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Post by Willie Dog on Jul 5, 2010 6:56:13 GMT -5
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Post by Polarice on Jul 5, 2010 7:59:45 GMT -5
Some nice looking talent making their way up to the bigs!!
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Post by Patty Roy on Jul 5, 2010 11:37:10 GMT -5
Wonder why Pacioretty isn't there?
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Post by Willie Dog on Jul 5, 2010 11:52:53 GMT -5
Wonder why Pacioretty isn't there? Is it age based? Up to 20 year old only
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jul 6, 2010 16:10:07 GMT -5
Wonder why Pacioretty isn't there? Is it age based? Up to 20 year old only Actually it is a mixed bag of the five new draft picks, some more experienced signed guys (including the likes of Subban and Eller who should be full time NHLers from here on in), and a few try-out throw-ins. A number of the NCAA prospects were there last month at the first camp, so they will not attend again (NCAA eligibility rules kick in and are somewhat restrictive on this). No word on why Pacioretty is not at camp, but it may be recovery time for an injury as he returned to play just before the Dogs lost out in the playoffs (I think he had 3 or 4 games back only). He may be getting extra recovery time. NCAA prospect Dustin Walsh is also missing both camps due to off season surgery and recovery time. I am not sure I like the idea of two camps, especially when they essentially mix the prospect pool in two. One big camp where all the kids can get to know each other makes some sense to me. They do all want to be teammates of each other at one point.
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Post by Willie Dog on Jul 6, 2010 20:08:09 GMT -5
Found some comments on the camp today.
Will post in french and then provide google translate.
Bon tout d’abord j’etais present aujourd’hui au complexe sportif BELL et WOW on a une tres bonne brochette de jeunes joueurs a venir!
LARS ELLER: Jai regardé ce jeune pratiquer et quel bonne affaire nous avons fait avec les Blues. Oui Halak nous a sauver mais 4ans/15millions nous n’avions pas les moyens. Et le jeune Eller est bien battit,grand Et Rapide. Il possede aussi un tres bon lancer frapper style Mike Cammalleri. J’espere qu’il jouera a Montreal d’ici peu d’année car il m’a grandement impressionné.
IAN SCHULTZ: J’ecoutais les gens parlé de lui et c’etait tres varié mais dans mon cas je trouve ce joueur assez bon. Je suis joueur de hockey moi meme et je suis son style. C’est un genre de Milan Lucic et c’est pour sa qu’il est important,c’est des joueurs comme cela que beaucoup d’équipe recherche. Ok il N’est peut etre pas pres a faire le saut tout de suite malgré c’est 21 ans mais il est gros,grand et il a de tres bonne main. Et il c’est se battre et c’est un gars qui ne jouera pas pour l’argent mais bien pour son equipe car il a du coeur au ventre. C’est un leader il etais capitaine de son equipe cette année et ces coéquipîers disait qu’il savait comment controller c’Est emotions malgré qu’il se bat et qu’il avait un tres bon leadership. A boston tout le monde aime Lucic et ce ne sera jamais un marqueur de 50 buts comme Schultz lui aussi ne sera jamais marqueur de 50 buts mais donné lui un peu de temps et si on le garde a long terme ce sera un tres bonne atout pour le CH
JARRED TINORDI: Son pere la dit quand il a été repecher et il vraiment un tres beau coup de patin malgrer sa grandeur il m’a grandement surpris,je pensais qu’il aurait pogner dans le vent mais non il patine comme un joueur de grandeur normal de tres bon lancer et tres bon deffenssivement. Il pourrait en surprendre plus d’un quand le vrai camp commencera. Ce ne sera pas un gros defenseur offensif comme tout le monde souhaite avoir mais il va compenser a la defense en desavantage numerique par exemple. J’ai aimé aussi son serieux car sur la glace beaucoup de joueur niaisais mais lui restait calme et prenais en bon ce que les coachs lui disait.
Petit fait interressant:Ce Alexander Avtsin est vraiment impressionnant il dribble tres bien avec la puck, il est WOW!"
Well firstly I was present today at the sports complex BELL and WOW it was a very good bunch of young players has come!
LARS ELLER: Jai watched this young practice good business and what we did with the Blues. Yes Halak save us but we did not 4ans/15millions means. And the young Eller is defeated, big And Fast. He also possesses a very good start hitting style Mike Cammalleri. I hope he will play in Montreal in the near future year because it greatly impressed me.
IAN SCHULTZ: I listen to people about him and it was very varied but in my case I find a player good enough. I'm a hockey player myself and I'm even style. It is a kind of Milan Lucic and for her it is important that players like it that much research team. Ok it might not be close to making the jump straight despite 21 years but it is big, big, and it has very good hands. And there is fight and is a guy who will not play for money but for his team because he has guts. It is a leader he struts his team captain this year and those teammates said he knew how It Is controller emotions even though he fought and had a very good leadership. A Boston Lucic everyone likes and it will never be a 50-goal scorer as Schultz also will never be 50-goal scorer, but gave him a little time and if they keep him long term this will be a very good asset for CH
Jarred Tinordi: Her father said when he was drafted and really a very nice skating despite his greatness he greatly surprised me, I thought it would Pogner in the wind but not a player as he skates size normal very good start and very good deffenssivement. It might surprise a few when the real camp starts. This is not a big defender offensive as everyone wants to have, but it will offset a numerical disadvantage in the defense by example. I also liked his seriousness on the ice because many players silly but he remained calm and took in what good coaches told him.
Breakfast is interresting: This is really impressive Alexander Avtsin he dribbles very well with the puck, it is WOW! "
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Post by Willie Dog on Jul 6, 2010 20:14:31 GMT -5
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Post by seventeen on Jul 7, 2010 1:28:02 GMT -5
Eller's english is very solid. Being Scandinavian he probably speaks several languages. It wouldn't surprise me if he's fluent in French either. Nice skating fluidity.
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Post by IamCanadiens on Jul 8, 2010 17:47:37 GMT -5
Being Scandinavian he probably speaks several languages. It wouldn't surprise me if he's fluent in French either. He can't be worse than google slap shot = start hitting? Heh, heh
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Post by Willie Dog on Jul 9, 2010 9:57:49 GMT -5
I was at the dev camp on wednesday and below are my thoughts: Morning session was skating drills and afternoon was individual tatics and skills. It was at the Brossard facility, which is a very nice complex (way to go GG for building it). It has 2 ice pads and a soccer field inside as well as a mini food court. It also has a Habs store where you can buy a Halak t-shirt (50% off), a Pleky turtleneck and other assorted items. Unfortunately of the 4 guys I wanted to see out there (PK, Avtsin, Eller and Tinordi) only Eller and Tinordi were on the ice practicing. PK was no where to be seen and Avtsin participated in the skating session in the morning but stood around in the tactics and skills in the afternoon. It would have been nice to see him in the 2 on 2 and 3 on 2 drills. No one really stood out as being above and beyond. Everyone with the exception of Maxwell seemed to struggle with the skating drills. I will provide a breakdown of what I thought of the players: Forwards:Avtsin, Alexander: only saw him skate so no comment on skill level Brisebois, Francois: Meh (tryout) Brunelle, Jonathan: Meh (tryout) Conboy, Andrew: was OK, used his size in the afternoon drills, makes contact even in practice, only forward that was aggressive in the drills. Eller, Lars: Big kid, can handle the puck, in the 2 on 2 drills was always with Ian Schultz and in the 3 on 3 it was always Eller, Schultz and Palushaj Enqvist, Andreas: Another big kid but did not use his size to his advantage in practice, needs to come over and play with Dogs imo. Gallagher, Brendan: Smallest guy out there, but works hard Macmillan, Mark: Had some decent moves and scored a beauty goal short side top shelf Maxwell, Ben: The guy has speed and some moves, if he doesn't make the big team this year, then they should trade him to a team that could use him, imo. Palushaj, Aaron: Hard worker, seemed to work well with Eller and Schultz Schultz, Ian: I liked what this kid brought, hard on the puck, not afraid to get physical, seems like a good pickup from what I saw. Worked well with Eller. Westin, John: He was there but nothing really stood out imo. White, Ryan: much like Maxwell, this kid works hard but if the Habs will not have him on the big team, then for the sake of his career, they should move him. DefenseEllis, Morgan: young kid, seemed to cover up well Klubertanz, Kyle: For some reason I liked this kids work ethic and positioning in the defensive zone, both he and Pateryn did not shy away from the physical stuff from Conboy Pateryn, Greg: I also liked this kid the samy as Klubertanz, same style of play from what I saw. St-Denis, Frederic: Meh Tinordi, Jarred: This kid is big, really liked what I saw from him, hard on the puck, Conboy tried to muscle around him and Tinordi just forced him into the boards, uses his stick actively, has a decent slapper which is low and hard. Hope this kid goes to London and is on the Dogs in a couple of years. Weber, Yanick: Did not really stand out, could be a career AHL'er. GoaliesMayer, Robert: Struggled in the 2 on 2 and 3 on 2, but he was facing the Eller/Schultz pairing all the time. Was not overly impressed... could be a career minor leaguer Quattrocchi, Joseph: Young kid seemed to do well in the beginning of the afternoon drills but when they brought the nets to the bluelines seemed to struggle with the amount of traffic. Should get better with this as he matures though. All in all it was a great day, went to Schwartz for smoked meat, picked up fresh bagels from St-Viatuer and has an awesome sherbert ice cream from Le Bilboquet. Stopped for a great burger at Dilallo Schwartz's 3895 Saint-Laurent Boulevard, Montréal, Québec, H2W 1X9 www.schwartzsdeli.com St-Viateur Bagel 158 St-Viateur ouest, Montréal, H2T 2L3 www.stviateurbagel.com Le Bilboquet 1311, avenue Bernard, Outremont, QC, H2V 1W1 Dilallo Burger Original 1929 2851 rue Allard
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Post by duster on Jul 9, 2010 12:03:51 GMT -5
I read that Avtsin cannot speak English and no one speaks Russian at camp. Because of this, he can't practice like the others since he can't understand the instructions given by the coaches. The Habs are looking for a translator but I would have thought that they would have done this ahead of time. Poor kid must be totally lost.
P.S. According to Pat Hickey, he injured his wrist and the camp is over for him. I can't help but think it must have been a frustrating experience for the young man since he never had a chance to show what he could do.. He doesn't know a word of English, no one there spoke Russian, add to that the tremendous culture shock and an old injury that might have resurfaced. Hopefully, he doesn't return to Russia.
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Post by Yossarian on Jul 9, 2010 21:42:00 GMT -5
As he usually does every year, Whitesnake, over at HF attended camp and had a write-up: GOALIES: I'll go in pair here. In all honesty, I didn't concentrate on them at all. But enough to notice that they both had a lot of trouble today. I guess they were the perfect pair to give the players tons of confidence. D-MEN: Morgan Ellis: Tall but lanky. Great positionaly but could be pushed around. Really precise shots. I was a fan of Ellis and still am. Ellis needs to work on his balance more.....BUT.....please UNLEASH him!!!! I'd go as far as to believe that the kid has a lot of untapped offensive potential. You saw some shots thanks to his fast hands, you saw some moves thanks to his fast feet that could translate into more than just a defensive d-man. Kyle Klubertanz: Well I liked what I saw from him today. Though, people needs to read between the lines here. We can't compare everybody here. Like Klubertanz for Ellis for example. We are talking about a 6-year difference here. And it showed as far as poise defensively. Klubertanz is also a fine skater. Can also fit in the "pushed around" category yet, handles himself very well with his position game and his strong legs. Greg Pateryn: You look at him and you find that if there's one guy who could jump in the NHL lineup right now based on how he looks as far his body is concerned, it's him. Looks big, solid and all. Yet, you'd hope he'd worked on his pass reception and you surely hope he works in getting faster from side to side. But the guy has a HUGE......slapshot, not always precise but huge anyway. (don't worry, no Pierre McGuire moment here...) Frédéric St-Denis: He's really impressive out there. Didn't get beat often. Looks like a vet (though at that age....I guess he was...). But I remember him from his Volts days and honestly, the guy has improved a lot. Fine instincts at both sides of the rink. You wonder where the end of his progression is....or is that it already. Could be. Even if it is, looks like a fine AHL'er to me. And why not...a call-up here and there. But one of the most impressive guy on the ice today. Awesome balance for a guy who isn't that big. P.K Subban: Honestly, no need to talk him. It's PK. Enough said. Though......almost came with the hit of the year.....See the description on one of the forward below....Suspense...who was at the end of that hit..... Jarred Tinordi: You hear he's big and tall but I found myself to be surprised at how big he is. Yet, you see the filling that needs to happen. But you are surprise that he moves well for a guy that big. Moves well but....stride is too wide. Technique needs to be refined. Something doesn't need refinement though....his shots and his passes. Honestly, his wrister was one of the best I've seen today. Slapper as well. But his crisp and hard passes would have hurt Avtsin's wrist. Yeah, you do saw the puckhandling skills he'll needs to work on but it won't be his game anyway. He'll pass to PK who'll do the rest.....Great morning for him. Yannick Weber: Above the others this morning. Not sure he was trying too hard and yet, his one-times were on the spot. His skating is fine, everything was on time and perfect. Almost borderline bored at some point. The question, as it is for another guy later one, is not about the skills....it's about the translation to the other level. FORWARDS: Alexander Avtsin: See my paragraph above. François Brisebois: Well for a small kid, works hard, swift skater with sharp turns and a surprisingly hard shot. Looked good. Played the body in some occasions, even succeeded in hammering Conboy and getting the puck from him. Enough to warrant a contract? My guess would be.....no. I guess they might make him an offer after his senior year for the AHL if he is interested. Good practice nonetheless. Jonathan Brunelle: Well if I judge him based on my last year's Philippe Lefebvre report (where I was so impressed that I really thought the Habs would have offer him a contract and they did...), I'd say that it won't happen for Brunelle. Honestly looked a little shy out there. Looked eager to learn and all. Does possess some nice qualities. Should use a harder shot for sure. Wasn't that afraid of mixing it up.....but to me there's some things missing. At least, to attract the eye for a contract. I'd say that the kid won't have a contract. But he will be told that they will keep a close eye on him. Andrew Conboy: In competition with PK for the joker of the group. A whole lot of messsing around with Schultz. Who knows...it's the fun before the storm. Maybe we'll see both guys going at it during the rookie camp. But looked really strong on his skates and I believed he improved his skating. A clear candidate for a soon-to-be 4th liner. Honestly, I really believe that. Not this year. But soon in a Bell Centre near you. Lars Eller: Clearly the best hands and feet of the group. Not sure that he was going 100% but geez this kid doesn't seem to be afraid of mixing it up. Almost at the wrong end of what could have been a devastating hit by PK who just showed Eller to always keep your chin up......But he has some nice shots. Not the best though. Didn't wow me with his arsenal of shots today. But his skating, his overall instincts and his puck handling are really great. Pretty exciting to see. And like I said, don't feel like he's fully going at it. Which is even more exciting. Andreas Engqvist: Big, looks fully developed, loves to drive the net. Improved his skating, his skating is faster....but his agility still needs work and frankly....it "might" work against him if it doesn't improve. But his offensive instincts are still developing. His wrist shot is one of the heaviest of the bunch. Work on your agily mister and you'll be a candidate for something greater. I do believe he'll have a great year with the Dogs. Brendan Gallagher: Well in a camp like that, I was expecting a little more from him. He is really energetic. Needs to work on his shots, at least what I saw today. Those are precise but needs to be harder. His skating is good, totally not bad, but I would have hope to see more jump on his first steps and a faster overall effort. I'd love to see him be faster. Mark McMillan: Well MY surprise and player of the day based on a lot of things but mostly based on the "potential" that this kid might have. Totally a guess, I know, but I'm beginning to be excited by this kid. First, this kid is not 150lbs. If he is, well it means that it's ALL on muscles and he has 0 fat. Okay, he's not big, but you compare his frame to other players and to me, he looks 170 at least. I saw Timmins, talked to him for a few seconds (didn't have time this time around...) and I said that I don't believe McMillan was 150. Well what he said was that he surely doesn't look like it on the ice....I guess it means he really is.....but again....I just can't believe it. Anyway, aside from the weigh, the kid has MAD offensive instincts. A backhand like no other. A precise and crisp wrister. The guy cuts to the net and is pretty much fearless. But it's his demeanour on the ice that makes you expect for bigger things. Now before putting him on our top 6...., again, it's just one opinion, from one practice. But I'll have in mind and right now does fit in my category of "I might wish I would have shut my trap when blasting the pick..."(though I have to say....he was amongst my top 100 list for the 2010 draft....just that he went way ahead other players on my list...). Surprise of the day. And did I mention that he can't be 150lbs? ? The thing that sucked more for him is that he still have 1 year in BCHL, I mean.....I wish a faster progression for him. Benjamin Maxwell: Should not have been there. Geez, this guy has so much skills. Bar none the best impressive player out there. Bar none. Ahead of PK. But like I said in Weber's case...it's not about skills anymore. It's about the overall game when the going gets tough. It's about how he translates it. I mean today, he had so much fun with goalies, picking his spots, almost scoring everytime. Then....the confrontations started and you started to saw the things you'd wish you don't see.....was a whole lot in the perimeter. Then, he cut to the net and almost scored a great goal. But on skills alone, best player today. Aaron Palushaj: Loved the deal when it happens. I love my Michigan boys a lot so I might be too biased. Yet, I wish I would have seen more today. Kind of had an invisible day today. Except when he was working with Maxwell at the end of the first practice on his one-timers, that was great to see. Wide stride, fine skater nonetheless. We did see a couple of occasions where he demonstrated incredible hands from forehand to backhand, top-corner on the goalie in the quickest of time....didn't do that much today though. Still love him. Still believe in him. He actually might be a candidate for something bigger......but not this year. At least not what I'm expecting. Ian Schultz: Geez he's big. Skating wise....well needs work. And surprisingly enough, I also thought he didn't have his best shots today. Looked almost weak. Got a couple great ones but not sure it was his best of days except....in game situtations. Great puck handling and great puck protection. I learned my lesson....it's not because you are an average development camp player that you'll be a bad pro player, see Ryan White. Not Schultz thing today. Might not mean anything. John Westin: Looked pretty stock. But the most impressive thing for him....probably one of the hardest wristers out there. Didn't expect that at all. Not always precise but hard and really heavy. Great slapper as well. Skates well. And another thing.....drives the net and seems to like to play with an edge. We'll see what happens with him in the end. But potential wise, looks interesting for a 7th rounder. That's all folks. I have to say, an overall pretty interesting day when players, during that 2nd part, showed more intensity and physicality that I've ever seen in a development camp.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jul 9, 2010 23:37:20 GMT -5
Robert, from AllHabs, had this interesting report from the camp:
posted by Rocket All Habs
It's the second full day of July's development camp. Yesterday, I reported that Alexander Avtsin did not participate in many of the drills and left practise early. He didn't appear at all on Day 3 of the camp and there was no word on his status.
Avtsin doesn't speak English or French, and therefore doesn't meet with the media. Amanda Stein from the Team 990 informs me that there are no Russian translation services in place for him.
One of the first people I saw today at Brossard was the Joe Stejskal fan from June's development camp. You may recall my mild surprise that a Francophone fan had developed an attachment to Stejskal, given that he is from Grand Rapids, Minnesota and now playing at Dartmouth. This is truly a great city.
Today, however, her allegiances had changed. Her handmade fluorescent green sign read "Kyle, can I have your hockey stick?" It seems that Montreal fans are not only knowledgeable about their prospects, but fickle too.
The 'Kyle' she refers to is Kyle Klubertanz, a 24 year old free agent defenseman signed by GM Pierre Gauthier in May. Klubertanz is from Madison, Wisconsin, and last year played for Djurgardens of the Swedish Elite league.
It was the 6'1", 190 lb. Klubertanz who would be involved in one of the more interesting battles of the day. More on that later.
You may remember that 'battles' were non-existent at the June development camp. At the time I wrote "At the Canadiens 2010 June development camp, the one ingredient in short supply is passion. For the most part, it has been a quiet, polite affair. After two days, the most intense person on skates has been Habs' assistant coach Kirk Muller."
In fact, as June's prospects sat next to each other on the bench waiting for the ice to be resurfaced, few words were spoken. It was an odd dynamic.
The comparison between the two camps is like night and day.
There are a few players who make sure that the rink isn't a church-like atmosphere. One of the ringleaders is Aaron Palushaj (ably assisted by Andrew Conboy) who came to the Canadiens in March from St. Louis in the Matt D'Agostini trade.
Palushaj is Max Pacioretty’s former college roommate and teammate on the Wolverines when the two were at the University of Michigan. They were reunited this past Spring in Hamilton.
Gauthier targeted Palushaj for being a player who works hard and competes for the puck. Palushaj has been doing the same thing at the development camp and pushing his fellow prospects to do the same. He has been very vocal on the ice all week.
The camp became decidedly physical when the coaching staff introduced a 3-on-1 drill. There were some heavy knocks as the three forwards crashed the goal against a single defenseman and goaltender. The results were predictable until it was Jarred Tinordi's turn.
Tinordi very adeptly kept the trio of Palushaj, Jan Eller and Ian Schultz (all good-sized players) in front of him. He was quite effective of managing and leaning on his opponents. Tinordi's fellow defensemen, Greg Pateryn and Frederic St-Denis, spent most of their time chasing the play.
It was when the drills turned to 1-on-1 that the sparks began to fly. At 6'3", 204 Schultz has been a hard person to move when he has planted himself in front of the net. Tinordi wasted no time knocking him to the ice and cleared the puck.
Tinordi also came out on top when matched against P.K. Subban. While Subban pulled out his bag of tricks, including a spinerama, he couldn't get past Tinordi. The young defenseman has been very impressive so far.
The feature 'bout' of the drill was Klubertanz and Eller, who were matched up several times. When racing for the puck, Eller destroyed Klubertanz with a huge hit. When Klubertanz got up and tried to retaliate, he ran into a brick wall named Eller and went down again.
Many Brossard fans cheered, but not my friend with the green sign.
Klubertanz would get his revenge though on the next attempt at the drill. He delivered a massive hit on Eller. Fans gasped. Green sign-girl squealed.
These guys were feisty and it was a pleasure to watch! It was quite a contrast from the snooze-fest that was June's camp.
It's fair to say that there are a group of players who aren't at the same level of intensity and physicality as the ones mentioned above. The group includes John Westin, Francois Brisebois, Mark MacMillan and Jonathan Brunelle.
The smallest player at the camp, Brendan Gallagher, has been surprisingly competitive against bigger opponents. At 5'9", 165 lbs. he hasn't been afraid to get his nose dirty.
It should be acknowledged that the majority of the drills aren't fair for the goaltenders. However, I like how Cincinnati Cyclones goalie Robert Mayer doesn't get flustered or quit on the puck when clearly outnumbered. He has a good glove hand and does a nice job controlling rebounds.
The afternoon session concluded with a cross-ice 3-on-3 game. Ben Maxwell's red side got the win. The whites did on-ice push-ups for the second day in a row.
And the girl with the green sign waited outside the garage doors at Complexe Sportif Bell for her hero's hockey stick.
The development camp concludes on Friday with two sessions.
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Post by Habs_fan_in_LA on Jul 10, 2010 3:31:41 GMT -5
Great job guys! Excellent read. It's nice to hear first person impressions nstead of the standard Red Fisher recounting of events. Getting excited but have to remember that if more than two of the players make the squad in October it will be a surprise. Sounds like players need: size, speed, wrister, slapshot, hands, positioning, smarts, enthusiasm and passing lots of guys with 5+ of the nine requirements but nobody who is outstanding in all areas.
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Post by seventeen on Jul 11, 2010 12:50:15 GMT -5
His hockey stick, huh? Right.
The one thing that sticks out for me (and sticks in my craw) is that the Habs didn't realize you'd need someone who speaks Russian to help out Avtsin, at least a little. And we wonder why our Russian guys have such a hard time. There's that development weakness rearing its ugly head. What can you say? It's just stupidity.
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Post by Habs_fan_in_LA on Jul 11, 2010 20:11:16 GMT -5
His hockey stick, huh? Right. The one thing that sticks out for me (and sticks in my craw) is that the Habs didn't realize you'd need someone who speaks Russian to help out Avtsin, at least a little. And we wonder why our Russian guys have such a hard time. There's that development weakness rearing its ugly head. What can you say? It's just stupidity. Once again the Habs are dogged with language issues.
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Post by Willie Dog on Jul 12, 2010 10:19:00 GMT -5
His hockey stick, huh? Right. The one thing that sticks out for me (and sticks in my craw) is that the Habs didn't realize you'd need someone who speaks Russian to help out Avtsin, at least a little. And we wonder why our Russian guys have such a hard time. There's that development weakness rearing its ugly head. What can you say? It's just stupidity. This, to me, is incompetence. It's not like he is a tryout/walk on. This is a guy you drafted and you knew he was coming over. How did the guy get from the airport to hotel, to the facility in Brossard? Looks like once again, kids are left to their own devices in the big city.
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Post by seventeen on Jul 12, 2010 10:56:07 GMT -5
I guess we should also keep in mind that the reporter may be incorrect. Two sides to every story.
A few of the development camp reports bring up the fact you can't extrapolate from the performances in these camps as to how they will do in real games and that is so true. I've warmed up in soccer games and you tend to sneak a peek at the other team to see how they are and some guys look like they have super ball skills. Then they get in the game and they're tentative, they don't know how to position themselves, they don't anticipate or react quickly and they're generally not up to snuff for the level of play, but man can they keep the ball up with their feet (if no one is checking them).
You don't see the mental part of the player in these camps. Having said that, it's better that they have good skills than no skills, but imagine how a guy like Gainey would have looked at these camps. Good skater, but no hands. None of his defensive skills would have stood out. Or his tenacity, perseverance and courage.
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