Next Year's Ryder?

[HabbaDasher]

How about it?
IMO, Higgins and Plekanec are the best bets.
I'll take Higgins since there may be a LW opening come October.
Gritty, 2-way, hard worker.

[Bob]

To be next year's Ryder, the player should be an older rookie who has paid his dues at all levels. He should be considered a very long shot to make the team despite strong and improving numbers for each year in the minors. Expectations should be very low.

Higgins, Plekanec, Hossa and Hainsey are all high draft choices who have high expectations placed on them.

The player who could come out of nowhere to surprise is Francois Beauchemin. Like Ryder, who played second fiddle to Ward last year, Beauchemin has taken a back seat to Hainsey.

[M. Beaux-Eaux]

Bob's my uncle. Beauchemin it is for me too. J-P Côté will then inherit his position with the Dogs and be next in line for the Habs.

[rhabdo]

Ryder plays on the second line. To be the equivalent of the next Ryder, Beauchemin would have to supplant Souray or Markov at LD. The only one he has an outside chance of bumping is Bouillon. His most realistic hope is to become the 7th D.

I think both Plekanec and Higgins have at least a fair chance of sticking in Montréal. The competition at centre really isn't that stiff (Bégin and Dowd). I think only Zednik and Bulis are reasonably set at LW, so throw Higgins or Plekanec into the mix with Dagenais, Langdon, and Hossa. With Dackell gone, Sundstrom (if he's re-signed) will probably play RW along with Kovalev (I hope), Ryder, and Ward.

[TheCaper]

I think the guy most likely to be our best rookie next year is Plekanec, but I didn’t vote for him.

I voted for AKJr. IMO, the dream rookie scenario is for AKJr to score 25+ and win the Calder.

[BadCompany]

I hate starting every post with “assuming there is a next year…”

Sigh.

Anyways, I’ll go with Pierre Dagenais. Like Ribeiro, or Ryder, last year was his first real season of getting regular work. And while we can pooh-pooh his play all we want (with justification) the fact is he scored 17 goals in 50 games.

He’s like Ryder. People keep writing him off, and he keeps coming back. When he was signed, people said “AHL fodder.” (okay, I said that). He is cut. Asked about it, he says “well, if I score in 15 straight games in the AHL, they’ll have no choice but to call me up, right?” That’s exactly what he does. He gets called up, and while there are serious holes in his game, he can put the puck in the net, with pretty good regularity.

Barring a mad free-agent spree, the second line right winger spot is his to lose. Zednik and Kovalev make up the top line (assuming…), Ryder has the other wing. Bulis proved rather conclusively that he couldn’t handle offensive duties (its coming Doc, its coming), and nobody else came close to matching his offense. Yanic Perreault, perhaps, but he’s a center, and its debatable whether he’ll be back anyways. Dagenais’ top competition comes from two Russians – Perezhogin, who is suspended, and Kastitsyin, who isn’t signed, and will need time in the AHL anyways if he even comes over. Higgins and Plekanec are centers or left wingers. Balej is gone. Hossa?

With a year of confidence under his belt, the knowledge that its do or die here in Montreal (if he doesn’t do it here…), his best buddy centering him, and with an elite top line drawing away checking duties, the table is ripe for Dagenais to shine.

Much to our chagrin.

[LoupDogg]

Seriously, what are the odds that Kats could graduates in the NHL next year? (Granted there is a season, which I don't grant. A grant don't come for free)

The guy never played in an american league. He will need adaptation, for sure. He hasn't proven much yet (I hope he will, but he doesn't seem like a superstar at the moment). I therefore expect him to have regular succes in the AHL next year. And to be in a habs jersey in two and a half year or three.

I voted Hossa. Every year, I'd vote Hossa. Call that optimism (or lack of hockey sense. No.. optimism). He would be more apt to step up and shine than Higgins. That being said, Higgins might step up, it's just the shining part that made me go for Hossa.

As for Pleks, I don't know him enough to say. Good for me, that'd be a surprise

[Habs_fan_in_LA]

I voted other because it says graduate and shine.
Ward graduated but he didn't shine. I think there were high expectations and he didn't rise to the occasion. This year, like Ryder last year, there are low expectations that he will shine, and he certainly has shown he can put the puck into the net. Now he has to change can to do.

[HabbaDasher]

Allow me to qualify: Graduate and exceed expectations.

[Bob]

rhabdo said:

Ryder plays on the second line. To be the equivalent of the next Ryder, Beauchemin would have to supplant Souray or Markov at LD. The only one he has an outside chance of bumping is Bouillon. His most realistic hope is to become the 7th D.

I just read that Souray will be undergoing another wrist surgery. That would leave an opening for Hainsey or Beauchemin. My guess is that Beauchemin will be ready for it and Hainsey will expect it.

My vote still goes to Beauchemin as the most Ryder-like prospect this year. The one who will make the most impact offensively is Plekanec. My prediction is that he will be the third line center and top penalty killing center on the team. He will push so hard that Ribeiro will be looking over his shoulder and that will give Gainey some leverage to acquire a real #2 center and not a clone of John Chabot... the former Hab that Ribeiro most resembles in terms of playing style.