Timmins question and answer sessions

[CrocRob]

Oh what a great day off.

Habsinsideout has audio of a some pretty lengthy question-and-answer session with Timmins. Notable topics include:

habsinsideout.com/main/8880

• Max Pacioretty and signing NCAA prospects in general.
  
• Player evaluation practices.
  
• Roster stuff.
  
• Valentenko likely to get some games this year.
  
• Why they aren't in the rookie tournament anymore.
  
• Keeping track of NCAA players.
  
• Latendresse
  
• Fortier maybe getting a shot at the WJC team
  

habsinsideout.com/main/8909

• Subban's style, maybe getting a better shot on the WJC team.
  
• Weber going pro
  
• Kristo's playing style & what he needs to work on
  
• Ben Maxwell's injuries
  
• More Fortier and the WJC
  
• Ryan White (compares his hockey sense to Maxwell, but has more grit)
  
• Calls Valentenko a "Good ol' country boy", talks about his style
  
• Defensive depth, says Yemelin said he'll come over next year
  
• David Desharnais will be in the AHL this season (not unexpected) and needs to work on his skating to overcome his size
  
• Trunev and his development, getting him over to NA. Trunev might play on the Russian WJC team. Apparently wants to play in NA, though.
  

It sounds like Montreal could have as many as 5 WJC players this season: McDonagh, Kristo, Subban, Fortier and Trunev.

[Habs_fan_in_LA]

Haven't heard much about Trevor Timmins these days. He must be trying to get his car started in some Minnesota High School parking lot.

[NWTHabsFan]

Timmins role seems to have changed under the new regime. He was always front and centre since the 2003 draft doing his detailed post mortem after the draft. Since the Goat's arrival, he has added Larry Carriere (with tons of scouting and player development experience in Washington and Buffalo) and Ryan Jankowski (ex-Assistant GM and director of player development with the Isles). TT did not have any face time with the media after the draft last summer.

Times, they are a changing.

[habsprospects]

IIRC, after the draft last summer, RDS said in one of their article that under Gauthier's new regime, Timmins was not allowed to talk to the media because too often he was too enthusiastic when he was talking about the prospects he had claimed.

[GNick99]

I get the opinion Timmins may have dropped the ball and drafted another Fischer or Kostitsyn last year. Maybe he is not improving? Charlie Coyle looks to be the big strong winger with skill we need while Tinordi is struggling with the Knights.

[seventeen]

Is he strugggling? Remember that he's gone from 30 odd games to twice as many and that he's a big boy who's probably still struggling with growth spurts and physical awkwardness. When the big boys' muscles catch up to their brain, they can be very dangerous.

[GNick99]

Wasn't overly impressed with games I seen him. Tinordi is no where near the scouting reports had him last summer. Expecting much more out of him this year. If he makes it will be as a bottom pairing physical defenseman.

[Boston_Habs]

Mar 18, 2011 6:14:27 GMT -5 GNick99 said:

Wasn't overly impressed with games I seen him. Tinordi is no where near the scouting reports had him last summer. Expecting much more out of him this year. If he makes it will be as a bottom pairing physical defenseman.

I haven't seen him play, but the development path for a kid like that, given his size, could be long.

Zdeno Chara is a good comp. Drafted in the 3rd round in 1996, Chara played a total of 64 games in the WHL in 1996-97 with 30 points. He then spent the better part of the next two seasons bouncing back and forth between the AHL to the Islanders before playing a full season on Long Island in 1999-00, where he had 11 points in 65 games. His best season in Ottawa was 2003-04 when he was 27 years old with 16 goals and 41 points.

Tinordi is going to take a while to adjust to playing at this level. It's hard for a guy his size. He may still be performing below expectations, but it's way too early to draw any firm conclusions.

[GNick99]

Mar 18, 2011 9:13:02 GMT -5 Boston_Habs said:

Mar 18, 2011 6:14:27 GMT -5 GNick99 said:

Wasn't overly impressed with games I seen him. Tinordi is no where near the scouting reports had him last summer. Expecting much more out of him this year. If he makes it will be as a bottom pairing physical defenseman.

I haven't seen him play, but the development path for a kid like that, given his size, could be long.

Zdeno Chara is a good comp. Drafted in the 3rd round in 1996, Chara played a total of 64 games in the WHL in 1996-97 with 30 points. He then spent the better part of the next two seasons bouncing back and forth between the AHL to the Islanders before playing a full season on Long Island in 1999-00, where he had 11 points in 65 games. His best season in Ottawa was 2003-04 when he was 27 years old with 16 goals and 41 points.

Tinordi is going to take a while to adjust to playing at this level. It's hard for a guy his size. He may still be performing below expectations, but it's way too early to draw any firm conclusions.

Tinordi not close to NHL level, if he makes it will be several years away. I think he has no hands at all, reminds me more of a Komisarek that Chara. Physical defensive defenseman like that are easy to find. In fact I am starting to lean against drafting defensemen in the first round. Just something I feel with 18 year olds and the time it takes to develop, easier to make more mistakes. Unless it is a pure puck mover or a clear choice best player available. Recently, we've been burnt so many times in the first round with defensemen. The way I see if forget history bound to keep making same mistakes.

That, plus many top NHL defensemen come from later rounds. You mention Chara as 3rd round pick, look at Markov (8th round)or Subban (2nd round), Wisniewski (5th round pick). We can keep our blueline replenished in the later rounds, which should lessen mistakes in first round and allow us more time to concentrate on other areas in first round.

[BadCompany]

Mar 18, 2011 10:25:15 GMT -5 GNick99 said:

Tinordi not close to NHL level, if he makes it will be several years away. I think he has no hands at all, reminds me more of a Komisarek that Chara. Physical defensive defenseman like that are easy to find. In fact I am starting to lean against drafting defensemen in the first round. Just something I feel with 18 year olds and the time it takes to develop, easier to make more mistakes. Unless it is a pure puck mover or a clear choice best player available. Recently, we've been burnt so many times in the first round with defensemen. The way I see if forget history bound to keep making same mistakes.

That, plus many top NHL defensemen come from later rounds. You mention Chara as 3rd round pick, look at Markov (8th round)or Subban (2nd round), Wisniewski (5th round pick). We can keep our blueline replenished in the later rounds, which should lessen mistakes in first round and allow us more time to concentrate on other areas in first round.

I would disagree with that. In fact, I am quite comfortable drafting defensemen in the first round, and might even recommend it as a general policy. Even if they don't make it on your team somebody else is always looking for a young blueliner and they are worth their weight in gold when it comes to a trade. People always want them.

I also don't think we've done a horrible job of drafting them. Of course there is David Fischer, which has clearly turned into a bust (and even then other NHL teams were willing to give him a tryout after we cut him, which speaks to the interest 1st round defensemen still garner), but the others?

2010: Tinordi. Still too early to tell. Another one of those guys that we pulled out of college to "help" them, but that is a whole other debate.

2007: McDonagh. Solid, 220lbs shut-down defenseman. I would love to have him back, was furious when we traded him away. Should be in the NHL for the next 10-15 years.

2006: Fischer. Bust.

2001: Komisarek. Rushed out of college which, in my opinion, seriously hurt his development. Plus he was dropped into a Hab system that was designed and coached by Rick Green, which further stunted his development, perhaps permanetly. But even at that, he's still in the NHL 10 years later, AND if you look at that 2001 1st round there really aren't too many players that I would rather have taken instead of Komisarek. Hamhuis yes, but if we're not drafting defenseman in the first round then he is off the table. Other than that, it's Hemsky as the only player who is clearly better than Komisarek. It was just that bad a draft.

2000: Hainsey. Also rushed out of college which probably set him back a little bit (again, in my opinion). Eventually developed into a solid top 4 defenseman who ten years later is still in the NHL. Also another draft that really didn't have anybody drafted after him that would be worth our while. Frolov maybe, but Boyes, Ott, or Williams? Nothing to really write home about.

So of the mere five defensemen we have drafted in the last 10 years, three are solid NHLers, one is a bust and one is too early to tell. Aside from Fischer/Giroux there really isn't any "better" players that we missed out on with our draft picks in my opinion.

[Boston_Habs]

Mar 18, 2011 11:55:19 GMT -5 BadCompany said:

2007: McDonagh. Solid, 220lbs shut-down defenseman. I would love to have him back, was furious when we traded him away. Should be in the NHL for the next 10-15 years.

Just brutal. I loved Bob Gainey as a player and he brought some much needed respect to the Habs front office, but I always thought he was a bit careless as a GM. Just a feeling, of course, but I don't think he was a very shrewd dealmaker (outside the Kovalev deal).

Sather wanted desperately to get out of the Gomez contract. He already had Chris Higgins in the deal. I can't believe we couldn't have gotten that deal done by replacing McDonagh with David Fischer or another low-level prospect/pick.

[GNick99]

Mar 18, 2011 11:55:19 GMT -5 BadCompany said:

Mar 18, 2011 10:25:15 GMT -5 GNick99 said:

Tinordi not close to NHL level, if he makes it will be several years away. I think he has no hands at all, reminds me more of a Komisarek that Chara. Physical defensive defenseman like that are easy to find. In fact I am starting to lean against drafting defensemen in the first round. Just something I feel with 18 year olds and the time it takes to develop, easier to make more mistakes. Unless it is a pure puck mover or a clear choice best player available. Recently, we've been burnt so many times in the first round with defensemen. The way I see if forget history bound to keep making same mistakes.

That, plus many top NHL defensemen come from later rounds. You mention Chara as 3rd round pick, look at Markov (8th round)or Subban (2nd round), Wisniewski (5th round pick). We can keep our blueline replenished in the later rounds, which should lessen mistakes in first round and allow us more time to concentrate on other areas in first round.

I would disagree with that. In fact, I am quite comfortable drafting defensemen in the first round, and might even recommend it as a general policy. Even if they don't make it on your team somebody else is always looking for a young blueliner and they are worth their weight in gold when it comes to a trade. People always want them.

I also don't think we've done a horrible job of drafting them. Of course there is David Fischer, which has clearly turned into a bust (and even then other NHL teams were willing to give him a tryout after we cut him, which speaks to the interest 1st round defensemen still garner), but the others?

2010: Tinordi. Still too early to tell. Another one of those guys that we pulled out of college to "help" them, but that is a whole other debate.

2007: McDonagh. Solid, 220lbs shut-down defenseman. I would love to have him back, was furious when we traded him away. Should be in the NHL for the next 10-15 years.

2006: Fischer. Bust.

2001: Komisarek. Rushed out of college which, in my opinion, seriously hurt his development. Plus he was dropped into a Hab system that was designed and coached by Rick Green, which further stunted his development, perhaps permanetly. But even at that, he's still in the NHL 10 years later, AND if you look at that 2001 1st round there really aren't too many players that I would rather have taken instead of Komisarek. Hamhuis yes, but if we're not drafting defenseman in the first round then he is off the table. Other than that, it's Hemsky as the only player who is clearly better than Komisarek. It was just that bad a draft.

2000: Hainsey. Also rushed out of college which probably set him back a little bit (again, in my opinion). Eventually developed into a solid top 4 defenseman who ten years later is still in the NHL. Also another draft that really didn't have anybody drafted after him that would be worth our while. Frolov maybe, but Boyes, Ott, or Williams? Nothing to really write home about.

So of the mere five defensemen we have drafted in the last 10 years, three are solid NHLers, one is a bust and one is too early to tell. Aside from Fischer/Giroux there really isn't any "better" players that we missed out on with our draft picks in my opinion.

We see it different. Hainsey is never much of an NHLer in my eyse, I do not wish him back with Habs at any level. Komisarek neither for that matter. Yes, there were many better players available, Hemsky over Komisarek, Coyle over Tinordi, Pacioretty or Eller over McDonagh be a few examples.

Majority of our defensemen are late round picks. Gorges was never drafted, an undrafted free agent. Markov 8th round, Wiz 5th round, Subban 2nd round pick, Gill 8th round. Because they take longer to develop the majority of top defensemen will come after the first round of draft. It seems harder to get a handle on them at 18.

[seventeen]

Ok, I'm not going to spend a lot of time on it, but Drew Doughty, Alex Pietrangelo, Zach Bogosian, Scott Niedermayer, and a whole bunch of other d-men drafted in the first round would tend dissuade the theory "not drafting a dman in the first round", if I understood that correctly.

One might be able to argue not drafting an NCAA defenseman in the first round, but I'm not sure even that is a successful point of view.