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Post by M. Beaux-Eaux on Jul 9, 2004 16:18:09 GMT -5
Day 1 report by Mark Couzi at flr2:
Ok...I guess I'll get started with the guys we're most curious about...
KASTISYN: First off he has SIZE...he was one of the bigger forwards out there...he seemed bigger than Chipchura...either they were off on his size or the guy had a growth spurt over the year which is quite possible...I'd have to say he's close to 6'1 or maybe 6'2...good frame on this kid...he moves very well and has a good release...by the way he had a personel interpreter on hand.
CHIPCHURA:He definitely has more skill and ability than we give him credit for...I guess everyone is busy raving about his leadership and character that they neglected the fact the guy moves pretty quick and stichhandles well...very chatty with all the guys...he seemed like he knew everyone on the ice...can tell he has a great personality.
LOCKE:Awfully small...but got bigger compared to seing him last summer...great skill,good stickhandler and most impressive good finisher...he was really hitting his targets and moves a lot quicker than we hear...his stickhandling is above average...
O'BYRNE: A beast of a player...sticks out simply because of his incredible size...he is definitely the biggest Dman in the organization...bigger than KOMO...he also moves fairly well for a man his size...had no problem keeping up with the smaller faster players.
FLOOD: Was impressed by his skating...not the biggest defenceman but he skates very well with the puck.
ARCHER:Big defenceman...he was physical...knocking guys down and getting chippy out there...he plays agressively in the one on one drills...
DANIS: Amazing reflects...moves very quick with his legs.
KORPIKARI: Finish defenceman...surprisingly good size...he has NHL Dman size...I'd say 6'2...very mobile but not very impressive one on one.
It was pretty much drills today...not much else...they all wore the Habs home and away jerseys with the names in the back...no Gainey...only Savard and Trevor Timmins...Jarvis handled the coaching.
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Post by M. Beaux-Eaux on Jul 9, 2004 16:23:48 GMT -5
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Post by M. Beaux-Eaux on Jul 9, 2004 16:55:14 GMT -5
Prospects promised packed slate at development campTraining, seminars, group outings all on the calendar(07/09/2004) MONTREAL – Just for the record, the Canadiens’ 2004 development camp won’t be all work and no play for its participants. But for those who might be wondering, the 10-day event won’t exactly be a picnic, either. “The guys are here to work hard, and we need 100 percent commitment out of them,” noted Trevor Timmins, the Canadiens’ Director of Player Personnel and a main architect of the schedule to be followed by the 25 camp invitees over the next week-and-a-half. “They need to respect that they’re on their way to becoming professionals, and that this is their job. They can’t be taking two steps forward and one step back.”<br> In other words, late nights on the town and large orders of poutine are verboten. “Exactly,” Timmins concurred. “We’ll have an imposed curfew that I’ll be checking up on myself.”<br> - www.canadiens.com/eng/news/redirect.cfm?sectionID=habsNewsDetails.cfm&newsItemID=3854
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Post by M. Beaux-Eaux on Jul 9, 2004 18:04:05 GMT -5
Day 1 report by CaptainPuck at HabFans:
I was there from 2 PM until a bout a quarter to 4.... watched pretty much everything.. No scrimmage. The day was underlined by lots of skating and a good amount of shooting. You had your 2 on 1s, 2 on 2s, etc. Doug Jarvis was the man running the show this afternoon, and he did a really good job. Calm, clear and efficient, wouldnt be surprised if he were coach one day. Anyways, here is the rundown on some of the players..
Andrei Kastsitsyn - I was not very impressed with AK today... he was floating around most of the time... but at times he did show excellent speed and hands.. Good variety of shots, but seemed to shoot on the goalie too much. His shot is extremely heavy; the bad part is i know that cuz he was also missing the net a lot, causing huge noises on the boards, lol. Mind you its only the first day, but his tentativeness worries me..
Kyle Chipchura - He is litterally what the scouts make him out to be... Good hands, decent wheels, defensively aware, but not a standout (at least not today). He was probably the most talkative amongst the players along with Locke, which shows his leadership qualities. He seems to do the little things well, such as cycling and positioning. Reminds me of Rod Brind'amour.
Corey Locke - Best player on the first day. His skating is really not that bad, he has awesome hands, albeit he is on the smallish side. Always shot high on the butterfly goalies there and scored most of the time. His best asset is his on-ice vision. I think we have a Ribeiro look alike here. Showed good leadership and looked very comfortable.
Jimmy Bonneau - Somebody asked on this guy. He is... well... big. Didnt drop the gloves. Doesnt have much skill, but does check well. Was pinniing defensemen quite easily on 2 on 2s, which was funny, he was the only one doing it. Very average speed.
Cory Uruqhart - Looked very good as well. I was impressed.
Maxim Lapierre and Danny Stewart also had flashes of nice skill and showed willingness to get somewhat physical.
The only defenseman that I liked was Korpikari. Makes a good outlet pass, skates well, and is very sound one on one. O'Byrne and Archer need to improve skating.
The goalies were pretty bad. Danis is the only one that shows promise. Halak is stand up and got beat low a few times. The other goalies go down to fast into the butterfly and get beat high a lot.
The tryouts indeed looked like tryouts, nothing to be reported there. Everyone who I did not mention was unnoticeable and some were simply pylons ice.
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Post by M. Beaux-Eaux on Jul 9, 2004 18:06:04 GMT -5
Day 1 report by Thomas at HabFans:
I attended the development camp from 2:00 to 3:15 today and the following is my opinion on some of the players present:
Andrei Kastsitsyn – One of the better skaters present at the camp today. He did not have break-a-way speed, but his skating was effortless. He was excellent in the puck control and passing drills, the stick work is definitely there. His release is as quick and smooth as some top NHLers, the strength and speed of his shot are there, but the aim was not there today, most shots missing the net or hitting the goaltender in the pads or chest. His frame is bigger than I had expected, hes not exceptionally tall, but hes got a wide frame and showed good balance when confronting a defenseman. Was poor on the one on one drills, playing along the perimeter most of the time. Solid in most areas, though his physical play needs some work, he showed enough skill to beat defenseman one on one, but doesn’t use his strength in those situations.
Corey Locke – A man among boys today, Locke showed why he was the top scorer in the CHL these past two seasons. His skating strides are slow (especially when accelerating), though his speed is not as bad as some have described in the past, a Ribeiro type skater. His shot was what impressed me most, a quick deceptive shot which caught the goaltenders off guard on more than one occasion. He faired the best in the passing and stickhandling drills. He looks small on the rink, especially next to the likes of Archer, but his height is not that bad, his frame seems to be the problem. His moves and plays we’re well liked by the audience. He looked like a future NHLer out there, his shot, vision, playmaking and stickhandling are NHL ready, he just needs to keep working on his skating strides and his lower body strength.
Kyle Chipchura – I was disappointed with his play today to say the least. His passes were more often than not received in the skates rather than on the tape, for a supposed playmaker they looked lousy. His shot needs a lot of work, though he has said he will work on it this offseason, the strength and speed just isn’t there. His skating was good, a lot better than I had anticipated. Archer managed to contain him very effectively on one-on-one situations. His strength, physical play and defensive game were hard to judge most drills being of the skilled variety. He’s one of the youngest invitees, so this is somewhat normal.
Those were the three I concentrated on; the rest of the players will have briefer descriptions.
Cory Urquhart – Has bulked up since last summer’s prospect camp, didn’t appear to be as lanky as before. Andre Savard’s comments about his hands were just, he made some nice passes, dangles and had a pretty impressive shot. Seemed more willing to confront defenseman on one-on-one situations, something he had problems with last season. His skating got better, though it still needs a bit of work. Displayed a great attitude, during the free shots period he liked to joke around with other players.
Michael Lambert – One of the better players today, hes got a strong accurate shot and challenged defenseman on one-on-one situations. Should be interesting to see what he can do in Hamilton next season.
Jimmy Bonneau – This guy will be a fan favourite when he makes it to the NHL. His physical skills were not on display, but he has a nose for the net and a surprisingly good shot. Scored one of the nicer top corner goals today. He reminds me of Chris Simon in some ways, though will most likely never become a top 9 player. He will be a good enforcer who can score once in awhile, not one of those uni-dimensional goons we see so often.
Maxim Lapierre – Was one of the more physical players today, but the skill drills aren’t his domain. He did fairly well in all the categories, but nothing stood out. Guy sitting next to me (who’s brother supposedly plays in the Q) said hes got a good reputation in the Q however.
Jonathan Ferland – Was the leader on the ice today, most likely because of his experience. His offensive skills are not that impressive, but hes a big guy that everyone seemed to like. If he rounds out his game, he may be a good 4th line energy player who can provide some offense.
Alex Dulac – I see why McKeen’s said he was not good enough to be drafted in this years entry draft, he was the worst player on the ice, he stood out in a bad way. His skating was extremely poor, was the only one that lost his footing on more than one occasion, and constantly fanned on his passes and shots. On one-on-ones he refused to challenge the forward, something worrisome about a physical stay at home defenseman Timmin’s described him as.
Andrew Archer – Or was it Mike Komisarek? They look similar not only in style, but in physical appearance as well. They have the same sized frame and play a similar game. Komisarek is better positionally when playing defense, but Archer has a mean streak Komisarek is lacking. Archer was in Chipchura’s face all day, to the point where I actually felt sorry for Chipchura. Was one of the oldest players present, so hes further along in his development.
Greg Stewart – He looks physically imposing and has a nice slaper. Didn’t pay much attention to him, but his some of his shots were impressive.
Danny Stewart – Had a bad first impression of him at last years prospect camp, so I have never liked him. Not particularly good at anything, and has that Ribeiro smirk I hate so much.
Mark Flood – To tell you the truth, I didn’t pay much attention to him, like most defenseman.
Oskari Korpikari – The defenseman I paid most attention to because his size surprised me. I had always thought he was a small offensive minded defenseman but he seemed the total opposite today. I have never played defense so I don’t like commenting on specifics about their play, but he looked good none the less.
Christian Larivee – Showed some nice flashes, has a nice frame, but or else was pretty normal for an “overagers”.
I didn’t pay much attention to the goalies, and was on the opposite side of Danis so I don’t know how he faired. Lindberg was impressive though, he’s small but he’s one of the fastest goalies I’ve seen. His glove positioning is somewhat unorthodox, but it seems to work well for him.
I paid no attention to the try-outs, though Labelle stood out on more than one occasion. I wouldn’t mind having him signed for the AHL or ECHL.
The above is my opinion anyways, I am by no means a professional scout, just what I thought of the players present. Its hard watching 25 different players at once, so most of my comments are based on what stood out and what didn’t.
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Post by StickHandler on Jul 9, 2004 20:36:51 GMT -5
CyberPresse has a great article on Kostitsyn. He said he's only 35-40% of his shape and hasn't skated in 2 months. Says he wants to play here ASAP... Montreal or Hamilton. Oh, and they compared him to Marian Hossa! www.cyberpresse.ca/sports/article/1,154,1881,072004,731789.shtml |
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Post by HaBs4LiFe3 on Jul 9, 2004 22:34:45 GMT -5
I was there for the whole time today and then even waited outside their locker room and got autographs from guys like Chipchura, Bonneau, Locke, Archer and 1 other guy who I'm not sure who it was. heh. They looked dissapointed when they walekd by me and my friend and we didn't ask them to sign but I couldn't recognize most of them. I missed Katsitsyn but will try to get hsi autograph another day. My friend told Chipchura he is a star and Kyle smiled and said thanks. It was hard to keep track of all the players but I will list a few things that I remember about certain players. Locke: great vision, great shot, he was very impressive today. and although he is short, when I Stood next to him he was visibly wider and stronger than me (I am 5"11 155 lbs and am cut but not bulky), locke is built solidly. Not a bad skater. Chipchura: talkative on the ice, smiling, he has to work on his shot because the power needs improvement defineatley. He is a very smooth skater though. Katsitsyn: very quick and heavy shot, not accurate today though. effortless skater but not blazing speed (but they did only drills and didn't have a chance to truly showcase individual and specific talents). I felt bad for him because he wasn't talkin to many other players because of the language issue but near the middle guys started communicatin more with him and he was smiling. -didn't get a good look at any goalies because was hard to tell who was who Archer: big strong guy, plays tough and with meanstreak (even in drills). -Ferland has very heavy shot and finishes plays nicely and he has size and strength. Bonneau- good shot, big guy  It was hard to pay more attention cuz I was freezing my ass off in shorts! Brian Wilde was there along with Pat Hickey and RDS crew too. |
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Post by HabbaDasher on Jul 9, 2004 22:38:53 GMT -5
Way to go, Mr. B and associates!
Keep the reports coming!
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Post by M. Beaux-Eaux on Jul 10, 2004 3:52:35 GMT -5
Conan the Librarian, at your service.  |
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jul 10, 2004 12:21:26 GMT -5
Day 2 report from J. Wilson at HabsWorld:
9:00AM: The first practice begins, I goto rink #3 and find only 14/25 prospects on the ice, I’m not sure where the other 11 are, but I did not see them on any other rink (I lated found out that they were on rink #2) . The group of 14 includes all 4 goalies, Corey Locke, Mark Flood, Greg and Danny Stewart and a few others, Kostitsyn and Chipchura were not in the group.
The group started off by doing a drill which involved 2 players fighting over 1 stick (a player on either side, each holding onto the one stick). Locke faced off against Flood, they had a few great battles with neither of them getting a big edge. For the most part everyone did well on this drill, with nobody standing out. The next drill involved an elastic rope which was tied to the bench, the players get tied to the rope and have to skate away from the bench as far as they can on the rope. Again everyone did well in this drill, Locke showed a lot of leg strength, Flood fell on his behind after tripping over the rope on the way back to the bench, but it was just an accident. As for the goalies, Danis performed very well, he’s a very good skater, Lacasse had the most trouble with the rope.
The next drill also used the rope, but this time it was tied between 2 players, with one player pulling with the other was being pulled. The tandem of Flood/Locke (they were always partners) were the stars of this event as they "won" every race against the other tied-twosomes. The slowest players in this drill were Greg and Danny Stewart.
The practice ended at 10am, no pucks were used during the entire practice, I did not recognize who was coaching this practice, the only coach I recognized was Rollie the goaltending coach.. The standout of the hour was Corey Locke, he’s putting in a great effort into this camp.
10:30AM: Rink #1. The 2nd practice of the day, now all 25 players are on the ice. Doug Jarvis instructed this practice, the practice went almost exactly the same as yesterdays one, he started the players off by making them do laps around the ice, first forwards then backwards. After the skating, the players split into groups of 2 and practiced one on one’s, one player with the puck attempting to get by the other, Kostitsyn squared off against his translator for some reason.
Next the players went up against the goaltenders in different situations (2 on 1’s, 3 on 2’s, etc) . Kostitsyn scored a beauty goal on Danis high blocker side off the backhand, Locke also had a very nice goal. On the defensive side Archer showed his physical side when he was able to, and did not back away from a chance to rub out a player along the boards, Archer’s does need to improve his stickhandling. Ryan O’Byrne also showed a tough "mean" side to his game, on one play he shoved his glove into Greg Stewart’s face as Stewart tried to get by him.
The top performers of the practice in my opinion were Kostitsyn, Locke and Larivee. Yesterday Kostitsyn said that he was only at 40% , well today he upped it to 50%, yesterday Andrei had trouble finding the back of the net, today everything he shot went in, its scary to think how good Andrei will be at 100%. Locke stood out again today, its obvious that he knows he needs to work harder then everyone else because of his size, Locke is a very determined player. Larivee was also strong today, his skating, shooting, passing was above average, but Larivee has been to this camp more then once before.
Day 2, like Day #1 had no scrimmages. I hope that in the following days the players scrimmage, as I would like to see how they perform in game situations.
My goaltending rankings
1a)Yann Danis: Very quick reflexes, good positionally
1b)Heino-Lindberg: Good technical goalie, always in the right spots.
2a)Halak: Unorthodox style, but he has the talent
2b)Lacasse: Looks a step behind the others.
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Post by M. Beaux-Eaux on Jul 10, 2004 14:54:00 GMT -5
Day 2 report from rocketlives at HF:
I went over there this morning and left after half an hour as I must leave soon to go up North in St Donat with the family.
This morning the rookies had been divided into 2 groups of 12 players. One group was practicing on rink#1 and the other one on rink#2.
I didn't see either Doug Jarvis or Bob Gainey. The session seemed to be run by hired specialists and in the first half hour it was strictly drills based on skating, stop and go, and upper body strenght.
In one of the exercises, 2 players would lie down on the ice in the middle of one of the circles, on their belly, face to face, and would hold on to a single hockey stick . At a signal, they would get up and try to push the other player out of the circle or bring him down. Amongst others, I noticed Kostitsyn having the better of Dulac, Côté of Archer and Chipchura against Korpikari being a draw.
In the short distance races from the top-of-the-circle line to center ice I was surprised by the speed showed by both Archer and O'Byrne. O'Byrne even beat Kostitsyn.
Surprisingly for a Saturday (day-off for most), there were few people at the 4Glaces this morning to watch these Development camp sessions. Barely 50 fans at each of the 2 rinks. Maybe there was a scrimmage later on and some fans arrived late. I had to leave early and I just made a quick visit.
*
Growne adds:
Dagenais actually showed up for the skating drills at the early practice.
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Post by M. Beaux-Eaux on Jul 11, 2004 6:42:45 GMT -5
Day 2 report by F. Duchemin at HF:
I was there today!! yes!
Here my tought.
we can see kostitsyn is talented but...in this little practice at least... he didnt had a great acceleration. He was floating a lot but damn...he had like 8 or 9 bad passes, in the skate or too far, if i was him i would be really pissed. If shot is SO NICE. He did show some accurary today! He made lots of nice quick and wrist shot but i didnt see any slapshot ( maybe too dangerous for this little practice ). A lots of player are falling on the ice when they try to quickly accelerate, i think lots of them have new skate ( they were all sharp looking ). Locke and Kostitsyn felt often. ( 2-3 times ). The langage issues was evident, kostitsyn was alone.. poor guy. Korpikari also, i dunno if he talk well english but everyone else were talking a little between each exercice.
I liked lambert attitude, he is smiley and play well. He had a USELESS big slapshot from cote when they were practicing guys in front of the goalie and he wasnt angry but just like "hey..wtf? haha relax my friends" Cory urquhart got a great vision he did some nice passes.
Locke got nice hands and accurate shot. He kinda relax with the puck and always find something usefull to do with it. I appreciated the work of stewart...he made some good things but you know...it was this morning so.. i dont remember everything he did but i know he was among the best.
Chipchura is ugly (im not against him - just a fact ), he really need some seasoning also, he didnt seem to have great hands in this practice.
Archer was steady i liked him.
Oh almost forgot lapierre, he was intense loved that and was in the face of the defenseman when they were trying to clear the puck out of the zone in a drill. Everyone else ( kostitsyn virtually didnt care ) were soso but lapierre did checks and wanted to prove something maybe.
Kastitsyn and lapierre got good frame.
urquhart need more muscle.
Claude Julien and Andre Savard were there.
I wanted kostitsyn to sign on my habs cap but...we cant reach player.
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Post by blaise on Jul 11, 2004 11:57:41 GMT -5
It's not surprising that Danis stood out among the goaltenders inasmuch as he's slated to be #1 in Hamilton. However, we should also consider whom he's facing in the tryout camp.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jul 11, 2004 12:14:47 GMT -5
Day 3 daily instalment from Jake Wilson at HabsWorld:
Day #3 was basically the same as day #2, the 25 players were split into the same groups, and practice skating/power-skating drills during to begin the day.
9:00AM: I arrive at camp, I head for rink #3 and find Kostitsyn's group, I notice that Dagenais is back for a second straight day. The group did an assortment of skating drills, Kostitsyn paired up with Dagenais for a few drills, and Kostitsyn blew Dagenais away every time, maybe its a sign of things to come for the habs? But, as tough as I am on Dagenais, I have to give him credit for actually making an effort to improve himself as a player, he knows his skating is a weakness, and he is trying to improve it.
For the rest of the 9-10 period I switched between rinks #3 and #4. I watched Lapierre and Lambert for awhile during a stop-and-start skating drill, they both looked very good, good speed and agility. One of the funnier moments of the morning was when Alex Dulac was doing the elastic-rope drill and the rope snapped off the bench and Dulac went flying, everyone had a good laugh, and nobody was injured.
10:30AM: Same as yesterday, the group of 25 reunites for a full practice. Before the drills started Dagenais practised his shot on the goalies, and in typical Dagenais style he tried to decapitate the goalies, Lacasse barely survived, but let in many goals, while Danis faired a lot better. The group of 25 then did the usual 2 on 1, 3 on 2, and 2 forwards with one backchecking forward drills.
Godin: Probably the best tryout that was invited to camp. Godin is a fast skater, handles the puck well, and has a decent wrist shot (in comparison to the other prospects). He Is way ahead of other tryouts like Magnan, Magnan could barely stand up during some of the skating drills.
Bonneau: For a goon he has very good skills. He isnt the fastest skater in the world, but he isnt the slowest either, he can get where he needs to be. Has good passing/shooting abilities, if developed properly he might be able to one day make the pros, especially since he has a nice sized thick body.
Urquhart: Good skater, big tall player, he could maybe add a few pounds to his frame. Tries to many dipsy-doodle fancy plays during practice, he has a nice set of skills, he could probably skate faster if he tried a little harder, needs to simplify.
As for Kostitsyn and Chipchura, its the same as usual for them. Kostitsyn did not show much improvement from yesterday, he might possibly be fatigued from his long trip to Canada.
Thats it for day #3, nothing spectacular happened, the players performed the same drills as the day before, and they still have not scrimmaged. I'm running out of ideas of what to write, so here is a little stat, only 2 of the 25 players at camp are not wearing visors, Cote and Archer (You can count Dagenais if you want) , even Bonneau is wearing a visor.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jul 11, 2004 13:28:30 GMT -5
Day 3 report courtesy of Thomas from HF:
Was mostly skating drills this morning. No scrimmage today
Kastsitsyn's shot is more accurate now, scored a few goals. He managed to score a nice one through I believe Halak's legs. Locke continued to do well, though O'Byrne was killing him on the 1-1 drills in the corner. Urquhart was getting a lot of attention from Savard, Savard trying to get him to be more aggressive with his stick and body in the corners. Urquhart was impressive in the passing drills, but he really needs to toughen up. Bonneau for a tough guy was getting knocked off the puck pretty easily.
Kastsitsyn was pretty poor on the 1 on 1 drills in the corners. Archer managed to poke check the puck off his stick on both occasions. His shot and skating are ready, but he needs some time playing NA hockey so he can adapt to bigger meaner defenseman. His wrist shot from center ice was impressive, top corner cross bar.
The three towers: O'Byrne, Archer and Korpikari looked very good today. O'Byrne is extremely fast for a big guy, and really strong in the corners. Korpikari and O'Byrne also have really nice shots from the blueline.
Dagenais was suprisingly good, but hes an NHL player and the rest are still in junior. Dagenais made Lacasse look like a pee-wee goalie, I dont know how many times he scored top shelf on him.
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Post by M. Beaux-Eaux on Jul 11, 2004 14:01:54 GMT -5
Day 3 report from H3ro at HF: I had the chance to be there this morning. Here's my impression. I arrived at 9h30, so I missed half of the skating practice. Andrei Kastsitsyn:It's amazing to see his skills set. Great skater, even if he was floating a lot this morning. He showed some clips of how fast he can be. He's sure not at 100%, as he said friday. He has a REALLY strong wrister, every puck I've seen him throw on net went him, even if the goaler got a piece of it. Pierre Gauthier was right, he is a hell of a shooter. Only Dagenais on the ice had shots that can compared to Kastsitsyn's ones. And Dagenais played in the NHL and had 17 goals only because of that. Kastsitsyn intensy didn't impress me, but it was a practice. Just a little observation, at the begin of the second practice, when everyone was skating in circle and taking shots on net, Kast was one of the few, if not the only, to make passes instead of shooting. He ain't shelfish. Kyle Chipchura I found his skating was good, not great, but he hasn't skating problems. Good speed, and his foot speed was okay. Need to work on his shots, wasn't a threat for goaler. He has good playmaking abilities, and show some stickhandling habilities. I was pleased by what I saw of him. I have not seen him during the onlye physical drill, because he was on the other side of the ice. I had very little time, so I mainly focus on Kyle Chipchura and Kastsitsyn, and let the other player impress me without really followed then. Ryan O'Byrne Big, mean D-Man. I wasn't suprised of that, but he was supprising fast for someone of his size. I really liked him, and will follow him more closely in Corwell next year. Andrew Archer Was it Andrew Archer, or Mike Komisarek? Both are almost same size and weight, and look exactly the same, same face. Archer was a physical force from what I saw, a defensive specialist. On one-on-one situation, he made that look SO easy, complety dominated forward, even Kastsitsyn. I would like to see this stay-at-home defenseman in game situations. I might go next week if there is a scrimmage. Could become a good 6th Dman Oskari Korpikari Another Defenseman that impressed me. Totally crush Jimmy Bonneau on one-on-one streght situation. Was very mobile, made good passes. He has cleary the potential to become a top 4 defenseman in the NHL. Gregory Stewart also caught my eyes, great pick. For a mid-draft pick at 18year-old, he totally surprised me. I understood why many as pointed physical play as Cory Urquhart main weakness. From what I saw, he's a 6 foot 3 Yanic Perreault... I didn't have enought time to look at all the players. Didn't really looked at goalies, only Lacasse, who seem to have many holes on his glove side. * You're up NWT! |
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Post by M. Beaux-Eaux on Jul 11, 2004 14:24:30 GMT -5
Day 3 addenda by Thomas at the other place:
Dagenais completely embarassed Lacasse, I dont think he made a single save and shook his head in dissapointed after every Dagenais shot. Danis did better, but on the real shots he had a similar problem. Probably the first time they have practiced with an NHL shot however.
I dont like protecting Dagenais, but at least hes trying to improve on his own will. He even sticked around for the puck and strength drills. Some could say he was forced by management, but he seemed happy to be there playing hockey. He will be starting off the year on the second line IMO, he looks a lot better already.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jul 11, 2004 15:16:34 GMT -5
Day 3 thoughts by espion from HF:
Yeah I give top marks with Thomas' report. Quite accurate.
1st practice was power skating (which is a litle dull to watch). Locke's skating skills prooved to be poor as I counted him falling down 3 times when skating backwards. No biggie.
But the guy I was most impressed with, and by far, was O'byrne. This guy is a monster, he knows how to play the North American game and he so much more aggressive than Archer. In the one on one drill in the corner, he pinned a forward to the boards and just left him stuck there (forgot who it was). On his next turn, he slammed PEI Rockets tough guy Jimmy Bonneau (who by the way is terrible) into the ice. Also, in the skating drills, O'byrne showed good coordination for a big man and put a few one timers away on the 2 on 0s and 2 on 1-backchecker.
Very impressed.
Kastsitsyn (which was the actual spelling on the shirt) can really put the puck away when he is alone with the goalie. But aside from that, I didn't see what was so outstanding about him. He wasn't bad or anything. He did indeed seem to float around a bit. I just didn't see a huge skill level difference between him and say Urquhart. Hopefully he'll flash more during games.
As mentioned above, Urquhart was scolded and reprimanded twice by Savard for his weak play in the corners. At least at different times he tried a couple of circus passes that no one else dared to do.
Lapierre, Lambert and Chipchura were all ok but quiet. Didn't see any flash from them but Lapierre did hustle hard backchecking when on D of a 2 on 1-backchecker drill.
Korpikari was solid defensively and had a sound all around game. He did well.
IMO Lacasse outplayed Danis and Halak but none did badly.
Linberg is a bit of a flopping clown with his teammates between drills but I guess he was just being a teenager.
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Post by M. Beaux-Eaux on Jul 11, 2004 16:16:21 GMT -5
Day 3 snippets from HF:
Thomas -
I dont think Bonneau was horrible. He surely isnt as physical as I had hoped for a goon. He was getting pushed around quite a bit but his shot is quite impressive for a fighter.
I thought Lacasse was the worst goalie. Hes got an advantage on the other three because of his size, but his glove reflexes and speed are nearly inexistant. He goes down too early and Dagenais and Kastsitsyn were taking advantage of that by going high. Danis plays a more traditional game, and I found was pretty solid, though his 5 hole could be better protected. Lindberg is fun to watch, and I found quite good. Hes fast, and is always square to the shooter. Hes a little small which was obvious. I didnt see much of Halak.
*
CrossCheck -
Was there also and I'd say that this is absolutly what I would have comment!!! Nice report!
Just to conclude, I think that "shape" aside, Kostitsyn seems a bit lazy on the ice but his shot is totally amazing... I'd say that his accuracy today should be around 60-70%!!! He can wrist it, that's for sure!
O'Byrne was the one who impressed me the most. Calm, solid, great pass and very good skating... Korpikari was also impressive. Strong and accurate in everything. Also saw him outside of the rink. Man he's huge!
Last one who did pretty well I think was Lindberg. This guy's a real athlete. He's quick like hell and seems to love hockey like no one! HE challenged everyone and went asking few questions to Dagenais... The only thing is that he plays with an equipement that I would'nt even use to play street hockey!!!
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Post by Goldthorpe on Jul 11, 2004 19:07:50 GMT -5
I'm reading nice things about O'Byrne... I remember when he was drafted, he was more or less a nobody from a weak league. Obviously AS and his team saw the raw material in the big guy. Now, he is still in college and probably won't see the AHL ice for quite a while.
For those who are disapointed by Kastsitsyn... remember that Perez wasn't that good too during last season prospect camp. He needed a bit of seasoning before making an inpact with the Bulldogs, and Kats is probably suffering similar problems.
Like everybody else, I can only respect Dagenais presence. I don't remember if a NHL player attended last year camp. Maybe his presence and experience is also good for the prospects to have around.
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Post by blaise on Jul 11, 2004 19:30:00 GMT -5
The reports on O'Byrne remind me of what I saw of him last season in the ECAC, except that he must have filled out a bit and is delivering bigger hits. At the time he was 6'5" but only 210, as I recall. He was pinning people but not really belting them. He had the wheels, though. I thought he was a fine dark horse draft pick.
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Post by M. Beaux-Eaux on Jul 11, 2004 22:37:41 GMT -5
Small talk between Timmins and Laurentides of HF:
I was there on ther on the second practice (saturday morning) and i was there at 8 45 so i went in the arena at the same time that trevor timmins went in......a GREAT guy. I congratulated him about the last few drafts:
this is the conversation we had:
Gui: Congratulation on this year draft!
TT: You were happy?
Gui: Yes i actually clapped alone in my basement !!!
TT: Great. Who were you rooting for?
Gui: Wasnt Wolski bigger than Chipchura?
TT: Yeah but Wolski is so soft , Chip was the guy we wanted all long
Gui: What about Shremp? I wanted him badlly.
TT: We hated him.
Gui: Thanks and good luck.
Trevor Timmins is a great guy and if you see him in the development camp, go talk to him , you wont regret it.........
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Post by Habs_fan_in_LA on Jul 12, 2004 11:38:06 GMT -5
Great report Mr. Bozo. As you can probably surmise, the "Los Angeles Times" does not devote any coverage to the Hab's camp.
I really appreciate some hockey info during the long hot summer.
It's also nice to get information and not be able to contradict anyone. You see the players and I don't so I have to go along with everything you say. Kinda nice.
Good to hear Kats or Kots is getting bigger, Dags is working hard, Locke is still small (How small?). Urkel is big and has skill but doesn't knock anyone over.
Dagenais didn't score all those goals with his dazzeling skating so it's good to hear that his shot is the benchmark for training camp.
Keep up the good work. It's really appreciated!
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Post by Habs_fan_in_LA on Jul 12, 2004 11:41:28 GMT -5
Small talk between Timmins and Laurentides of HF: I was there on ther on the second practice (saturday morning) and i was there at 8 45 so i went in the arena at the same time that trevor timmins went in......a GREAT guy. I congratulated him about the last few drafts: this is the conversation we had: Gui: Congratulation on this year draft! TT: You were happy? Gui: Yes i actually clapped alone in my basement !!! TT: Great. Who were you rooting for? Gui: Wasnt Wolski bigger than Chipchura? TT: Yeah but Wolski is so soft , Chip was the guy we wanted all long Gui: What about Shremp? I wanted him badlly. TT: We hated him. Gui: Thanks and good luck. Trevor Timmins is a great guy and if you see him in the development camp, go talk to him , you wont regret it......... I wanted Shremp too. I'm glad that we didn't pick him for the right reasons (brain trust didn't like him and liked Kyle) and not because they wanted to go with a safe pick. |
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jul 12, 2004 12:42:36 GMT -5
Some Day 4 snippets from rocketlives at HF:
I went to the development camp this morning for a short while. I missed the drills but saw an interesting practice led by André Savard.
I met Montreal while I was there. Couldn't miss him with his 6'3" 230lbs frame and his Matts Naslund #26 jersey. He drove all the way from Philly and seemed to be enjoying himself. At one point, he even had a short chat with Claude Julien.
We were both impressed with Yann Danis in goal, Archer and O'Byrne on defense and also Kostitsyn and Chipchura up front who were both throwing their weight around quite effectively. AK scored a few goals against Danis which showed the mark of the pure goal scorer. Only a select few in the NHL can score goals like that.
Archer and O'Byrne both were letting any player who tried to go around them pay the price. The practice this morning was closer to a real scrimmage with a lot of 2 on 1 and 3 on 2 and also some power play simulations with neat passing from behind the net.
The bodychecks were stiffer than before this morning, and as I said above, Kostitsyn and Chipchura showed that they can hit real hard "à la Gainey" to win the one-on-one battles against the boards. It was nice to see.
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Post by M. Beaux-Eaux on Jul 12, 2004 12:56:34 GMT -5
Great report Mr. Bozo. As you can probably surmise, the "Los Angeles Times" does not devote any coverage to the Hab's camp. I really appreciate some hockey info during the long hot summer. It's also nice to get information and not be able to contradict anyone. You see the players and I don't so I have to go along with everything you say. Kinda nice. Good to hear Kats or Kots is getting bigger, Dags is working hard, Locke is still small (How small?). Urkel is big and has skill but doesn't knock anyone over. Dagenais didn't score all those goals with his dazzeling skating so it's good to hear that his shot is the benchmark for training camp. Keep up the good work. It's really appreciated! Thanks for the kind words, though the real credit goes to those people who actually attend the sessions and post their observations. I'm merely acting as a librarian by gathering their observations from around the 'Net. I'd like to especially thank NWTHabsFan for pitching in. If anyone else comes across material, do post it here, the contribution would be more than welcome. I find it satisfying to note by the number of hits this thread has received that there is an enthusiatic interest in our young '(g)uns.. |
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Post by M. Beaux-Eaux on Jul 12, 2004 13:15:09 GMT -5
Snippets from Marc at HF:
Thomas sent me a few videos.
I must say, Kostitsyn is a real impressive sniper. His shot is awesome.Kovalchuk-esque in the way he releases it (note I am not saying he's the next Kovalchuk just the way he releases it). He also has the skating style of a NHL star, but I can't quite remember which one.
Chipchura made Flood look foolish in one of the videos.
*
Munch, yeah I'm thinking Marian Hossa as well. Anyways, BG better get him signed. Send him for a year to Hamilton under Jarvis to help him round out his defensive game and he could be NHL ready.
And count me on the O'Byrne BW as well. I've liked him alot since NHL network showed a Cornell game. Give him 3 more years in College and he should be a good stay at home type.
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Post by M. Beaux-Eaux on Jul 12, 2004 13:18:08 GMT -5
Videos of Kostitsyn and Chipchura doing what they do. ishfhome.tripod.com/2m4b.htmlMS Media Player 9 works fine. Download the files if you can; you'll avoid 'Net pipeline slow-down and server bandwidth usage by doing so. |
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Post by M. Beaux-Eaux on Jul 12, 2004 13:22:57 GMT -5
Day 4 report by Jake Wilson at HabsWorld: All right, here we go again, another day and another report about the same old drills. 9AM-10AM- I decided to watch the group featuring the Locke, Lambert, etc and the goaltenders. The group started off with a new drill which I hadnt seen them practice before, it was a figure 8 drill where each player would perform a skating figure-8 in each zone (defensive, neutral, offensive) . Flood and Archer impressed me with the effortless style of their skating. Lambert took a fall during the drill but was otherwise pretty good. The next skating drill was conducted in pairs of 2 (racing) with the players skating in various different styles as instructed by the staff, one of the most awkward skating styles performed was when the players were told to skate on one leg (simulating an injured leg in a game situation?) from one end to the other, the most impressive skaters in that sequence of drills were Ferland, Acher, Lambert and Lapierre, each of them won 6 straight "races" across the ice against their opponents. Next up was the elastic ropes for power skating practice. As usual the players started out tied to the bench, the next exercise with the rope was one that hadnt been used before, 4 players were tied between 2 ropes at centre ice, and each player had to pull the group in their assigned direction, Locke and Ferland showed impressive strength, Locke easily pulled players twice his size. 10AM-10:30AM- Intermission between practices. The zambonis cleaned the ice before the players could return. During the intermission I had a change to meet HW prospect editor Dan Linn, we chatted until the next practice began, nice guy. 10:30AM-12PM- The group of 25 reassembles for offensive drills, the usual odd man rushes and such. Next came a surprise, a group of players were given dark-blue jerseys, I was thrilled, finally the group would scrimmage... Or so I thought, the group ended up not scrimmaging but playing short mini 3 on 3 games in one zone, it wasnt a scrimmage, but the players did get a chance to play physically, and O’Byrne was the most physical of all. Kostitsyn scored a few goals and even threw a hit while playing on the defensive side of the 3 on 3’s. Danis continues to be the dominate goalie at the camp, Lindberg remains impressive while Halak and Lacasse have showed signs of progressions over the past few days of camp. 12PM- I decide to wait for the players to leave the arena, I catch up with Dan Linn again and we chat some more, I also met Mike Wyman from insidehockey.com/ . We all chatted for a good 30 minutes while the players, managment and media left the building, among those who walked by were Andre Savard, Bob Gainey, Claude Julien, TSN’s Michael Whalen, and of course all of the prospects. My camp D Rankings 1)Andrew Archer 2)Ryan O’Byrne 3)Osari Korpikari 4)Mark Flood 5)J-P Cote 6)Alex Dulac 7)O.Magnan |
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Post by Goldthorpe on Jul 12, 2004 13:38:24 GMT -5
From Sakuuuuu, on HF:
hey guys,
Well I was there today as well, so couple of observations of my own to add to the topic:
- I was really impressed by all three of Danis, Halak, and Heino-Lindberg. I guess I was most impressed by H.-L. simply because I didn't expect much from him, but he was doing just about as well as Halak and Danis. Lacassee wasn't spectacular, but I'm sure we will one day see him in atleast the AHL.
- Chipchura seems like the big man on campus at this camp. He was talking to everyone, laughing, making jokes, scoring. He needs to work on his skating a bit, but he's promising both due to his hockey skills, and his people/team skills.
- Kostitsyn (who must be getting annoyed, by the way, cause the name on his jersey is still spelled Kastsitsyn) impressed me. He isn't quite the speedster I had imagined, but he has big, powerful strides, which make him seem altogether to be a bigger player than he actually is. He's got a great shot, though it's a bit inconsistant, as he fanned on it, or missed the net from time to time. He isn't afraid to be physcial, and even through a check or two in practice. he did try to get fancy alot and it rarely worked, so i guess he'll need to either improve his tricks, or simplify his game somewhat. I also kinda felt bad for this kid, cause he was often alone seeing as he couldn't really communicate with his teammates. I'm sure, if nothing else, this camp will motivate him to learn english.
- O'Byrne: I really liked his performance today. The guy is really big and he plays physically, while also being sound defensively. I can see him as a potential future Hab.
- Urquhart: Potential Potential Potential. I'm a fan of this kid. His game is still kinda rough, as he'll need to work on skating and puck control a bit, but he's big, has a good shot, and good hockey sense. He's a guy I think we overlook a little too much.
- Locke: Yes, he IS small, but he's a good skater and has a very decent shot. Based on the reviews I read of his performance the passed couple of days, I would guess today wasn't his best effort of the camp, but he still performed fine.
- Lambert: Another kid that pleasantly surprised me this morning, Lambert is tough, fast, and agile. His game is fairly complete already, but he needs to get a bit stronger and improve overall skill.
- Korpikari: Probably the second best defenceman at this camp after O'Byrne (imo), Korpi has good foot speed, and is a good puck mover. Another guy bound for the NHL if his development continues as such.
- Lapierre and Larrivée: I group these guys together as I found their performances similar today; both solid, but unspectacular. I guess the fact that I'm saying they're similar says a good deal about Lapierre, since he was drafted a full 3 years later than Larrivée, yet already rivals him talent-wise.
- Godin, Petit, Labelle, Magnan: None of the tryouts impressed me whatsoever. If I had to rank them, based on today, I guess I'd say Labelle-Magnan-Petit-Godin. I don't see any of them being offered a contract in the near future though.
- None of the other players stood out much to me. Danny Stewart looked good for a while, but that was during a 3-on-3 drill where he was teamed with Chipchura and Kostitsyn. Pierre Dagenais was at the first half of the practice (the part before they started using pucks) and worked on his skating. He's getting better, slowly but surely.
I guess that's it for now.
If you have any questions/comments, lemme know.
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