Cote

[Habs_fan_in_LA]

This guy is +9 in Hamilton, leading the team in +/-. Hainsey is -9 on the same team. Jean Philippe is always at the top in +/- and he is 6'3" 207 (not a runt). We never seem to hear about him and he continues to play a solid if unspectacular game. That's what being a defenseman is all about. Good safe decisions that lead to good defense first and good attacks when appropriate.

[BadCompany]

I liked Cote last year, and I was happy when the Habs offered him a contract this year, but frankly speaking, I thought he's been brutal the last few games.

He is steady, and he is ultra-safe in a Rick Green way, but he's also cursed with slow feet. He relies totally on positioning, and while this is not necessarily a bad thing, when he is caught a few feet away from where he has to be, he really "chugs" to try and get back. He doesn't have great lateral movement, and he doesn't have any real straight-ahead (or backwards) speed to speak of either, in my opinion. I could see this guy getting embarrassed by speed rushes to the outside an awful lot in the NHL.

Still, he is very solid positionally, as I said, and he is a gamer. You can never under-estimate hard work, and Cote certainly isn't afraid of that. He could yet be a decent depth defenseman at the NHL level...

[HabbaDasher]

I enjoyed watching Rick Green play.
Almost always came up with the puck in his end.
Rarely gave it away.

[M. Beaux-Eaux]

Je suis du côté du beau chemin.