Rookie Camp/Tournament 2005

[M. Beaux-Eaux]

Info pieced together from various sources.

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Eligibility rules for the tournament require that no more than three players per team have one year of American Hockey League experience, and those players must have been born after 1983 if they played in the Canadian Hockey League. Drafted players who held amateur status in 2004-05 and any player approved by the other four teams are also eligible.

- www.carolinahurricanes.com/news/news.asp?articleid=1342

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Mon. Sept 5 - no practise
Tues. Sept 6 - no practise, no game
Wed. Sept 7 - 9am practise(Corel Centre)
- 4:40pm vs. Florida (Corel Centre)
Thur. Sept 8 - noon pracrtise (Corel Centre)
- 8pm vs. Toronto (Corel Centre)
Fri. Sept 9 - 9am practise (Civic Centre)
- 4:30pm vs. Carolina (Civic Centre)
Sat. Sept 10 - noon practise (Civic Centre)
- 8pm vs. Ottawa (Civic Centre)

- www.ottawasenators.com/news/press/2005/nr0825b.aro

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Journal de Montréal reports:

Six 2005 draftee will be there: Carey Price, Guillaume Latendresse, Juray Mikus, Matthew D'Agostini, Mathieu Aubin and Sergei Kostitisyn.

*

Philippe Paquet will not not be attending due the stringency of NCAA regulations, which prohibit players from accepting any money in any form from professional clubs—travel, lodging, et cetera must all be paid for by the player.

[NWTHabsFan]

An August 27th LaPresse article by Brunet also mentioned that 6 of the 7 defensemen will be players not drafted by the Habs. Only Alex Dulac-Lemelin will be holding down the blueline fort along with Sebastien Bisaillon, Aaron Dawson, Nicolas Marcotte, Kevin Lavallee, James Sanford and Andre Benoit.

Bisaillon is 6'0" 195 lber 18 yr old who was Val d'Or's third member of their big three last season after Bourdon and Letang. He went undrafted this summer and is one of HF's top 6 undrafted players from the Q. He was ranked 122nd CSS north american, and had 15g 33a 48pts in 69 games.

Dawson is a huge 20 yr old Dman from Peterborough at 6'5" 220 lbs. He was drafted 102nd overall by Carolina in 2003, wasn't signed and is now eligible as a free agent. He had 16 pts in 68 games.

Marcotte is an Q overager at whom I hoped the Habs would have a peek. He is 6"1.5" 200lbs and was at the top of the league with Scalzo for top offensive Dman all year. He managed 17g 50a 67pts in 62 games this past season.

Lavallee is the Making the Cut 24 year old who earned his keep in Germany last season (where he has been since juniors).

Sanford is our shootout wizard from Hamilton who split the season between the ECHL and Hamilton after being a tryout last camp with Montreal.

Benoit is the stud overager from Kitchener who was the OHL top overager and runner up for top OHL defender last season. He managed 77 pts in 67 games.

With Benoit and Marcotte, the Habs have at camp two of the top four offensive defensemen in the OHL and Q. Sort of makes the loss of Flood a lot easier to take.

I will be in Ottawa for work next week and should be able to catch two of the games if my schedule permits. I will of course prepare a little report upon my return up north based on my observations.

[Bob]

nwthabsfan said:

An August 27th LaPresse article by Brunet also mentioned that 6 of the 7 defensemen will be players not drafted by the Habs. Only Alex Dulac-Lemelin will be holding down the blueline fort along with Sebastien Bisaillon, Aaron Dawson, Nicolas Marcotte, Kevin Lavallee, James Sanford and Andre Benoit.

Bisaillon is 6'0" 195 lber 18 yr old who was Val d'Or's third member of their big three last season after Bourdon and Letang. He went undrafted this summer and is one of HF's top 6 undrafted players from the Q. He was ranked 122nd CSS north american, and had 15g 33a 48pts in 69 games.

Dawson is a huge 20 yr old Dman from Peterborough at 6'5" 220 lbs. He was drafted 102nd overall by Carolina in 2003, wasn't signed and is now eligible as a free agent. He had 16 pts in 68 games.

Marcotte is an Q overager at whom I hoped the Habs would have a peek. He is 6"1.5" 200lbs and was at the top of the league with Scalzo for top offensive Dman all year. He managed 17g 50a 67pts in 62 games this past season.

Lavallee is the Making the Cut 24 year old who earned his keep in Germany last season (where he has been since juniors).

Sanford is our shootout wizard from Hamilton who split the season between the ECHL and Hamilton after being a tryout last camp with Montreal.

Benoit is the stud overager from Kitchener who was the OHL top overager and runner up for top OHL defender last season. He managed 77 pts in 67 games.

With Benoit and Marcotte, the Habs have at camp two of the top four offensive defensemen in the OHL and Q. Sort of makes the loss of Flood a lot easier to take.

I will be in Ottawa for work next week and should be able to catch two of the games if my schedule permits. I will of course prepare a little report upon my return up north based on my observations.

With Cote and Archer the two primary defensemen remaing from last year the Dogs will have some holes to fill. It is true that Edmonton will be supplying some players but likely no more than two d-men. That would leave a couple of holes to fill and it would be nice if a couple of these prospects could step in a become legitimate prospects.

Most of them of eye-catching stats. Since we have no PP-types among our top prospects Gainey would probably like to have someone with an offensive flair to complement the defensive types currently in the system.

Based on their ages and stats, Benoit and Marcotte would seem to have an advantage going into camp. Sanford is small, Lavallee is almost too old to be considered a prospect, Dawson is looks to be more of a defensive d-man (Long Beach??), and Bisaillon could go back to junior as will Lemelin.

If either (or both) of Benoit and Marcotte could make the Dogs and show some potential, Timmins and co. could really add to the defensive depth in the Habs organization. It is almost too much to hope for.

[NWTHabsFan]

bob said:

If either (or both) of Benoit and Marcotte could make the Dogs and show some potential, Timmins and co. could really add to the defensive depth in the Habs organization. It is almost too much to hope for.

I am hoping both these guys pan out into something, as it is the biggest gap in the Habs' impressive prospect depth right now.

The track record of late of developing good offensive defensemen in their draft years into legitimate NHL prospects has not been great. Flood bailed for more money, Shasby was let go, Korneev is undersized and may never leave the comfortable salaries in the RSL, and Hainsey is as enigmatic as ever and now faces huge competition at training camp with the addition of Dandenault and Streit, as well as the resigning of Gainey favourite Bouillon.

O'Byrne, Cote, Archer, Korpikari and even Emelin are good second tier guys or defensive specialists that may develop into something down the road, but nary a PP QB amongst them.

On another similar note, I read an Edmonton Journal article that mentioned that the Oilers are trying to find a home for Danny Syvret (which is good considering they just signed him). In the article, it mentions that the Oilers have already filled their spots with Hamilton and Des Moines, so they have to find another home for him. I guess this means we won't see Syvret as one of the Oiler prospects in Hamilton this season. Still no official word on who the potential 7 Oiler players could be that will be co-habitating in Steeltown once again.

[Bob]

I forgot to include Jonathan Aitken in the Bulldogs list. He is another d-men without a lot of offensive abilities. Nor should he be included in the prospect category.

Perhaps Sanford and Aitken will be the 3rd and 4th d-men supplied by Montreal but I would really like to see Benoit and Marcotte push these two guys into minor roles. It would be a good indication of the level of their talent/potential.

[legaspesien]

Liste des joueurs, camp des recrues

Aubin, Mathieu (C) *
Benoit, André #
Halak, Jaroslav ©
Bonneau, Jimmy (AG) ©
Bisaillon, Sébastien ü
Lacasse, Loic *
Chipchura, Kyle (C) *
Dawson, Aaron ü
Price, Carey *
D’Agostini, Matthew (AD) *
Dulac-Lemelin, Alex *
DeBlois, Dominic (AD) ü
Lavallée, Kevin ü
Kostitsyn, Sergei (AG) *
Marcotte, Nicolas ü
Lambert, Michael (AG) ©
Sanford, James #
Lapierre, Maxim (C) ©
Latendresse, Guillaume (AD) *
Lemieux, Francis (AD) #
Mikus, Juraj (AD) *
Stewart, Gregory (AG) *
Tardif, Jamie (AD) ü


Urquhart, Cory (C) ©

* Choix au repêchage (10) ü À l’essai (6) © Sous contrat (5) # Contrat AHL (3)

[M. Beaux-Eaux]

C'est là. Merci legaspesien, pour nous donner le matériel approprié.

---

Thanks le gaspesien, for delivering the goods.

[Bob]

Jamie Tardif.... very interesting. A big RH shooting forward who can play wing or center.

It looks like Timmins and company are trying very hard to fill some of the holes in the organizational depth chart with these rookie camp invitees.

Two or three success stories from this group would solidify the farm system and give the Habs some depth to work with.

[NWTHabsFan]

What is also interesting to note is that Sanford, Benoit and Francis Lemieux are already listed as being under AHL contract...so the Dogs are a bit more stocked already. Benoit has been much talked about and is a great addition, and Lemieux is a little speedy scorer from Chicoutimi, a team that was well versed in scoring this past season in the Q.

Both Tardif and DeBlois offer big strapping forwards who can score. Tardif was also part of the U18 team a few years ago that was made up with most of the players that ended up on the dominating at the WJC this past January.

Bob - I agree. Timmins was interviewed on the weekend by La Presse and talked that they have stocked up with forwards over the last few years since those were the BPA's when they picked. It does appear that they are looking to add some puck moving defensemen (of which Benoit, Marcotte and Bisaillon were three of the best last season) and some bigger forwards. That would really round off some of the gaps that exist in the Habs prospects, although it is a impressively deep group.

17 of the Habs "rookies" will be 20 years old and under, 6 are 21, and only Mr Making the Cut is over 21 at the tender age of 23. Only three have any AHL/ECHL minor pro experience (Urquhart, Sanford and Lambert), and none of this trio spent the whole season in the AHL last year (Urquhart only played in one game). So, it is a relatively young bunch, but lots and lots of talent.

I am looking forward to catching two of the games next week!!

[Bob]

nwthabsfan said:

I am looking forward to catching two of the games next week!!

Keep us updated... I look forward to your comments.

[M. Beaux-Eaux]

Canadiens’ rookie camp to begin Monday
Bell Centre set to host 24 Habs’ prospects in preparation for annual Rookie Tournament in Ottawa
(08/31/2005)

PRESS RELEASE

MONTREAL– The Canadiens announced Wednesday that the 2005 Rookie Camp will start on Monday, September 5 at the Bell Centre. The Canadiens’ main training camp will be held from September 13 to October 4.

Twenty-four prospects will participate in practice sessions in Montreal before taking part in a rookie tournament at the Corel Centre and the Civic Centre, in Ottawa, from September 6 to 10. The round-robin tournament will feature five NHL clubs; the Florida Panthers, the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Carolina Hurricanes, the Ottawa Senators and the Canadiens.

Six of the Canadiens’ seven selections from the 2005 Entry Draft will participate in the rookie camp, including top two picks, goaltender Carey Price and forward Guillaume Latendresse. Canadiens’ 2004 top pick, Kyle Chipchura will also be attending.

- tinyurl.com/b8p77

[M. Beaux-Eaux]

From a poster on the Habs newsgroup:

Sergei "Billy" Kostytsin

Aug 31, 9:19 pm
Newsgroups: alt.sports.hockey.nhl.mtl-canadiens
From: "Otto"
Date: Wed, 31 Aug 2005 21:19:17 -0400
Local: Wed, Aug 31 2005 9:19 pm
Subject: Sergei "Billy" Kostytsin

I got a first hand look today at Billy during the London Knights training camp. He's a fast skater and a very quick shot. Excellent at handling the puck as well.

Granted it's only Junior A training camp but very impressive from a first glance

[M. Beaux-Eaux]

A poster at HF wrote:

Unread 09-02-2005, 11:55 PM
JrHockeyFan

Looked good!

I was at the game tonite too and was equally impressed. He had pretty good jump and stick handles real well. His four assists were all pretty legit points too.

He had a couple of good dashes at the net and almost scored a couple of times.

It was just a Jr Exhibition game but the kid stood out pretty well. He will need to work on his D though. This is something that the Hunter's stress so I expect him to benefit from his stay with the Knights

It was also a good game for a couple of other notable siblings: Adam Perry (brother of Corey) picked up two goals. And 16 year old Corey Syvret (brother of Danny) had a goal and an assist. Also four assists for 17 yr old defenseman Steve Ferry.

By the way, the program had the spelling as Sergei Kostitsyn.

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Also:

The grousing has begun already as the same fans who didn't like the hooking, holding and stick work from previous years were complaining about the penalty calls.

Will it be called this way during the regular season? Probably not, but the message the league wants to send early is that it's going to be called a lot closer than it was in the past and stick infractions are on the hit list.

Who thrived in the first exhibition game? Well, it's only one game but it may be the first time in years the Knights may have an effective import player and the new rules may help him. Sergei Kostitsyn from Belarus flitted around the ice and had four assists.

- www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/LondonFreePress/Sports/2005/09/03/1200539-sun.html

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Another satisfied fan:

Topic: First impression of Kastsitsyn
Date: Friday, September 02, 2005 11:11 PM

I was at the Knights first pre season tilt with Sarnia tonight and S Kastsitsyn played a regular shift, wore #24, played alongside Dylan Hunter, earned 4 assists and was named the games first star won by the Knights 9-3....how 'bout that for a start in N.A.

He is very smooth, a great passer and seemed a lot bigger than I thought he would be. His defensive zone work is non existent at this point but when he gets the puck or is around it, man the fireworks start. I know it's only the first game and he'll have a lot of adjusting to do, but what a find the Knights may have as they'll lose Perry, Syvret, Prust and others.

At one point he made a couple of nice moves through the neutral zone then got clobbered with his head down, but he got up right away and even took a shot at the guy. He went to the net hard and just missed on a couple of deflections.

The game itself was an embarrassment as 2 refs called a gazillion penalties. Everything was called, it got to be a laugher at one point....Knights fans even started to boo when we went on another PP late in the game. It was ridiculous.

After the game, both teams went to a shootout to show the fans that part of the game we'll be seeing in O.T. this year. Kastsitsyn was the second shooter for the Knights and got robbed on a nice wrist shot.

Anyway, I'll be posting here and there on him this year.

[NWTHabsFan]

Montreal, the poster, put up some Day One notes over at HF, taken from comments that one poster heard on Team 990 and RDS. The Habs rookies will continue to practice in Montreal tomorrow morning before departing on the bus to Ottawa in the afternoon.

Taken from Marc who got it off of the team 990, merci!

The guy from making the cut (Kevin Lavallee) impressed at this practice.

- Chipchura and Latendresse impressed. He says both are solid all-around packages. Chip more of a playmaker, Tender a finisher. He talked with Timmins who is convinced Chipchura will make the WJC team.

- Really liked Mikus. Has great hockey sense and a quick stick.

- Kost II has great hockey sense, comparable to Mikus.

I guess they probably talked about Price at the top of the hour, I missed it if they did.

RDS had a report from the practice, Aubin and Stewart are injured and it sounds like they will miss the tournament. Nothing else really important coming out from that report.


Too bad for Stewart and Aubin. Lavallee is much older and was playing in the German elite league for a short spell at the end of this past season, so he already has pro experience. I would be interested to see if he can make the Bulldogs since they are so short on defense. I've heard a story about the team he signed for in the DEL, that they might not play in the DEL this year and might end up in the tier-2 league instead. Haven't heard much on the story of late though.

[NWTHabsFan]

With Mathieu Aubin and Greg Stewart injured, the Habs are down a few bodies. Someone on HF reported that the Habs have added Mathieu Melanson to their roster. If this is true, good to see the Habs have a look at another undrafted guy...it is a cheap way to further evaluate young players.

He is a 20 year old that just finished his 4th year in the Q, the past two seasons with Patrick Roy's Quebec team. He was drafted in the 8th round in 2003 by Minny, but wasn't signed and reentered the draft. Here are his stats:

www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php3?pid=70593

[sasha]

Sebastein Bisaillon has to be a legitimate prospect. He had half as many more points than Luc Bourdon playing in Val D'Or last season, and his +- was 3 times better than Bourdon's.
He is just a couple of months older and has decent size at 6-0, 205 pounds. If the NHL changes as it is supposed to, Bisaillon should have as good a chance of succeeding as Bourdon or Kris Letang. Hopefully they will sign him as he went undrafted.

[M. Beaux-Eaux]

Great opportunity for Yann Danis

September 6, 2005 - LAVAL (CP) - The Canadiens will give Québécois Yann Danis the chance to earn the position of backup goalie during the absence of Frenchman Cristobal Huet—until January, we are led to believe.

"He deserves that we give him a chance after the excellent season that he had in Hamilton", affirmed GM Bob Gainey on Tuesday.

"If he has a good training camp, we will trust him with backing up Theodore."

Danis, a native of Saint-Jérôme, distinguished himself with the Bulldogs in 2003-04— his first season as a professional.

The 24 year old team MVP had a record of 28-17-6, plus 5 shutouts. He had a GAA of 2.34 and a save percentage of 0.924.

Gainey mentioned that Huet, included in the trade which made it possible for the Canadiens to acquire the Czech Radek Bonk in June 2004, will be brought to Montreal as soon as he receives the green light to begin on-ice training.

Huet, who had his knee operated on in France after having been injured during the NHL lockout, thinks he'll be mobile around mid-November. The Canadiens expect that he can return to play at the beginning of 2006.

Hossa and Hainsey

The GM in addition indicated that five forwards will be fighting for to win three places in camp, which will start next Tuesday. Chris Higgins, Marcel Hossa, Tomas Plekanec and Sergei Perezhogin are in the ranks. Young Andrei Kostitsyn, first choice in 2004, could enter the mix.

"It was told to me that Andrei trained very hard this summer," Gainey reported. "He asked his agent which players he must beat out to make the team."

Gainey did not say it, but this undoubtedly, at the age of 23, is the last chance that Hossa will receive to make his niche in the NHL, .

On defense, some positions are available. We are eager to see how the Swiss Mark Streit will meet the challenge. Mike Komisarek should be a quality replacement for recent retiree Stephan Quintal.

And Gainey is said to hope that Ron Hainsey will finally earn his place on the blue line.

"On defense, we have the potential to be better," he opined. "All in all, I think that we will have a better team."

The players questioned on Tuesday shared Gainey's opinion, except for captain Saku Koivu who expressed the desire that one or two pieces are added before the beginning of the season.

- www.rds.ca/canadien/chroniques/187264.html

[Habs_fan_in_LA]

I expect Kyle and Guilaumme to put some hurt on the opposition and put the puck in the net when the D backs off them.

[M. Beaux-Eaux]

Higgins, Plekanec, and Perezhogin are my odds-on favorites to make the jump. Kostitsyn will push the three amigos more than they'll comfortably like, and will serve notice that he'll be ready for a call-up real soon. Hossa gets dumped.

Chipchura will likely look as if the AHL would be a waste of time for him.

Streit will force Hainsey's hand—nose-to-nose at the wire.

Guillaume "Otis" (Try a Little Tenderness) Latendresse keeps everyone alert, and skates through to the main camp.

With Danis backing up Théodore until the New Year, Halak will get his grab at the brass ring in Hamilton.

[M. Beaux-Eaux]

Game report from another board:

The game was not as intense as I had hoped it would be. I think we may have a couple of players here. Chipchura wore the C and played a lot . He got PK and PP as well as his regular shift and was our best forward in my opinion.Latandress looked pretty good for an 18 year old.Lapierre was our second most impressive forward despite a couple of penalties . He skated well all night ,finished his checks and was a real **** disturber.Jimmy Bonneau and Anthony Stewart went toe to toe with Bonneau scoring a takedown .Aaron Downey got his *** handed to him in the only other scrap.(Can't rember the winner's name but he was 6'5 238 although Downey is also listed at 6'5.) Lambert scored but was not that impressive.Lemieux also scored but was in the right place at the right time.Price did not play but will likely start tomorrow.Halak played and was OK but seemed to give up a lot of rebounds.Both goalies got penalties for playing the puck in the new restricted area.Montreal scored on the florida penalty.Kostityn looked smallish and got rocked a couple of times.Mikus also looked a little timid.Bisaillion with a pair of goals fromthe D and Benoit both looked fluid. I also ran into Trevor Timmons and asked if Ryder had signed and he responded it's up to him.

[M. Beaux-Eaux]

Game report from another other board:

Hey I am back from the game!!!

I will do my best to give you my impression of the players. I did not take any notes so I will you my memory.

Halak: Very weak on the first 2 goals. On the first one, lost the puck after an easy save in his circle. The second one was a weak wrist shot from a FLA player. He had a very good third period and made some good gloves saves.

Dawson: Did not notice him. Had a fight with Legault but he did not really want to drop the gloves
Lavallee: Huge! Best d-man for the Habs during the first 2 period. In the third, he was beaten 3 times by players coming to his right while skating backward.
Benoit: Nice vision. Nice passes, Was caught looking on the first Florida goal.
Bisaillon: For me, he was the most impressive d-man on the Habs roster and scored the winning goal from the blueline in OT.
Dulac: Nice but did not stand out.
Sanford: Seemed out of place.

Chip: Was caught looking on the third Florida goal. Invisble during the first period. Made some nice passes to Lambert in the second and in the third was the Habs best player with two nice dishes to Lambert who hitted the cross bar.
D'Agostina: Nice vision, very good player and played with Chip. Created some good opportunities.
Lapierre: BEST habs player!!! What a game he played. After his second shift, Florida players were chasing him on the ice! We found a real pest and the kid can play hockey to. He gave at least one body check per shift and created some very nice scoring opportunities for his teamates.
Lambert: NHL shot already! Scored a hell of a goal from a nice dish from Latendresse. He will play in Hamilton this year.
Urquart: Did not notice him.
Tardif: Had a nice first period delivering some good body check. Invisible after that.
Bonneau: A fight on his second shift! Was on the ice during the last minute of the third period and seem to be able to play hockey.
Lemieux: A goal and nice vision
Deblois: Played in the first. Second did not see him. Third missed the net on a good scoring opportunity.
Mikus: A lot of talent. Nice speed and very good vision. Good accelaration.
Latendresse: He threw at least one body check per shift!!! Always in a good position in front of the net. Very dangerous. Good backcheck. Slow to start when he is stopped on the ice but after he is ok!
Kots: Hold his own but nothing fancy!

Habs THREE STARS:

1- Maxim Lapierre
2- Sebastien Bisaillon
3- Kyle Chipchura


I was seated in section 116, center ice, facing the players bench. Did not see any other posters! I spoke with Dany Dube and he was enjoying Lapierre as well! Saw Andre Savard, Timmins and Gauthier. Asked Savard about Bisaillon and he liked what he saw from the kid!!!

[M. Beaux-Eaux]

Game report by another poster from the other other board:

just got back from the game and will be going tomorrow...
the first period was awful maybe nerves or rust or not knowing each other but the shots were like 17 - 6 for florida..

what i liked...chips, latendre and kevin lavallee (sorry for spelling but i am tired and doing this quickly) chips comes out of every corner with the puck, lats is just a solid player everywhere he needs to be and both surprised me with their skating neither looked like ward not once..lavallee is fast and dependable and knows where to be and how to get a partner out of a jam.
chips and lats would both get A's for tonite
J bonneau is like begin...full of energy in your face and skates as fast as any and was willing to defend the youngsters when in trouble

kostityn needs to mature..game was passing him by seemed lost all gain..

Halak looked very shakey and almost every shot gave up huge rebounds...

mikus is very fast but pushed off the puck alot..but good playmaker..

everyone else just seemed normal no highlights no lowlights...

if i were to pick NHLers...chips and lats..in 3 years both make the nhl as powerforwards... and thats about it..

one thing i liked about the team they are large...smallest guy on the roster (fds,d and goalies) was 5-11 and everyone else was over 6


got chatting with Timmins...look for pherezhogin to be on the top two lines in montreal (big club) for a fair shake to start the season (15 games) he was described as perhaps the most dynamic player on the team and the one to be the biggest impact player..
also added to watch for kostitsyn to make club for a trial run has an amazing shot to go with perez playmaking and both players are extremely fast..

one last thing...tonites game was fast...no red line no clutching no grabbing
2 fights and the tag up offsides helps keeps the game fast and moving.

going to everygame so i will let you know how things go..

(was kinda looking forward to a shootout)
yes we won in o.t

sevil
yeah i forgot about lapierrie..he was good..carried the play alot i would like to see a line built around him for the next game

[M. Beaux-Eaux]

And a nightcap:

Good game, I was kind of hoping for a shootout, but i'll take the win...

Halak:as previously mentionned, very quick down low, goes from post to post very quickly, gave up a few weak goals, but he faced almost 50 shots tonight! Still needs alot of work but he battles in the net...

Lavallé:Big guy, great skater, he moves the puck well, takes the body but lacks a bit of hockey sense IMO, He was pretty good, but I also realize he's older than everyone here, which makes me reserve my judgement on him.

Benoit:Not very tall, but he's solid on his skates, he's very good on the PP as his shots seemed to always hit the net, i was very impressed with his offensive game, he tries defensively but I find he caught flat footed often, doesn't really show at this level but he'd have to be alot better in his own zone to not be a liability.

Bisaillon:Great game, he threw his body around, didn't always come out on top but I thought he played with alot of heart tonight, i don't see how he was credited with the 1st goal? GWG, not a bad first impression.

Sandford:Good skater, small and got dominated in his zone, nothing really impressive, didn't stand out in anyway.

Dulac:Awful last year, just as bad this year...this guy is like a big oaf, he looks lost tripped over himself once and just looked really uncoordinated...bad game maybe, but he was like this last year as well...

Chipchura:Thought he had an average 1st period but was above average in the 2nd and 3rd, he and Lambert really stepped it up...thoughout though, he was solid positionally, good along the boards and just did his job, he's a very cerebral player. Decent skater but he doens't have that extra gear, and that's going to make the difference between him being a 2nd line center or a 3rd line center.

Lambert:like Chip, ordinary in the 1st but stepped it up the rest of the game, he's got an NHL caliber shot IMO, and the size and skating as well...but he plays on the perimeter too much...I write him off alot, but if he can show a bit more intensity he could turn into a decent scorer. Pivotal year for him in Hamilton.

Tardif:Came out in the 1st period with alot of energy, and showed it in spurts the rest of the game, probably the weak link of this line, but he wasn't horrible either.

Lemieux:Really liked him tonight, also played with alot of heart, drove to the net hard and showed some good vision.

Lapierre:What a pest, he was a target for some of the Panther players all night, but he never backed down and always finished his checks, matched up vs. Olesz alot and he did a great job. One of the Habs best players tonight.

D'Agostini:All three of them did a great job of forechecking, and often, D'Agostini was the one in their first, rail thin but he doesn't shy away, needs to put on alot of weight, nothing too great to say about him but he played his role.

Latendresse:Played center for some reason?... so tell me why he dropped in the draft again? his skating? I saw nothing wrong with his skating, like mentionned, he's not the fastest starter, but he's also 225lbs and 18yrs old, feels so good to have a skilled forward who can also play a physical game, from what I saw today, and given it's not the greatest measuring stick, but I loved how he played tonight, he carried his line and had he been with better linemates he would of stood out even more, his skating isn't even an issue to me right now, I hadn't seen him play before tonight, I read he wasn't the most fleet of foot, but looks like those power skating drills and the loss of body fat have done him some good...had an assist...To tell you the truth, I think Chipchura's skating is more of a concern than Latendresse's perceived one

Kostitsyn:Started out with some spunk but got drilled a few times and disapeared the rest of the game, don't get me wrong, he didn't back down, but became real shy all of a sudden, you could see he's got skills though.

Deblois:Had 1 scoring chance and blew it, thought he was the weakest link of the line, showed nothing.

Urqhart:He's got great size for a centerman and is most comfortable in the offensive zone, but he's strickly a perimeter player, doesn't want to have anything to do with the rough stuff, it's too bad, cause when he is forced to use his strength he can push people around.

Bonneau:Played the enforcer effectively, chipped the puck of the boards, and he's dramatically improved his skating since last year, I was very disapointed with him last year, but he's improved alot as a hockey player I find, the only negative i can think of is that he doesn't finish his checks, he's a reallly big guy but he doesn't have power in his bodychecks, he leans into people but doesn't eliminate them.

Mikus:Has a little of the cherry picker syndrome, but he's a real talented player, thing I liked is he initiated alot of contact tonight, he's only 18 but he's got a good frame to put on alot of weight, at 190 he's slim, but not rail thin, as he gets older he'lll fill out, had a few nice scoring chances, and he's a good playmaker, clever passer.

No notes, this is all from memory, so take it for what it's worth.

[NWTHabsFan]

Hey gang,

Great game, we won 4-3 in OT and have lots to say on various prospects, but will reserve judgement on a few since I hope to also catch tomorrow's game against TO.

For a sampler though, I must add the following general observations:

- brutal first period, you could tell that Florida and the other three teams had already played one game together...the Habs were hemmed in and totally useless for the whole period.

- incredible pace and back and forth action for the remaining two periods...drafting skill is really a good thing...getting the refs to figure out how to call the game is still a work in progress!!!

- Chip was wearing the "C" for a reason. Saw him warmup with the team, make a sweet pass in the final scrimmage, and watch everyone skate behind him with a smile. He is a leader!!

- Lapierre - been a fave of mine for a while, folks are starting to take notice.

- Favourite players trying to earn a spot: Tardif (nobody on HF picked him...hehe) and Bisailon. Lemieux and Tardif showed some "small frame" grit and speed that has been lacking of late, so I am glad that Lemieux will get a look in Hamilton. Bisaillon scored the GWG because nobody touched him on an odd man OT rush and Tyler Plante looked brutal...Bisaillon had something nice in his game all night. Good skater and not bad size for an 18 year old.

Biggest dissapointment.....Cory Urquhart...did you forget you should be better than all these guys since you were drafted 40th overall in a deep draft 2 years ago...eeek.

More to follow...

[M. Beaux-Eaux]

Melanson gives Halak a good grade in a 43 save effort, despite him allowing a couple of soft goals early on. He has a shot at winning the starter's job in Hamilton, depending on how his camp goes. The Habs are looking for him to play at least 50 games, either in Hamilton or Long Beach.

- www.rds.ca/canadien/chroniques/187354.html

[M. Beaux-Eaux]

Green singled out Mikus, Latendresse, Bonneau, and Chipchura as players who impressed him.

- www.rds.ca/canadien/chroniques/187353.html

[M. Beaux-Eaux]

Timmins felt Chipchura was the best player on the ice last night. "Brilliant two-way play." "Did a ton of little things right that most people don't notice."

Green (who is head coach of the rookie camp) didn't hesitate to designate Chipchura as captain. Has leadership qualities on and off the ice. Speaks his mind in the locker-room and leads by example during the game.

Timmins pleased with Latendresse's play out-of-position at centre. Says he has improved his skating.

Kostitsyn the Younger was timid (could just be camp-lag, as he had been busting his buns at the London Knight's camp—quite impressively by all accounts).

According to Melanson, Halak has a tendency to play too deep in net. Still, the coach was pleased, saying that despite giving up two weak goals Halak regrouped and kept his team in the game under heavy bombardment. He has developed very rapidly since coming over to North America.

- tinyurl.com/e3mla (French)

[M. Beaux-Eaux]

A fan at HF on the effect of the new rules:

There was no clutching/grabbing between the blue lines but in the d-zone, it was business as usual.

For my part, i found that the game was very physical and there was a lot of body check given the entire night. Latendresse and Lapierre were giving at least one body check per shift for instance.

It was also fun to see passes made from behind the blue line to a player on the other side of the red line. The flow was much better.

Goalies were penalize twice for playing the puck outside of there box behind their goals.

[NWTHabsFan]

I guess I will do some player details from last night's first Habs game, and provide some updated tomorrow from tonight's game that I am getting ready for.

Halak - Great performance, 46 saves and some really good ones later in the game. He sits too far back in his net, but he stays square to the puck, so that compensates somewhat. Rollie can get him to move a bit further out to challenge more, but his mechanics are strong already. He has decent glove and pad speed, which is good. He also is not all that big, and he really reminded me of a younger Danis. The first two goals weren't great, but the team was under seige for the first period as they got the rust out, and Benoit really should have taken his man on the second goal.

Price - backup

Lacasse - night off

Sanford - Started paired with Lavallee, and saw lots of ice time. Small, good skater and can move the puck alright. Didn't get to a shootout, so his talents were wasted...lol. Likely too small to be overly effective other than an AHL depth guy.

Lavallee - Decent frame and he was the best Dman in his own zone last night. Good puck pursuit, plays the body, and is tenacious in front of and behind the net. Solid overall game.

Bisaillon - Was invisible in his own end (always a good thing), and is pretty good on the point. Makes good passes, can skate, and he beat Plante with a long one down the wing a LaFleur. His PP goal earlier was from pinching in at the right time. Only 19 years old, but he could be a decent two way Dman down the road.

Dawson - 6'5" 221 lbs and only 76 pim in the OHL last season. He fought one guy, although only one punch was landed, and it wasn't Dawson's. It was the best dance of the night, minus a good bye kiss. Big frame, no mean streak.

Dulac - Kept me holding my breath every time he tried to skate and puck handle his way out of his zone. He has okay mobility, but he never really looks 100% in control. Decent at clearing guys out and mixing it up, but he is a 9th rounder after all.

Benoit - His size and height seem generous. He isn't big, but effectively plays the body and angles players out. Had a tough time clearing house with the big Florida bods. Was really good on the point on the PP, and you could see his old forward days coming out on a few shifts. Good skater, but not blindingly fast by any means. Moves the puck well and gets lots of shots on net from the point.

Marcotte - night off

[M. Beaux-Eaux]

Jeez, NWT, you just whetted our whistles. What about the forwards last night, eh? Eh?

Keep 'em coming. Love reading your reads of our kids.