a ride on the slip and slid. Well I'm sure you all saw it, so I don't want to relive it right now. Later.

[MPLABBE]

HabsAddict said:

I am going down there next week and Hossa, Balej and Planks get my undevided, beady eyed attention. Unless of course I have that mutt Ribiero to look at. I better not see Hainsey there cause I'm gonna haf'ta break Q-balls fingers with MTheads face.

.

I was thinking of this...doesn't Hamilton have about 8 d-man already?

Komi
Semenov
Bouillon
Allen
Beauchemin
Bergeron

Couple of others? it could be tough for AS to send Hainsey down when Q-ball comes back because we may have already used our spots on their defence

[MPLABBE]

on Semenov, the radio guys for Hamilton just said they are trying everything to get him confidence and get him going.

Montreal was bang on on that one...

[PTH]

montreal said:

Well thanks for the welcome, I like this site already. I do post a lot, but its all nuts and bolts usually, and I just call it how I see it, no sugar coating. How is the prospects board, cause that's one of my favorite topics. .

Well, we have the odd update and stuff, but other than some Hamiltongames all we get news about are stats, along with Marc's usual flood of posts, though they don't really give much new info about anything.

The prospect articles I still read on HF, but that's it.

[Cranky]

PTH said:

Well, we have the odd update and stuff, but other than some Hamiltongames all we get news about are stats, along with Marc's usual flood of posts, though they don't really give much new info about anything.

The prospect articles I still read on HF, but that's it.

We are working with knowledgeable Russian fans to change that.

Yes indeed, we are stretching all over the world.

If only I can get news about the world renown Kabul Klingon Komets from my cave sources.......

BTW, Hamilton will be covered by that world renown scout and hell of a ladies man.............the one and only.......

[montreal]

PTH said:

Well, we have the odd update and stuff, but other than some Hamiltongames all we get news about are stats, along with Marc's usual flood of posts, though they don't really give much new info about anything.

The prospect articles I still read on HF, but that's it.

A poster at HF is going to an Ice dogs game this weekend, and he said he would do a report on Linhart, so if he does, I'll let everyone know. I have spoken with some posters that have seen Tarasov, Korneev, Perezhogin, Eneqvist, Anger, Staal, Puurula, from their respectitive countries, but it's only one or two's opinions of that player, and nothing professional. I've heard really good about Puurula, Buturlin, Perezhogin, and to a lesser extent Eneqvist, but not so good on Korneev, Anger, Tarasov and Buturlin. But like I said its all opinion.