Danis holds the fort for the Bulldogs : Brunet
Mar 22, 2005 8:47:34 GMT -5
Post by M. Beaux-Eaux on Mar 22, 2005 8:47:34 GMT -5
21-03-2005
Danis holds the fort for the Bulldogs
Mathias Brunet
La Presse
The Hamilton Bulldogs would perhaps already have been out of the playoff race if not for the prowess of their rookie goalie Yann Danis.
The young man from Saint-Jérôme has just had another big weekend and he made it possible for the Bulldogs to earn three out of four points, thanks to a 2-0 whitewashing of the St-John's Maple Leafs on Saturday.
This victory made it possible for Hamilton to again reach fourth place in its division (the last position available to qualify for the playoffs) along with Syracuse and Edmonton.
And so Danis has a record of 21 wins 15 defeats and five ties, with a GAA of 2.47 and a save percentage of .921. For the past three weeks coach Doug Jarvis has sent him into the fray for all the games, except when the team played three in a row.
He has supplanted Dallas prospect Dan Ellis, Marty Turco's future backup. Ellis has not measured up to Danis, as is testified by his 8-18-0 record, GAA of 2.82 and save percentage of .907.
"He is given starts not because he belongs to our organization, but because he has been the better of the two, and we want to give ourselves the best chance to win," André Savard confided yesterday. "He has proven to be reliable."
Savard and the Bulldogs had taken a certain risk last summer by dropping two experienced goalies, Éric Fichaud and Jean-François Damphousse, in favour of Ellis and Danis. Ellis had twenty games of experience in the AHL, Danis two.
"One never knows how a goalie will react in his first professional season, but Danis is showing a beautiful maturity," said Savard. "His level of concentration is very good and he does not expend energy unnecessarily because his technique is refined. Undoubtedly his years as number one goalie at Brown, in the American university ranks, has helped him to be as good as he is today."
The Bulldogs picked up their first point Friday in a 4-3 overtime loss. Hamilton came back from 3-2 with less than eight minutes left in the third period when Steve Bégin drew his team even. Saturday, Ron Hainsey scored early in the game on a power play and Danis held the fort after that. Chris Higgins finished the scoring into an empty net near the end of the game. The 24 year old goalie blocked all 23 shots directed at him and he was named first star of the game. The hero of the day before, Steve Bégin, couldn't play because of an injury, same as Stars' prospect Steve Ott.
Danis looks to be a bargain for the Habs. After one season with the Cornwall Colts in the Ontario Junior A League, he chose at age 19 to continue his career in the American university ranks with the Brown University Bears in the NCAA, because he had not been drafted by the NHL.
His performances with Brown attracted the scouts' attention. Certain NHL clubs, among them the Canadiens, started to approach him in the summer of 2003. But Danis rejected the contract offers that were made to him in order to finish his studies in economics. His last season with the Bears was extraordinary. His performances were worthy of a nomination for the Hobey Baker trophy, given to the university hockey player par excellence in the United States. Then, last spring, he finally accepted the Canadiens' proposal.
Next Bulldogs' game: Wednesday evening against the Wilkes-Bars Penguins of coach Michel Therrien and goalie Marc-Andre Fleury.
- texte français original
Danis holds the fort for the Bulldogs
Mathias Brunet
La Presse
The Hamilton Bulldogs would perhaps already have been out of the playoff race if not for the prowess of their rookie goalie Yann Danis.
The young man from Saint-Jérôme has just had another big weekend and he made it possible for the Bulldogs to earn three out of four points, thanks to a 2-0 whitewashing of the St-John's Maple Leafs on Saturday.
This victory made it possible for Hamilton to again reach fourth place in its division (the last position available to qualify for the playoffs) along with Syracuse and Edmonton.
And so Danis has a record of 21 wins 15 defeats and five ties, with a GAA of 2.47 and a save percentage of .921. For the past three weeks coach Doug Jarvis has sent him into the fray for all the games, except when the team played three in a row.
He has supplanted Dallas prospect Dan Ellis, Marty Turco's future backup. Ellis has not measured up to Danis, as is testified by his 8-18-0 record, GAA of 2.82 and save percentage of .907.
"He is given starts not because he belongs to our organization, but because he has been the better of the two, and we want to give ourselves the best chance to win," André Savard confided yesterday. "He has proven to be reliable."
Savard and the Bulldogs had taken a certain risk last summer by dropping two experienced goalies, Éric Fichaud and Jean-François Damphousse, in favour of Ellis and Danis. Ellis had twenty games of experience in the AHL, Danis two.
"One never knows how a goalie will react in his first professional season, but Danis is showing a beautiful maturity," said Savard. "His level of concentration is very good and he does not expend energy unnecessarily because his technique is refined. Undoubtedly his years as number one goalie at Brown, in the American university ranks, has helped him to be as good as he is today."
The Bulldogs picked up their first point Friday in a 4-3 overtime loss. Hamilton came back from 3-2 with less than eight minutes left in the third period when Steve Bégin drew his team even. Saturday, Ron Hainsey scored early in the game on a power play and Danis held the fort after that. Chris Higgins finished the scoring into an empty net near the end of the game. The 24 year old goalie blocked all 23 shots directed at him and he was named first star of the game. The hero of the day before, Steve Bégin, couldn't play because of an injury, same as Stars' prospect Steve Ott.
Danis looks to be a bargain for the Habs. After one season with the Cornwall Colts in the Ontario Junior A League, he chose at age 19 to continue his career in the American university ranks with the Brown University Bears in the NCAA, because he had not been drafted by the NHL.
His performances with Brown attracted the scouts' attention. Certain NHL clubs, among them the Canadiens, started to approach him in the summer of 2003. But Danis rejected the contract offers that were made to him in order to finish his studies in economics. His last season with the Bears was extraordinary. His performances were worthy of a nomination for the Hobey Baker trophy, given to the university hockey player par excellence in the United States. Then, last spring, he finally accepted the Canadiens' proposal.
Next Bulldogs' game: Wednesday evening against the Wilkes-Bars Penguins of coach Michel Therrien and goalie Marc-Andre Fleury.
- texte français original
