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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jul 7, 2017 11:52:27 GMT -5
A new season, some bright new faces, a new thread:
OHL
Will Bitten - Hamilton Bulldogs
Victor Mete - London Knights
Michael Pezzetta - Sudbury Wolves
WHL
Josh Brook - Moose Jaw Warriors
Cale Fleury - Kootenay Ice
Jarret Tyszka - Seattle Thunderbirds
Scott Walford - Victoria Royals
NCAA
Jake Evans - University of Notre Dame
Hayden Hawkey - Providence College
Cayden Primeau - Northeastern University
Ryan Poehling - St. Cloud State University
Casey Staum - University of Nebraska Omaha
Nikolas Koberstein - University of Alaska Fairbanks
Finland
Joni Ikonen - KalPa
Joonas Nättinen - JYP Jyvaskyla
Sweden
Max Friberg - Frölunda
Arvid Henrikson - Örebro
Lukas Vejdemo - Djurgårdens IF
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jul 7, 2017 12:17:34 GMT -5
The Habitual Fan's comments about our prospect depth not being as dire as often projected got me thinking. I think we are at best a middle of the pack NHL prospect pool and really lacking in top end talent for sure. This latest draft did fill in some serious gaps at D and at centre. I wanted to look at how many of our current prospects listed above and some of the guys knocking on the door in the AHL have been selected by their country for participation in key best-on-best international events. Continued selection usually does signify some steady development.
Of the more seasoned prospects, the following have varied experience:
Nikita Scherbak - only participated in the CHL-Russia Super Series
Martin Reway - represented Slovakia at the U18, WJC (as captain) and Mens WC
Jacob DeLaRose - represented Sweden at the Ivan Hlinka (U18), U18 and WJC (as captain)
Mike McCarron - represented the USA at U18
Zach Fucale - represented Canada at Hlinka, WJC, Canada-Russia Super Series, and Spengler Cup
Noah Juulsen - represented Canada at Super Series and WJC
Charles Hudon - represented Canada at Hlinka, Super Series, U18 and WJC
Of the guys drafted last year:
Victor Mete - represented Canada at Hlinka, is an invite at the WJC summer camp, and was a late cut for last year's WJC
Will Bitten - represented Canada at Hlinka, U18 and is an invite at the WJC summer camp
Note: Victor Mete would most likely have played for Canada at the U18's if not for the fact that his London Knights are always busy in the OHL playoffs in April.
Of our latest crop of draftees from 2017:
Ryan Poehling - represented the USA at Hlinka and U18 (as captain - big accomplishment for a guy not being part of the USNDTP team that plays together all year)
Josh Brook - represented Canada at Hlinka and U18
Joni Ikonen - represented Finland at U18 (associate captain)
Cayden Primeau - represented the USA at Hlinka, World Junior A Challenge, and U18 (he was the third goalie, the youngest, and did not play any games)
That means we have six guys who have not yet turned 20 who have been on the radar screen of their respective countries for international selection. Bitten and Mete are taking part in Canada's WJC summer camp, Ryan Poehling is taking part in the USA WJC summer camp, and Joni Ikonen is a very strong candidate for Finland's WJC team. I am looking forward to having a few prospects to cheer for at this year's WJC. Mete, Poehling and Ikonen should have a decent shot. Others are longer shots for sure.
Given where the Habs usually draft and how often they seem to have traded second round (and some third round) picks of late, this is not a bad pool. Losing your best prospect in Sergachev hurts, but you get a promising 22 year old gifted winger in return.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jul 13, 2017 13:36:18 GMT -5
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Post by folatre on Jul 13, 2017 21:51:06 GMT -5
Nice story. Thanks, NW.
Good kids working hard in pursuit of their dream.
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Post by seventeen on Jul 14, 2017 1:13:36 GMT -5
Ok, I'd love a story where there's nothing but good things that strike me about it. This one is full of them. Simon and his mother are great people and obviously very generous and giving. What struck me was that this arrangement was worked out by Simon and his mother. If they hadn't made that generous offer to McNiven, what would he have done? Is there not someone from the team looking out for the kids to smooth out such details? Shouldn't there be someone, with some ready apartments for any young guys willing to work out in Montreal? I know the team doesn't HAVE to do any of that, but isn't it a great help to the kids? Doesn't it show that the team cares? Maybe they do make arrangements, but the story didn't suggest that, so it makes me wonder about the development process. If we hear of good examples of the team supporting its prospects, it sheds a good light on development. When those examples aren't there.......
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jul 17, 2017 15:16:01 GMT -5
The current rumour floating about regarding Ikonen is that he will be headed to KalPa in the Finnish liiga next season as Frolunda has not guaranteed him a spot in the men's A roster. We shall see, as the article that I posted on June 26th hinted that this was possible. I really hope he can stick it out with Frolunda and get a regular lineup spot on the men's team as it is a very respected club and has produced a number of quality NHLers, including our very own Lehkonen.
In other Ikonen news, he has made the Finnish U20 lineup for the summer camp/mini tournament in which they will be participating.
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Post by seventeen on Jul 17, 2017 19:53:41 GMT -5
The current rumour floating about regarding Ikonen is that he will be headed to KalPa in the Finnish liiga next season as Frolunda has not guaranteed him a spot in the men's A roster. We shall see, as the article that I posted on June 26th hinted that this was possible. I really hope he can stick it out with Frolunda and get a regular lineup spot on the men's team as it is a very respected club and has produced a number of quality NHLers, including our very own Lehkonen. I find this a bit concerning. I much prefer our guys play in a good program, even if they aren't on the 'big' team. The whole point is to get better and prove to the powers that you deserve to be called up. I understand his desire to play in a better league (than the Swedish AHL), but one can also infer that he doesn't have the confidence one needs to prove his point. It's almost like he's running away from a problem. That's too strong because I don't think that's the case, but it is concerning. |
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jul 19, 2017 10:20:31 GMT -5
I find this a bit concerning. I much prefer our guys play in a good program, even if they aren't on the 'big' team. The whole point is to get better and prove to the powers that you deserve to be called up. I understand his desire to play in a better league (than the Swedish AHL), but one can also infer that he doesn't have the confidence one needs to prove his point. It's almost like he's running away from a problem. That's too strong because I don't think that's the case, but it is concerning. Here is a post from a Finnish based poster on HF. It does sound like this move could work out alright for Ikonen for next season. No need to fear. KalPa's new head coach is one and only Sami Kapanen. Yeah, the guy who was the fastest skater in NHL at some point in his career.
Kapanen is known to be a guy who focuses a lot on developing young players and doesn't fear giving them fair chances to succeed. KalPa is also one of the strongest if not the strongest team when it comes to playing fast and offensive focused hockey, something that isn't guaranteed in Liiga nowadays (teams usually focus a bit too much on the tactical side of the game instead of letting players play the game). I think it's also worth noting that KalPa has the biggest rink in Liiga. I'm sure stuff like this is nothing but good if you want to focus on improving player's skating.
But most importantly, he is almost guaranteed to get double the ice-time he would have gotten in Frölunda which I think is the biggest reason why this transfer is good for Ikonen.
Personally as a Finn who has been in love with Ikonen ever since the U18s, I have nothing but good vibes from this whole thing.
By the way, during the U18s I made small videos from the best moments of the first 3 games by Finland. I felt like Ikonen was easily Finland's best forward in those games until he broke his thumb later in the tournament against Canada and it seemed to effect him quite a bit. So if you wanna see some of his nice plays from those games, check these videos:
Finland vs Switzerland (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SILKfFL0msQ) (0:00, 0:31, 1:33, 3:58, 4:50, 5:20, 6:44, 7:03)
Finland vs Latvia (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=becp2Jj7kHg) (1:52, 2:51, 3:00, 4:40, 6:32)
Finland vs Canada (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nNVDErkk_A) (0:51)
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Post by blny on Jul 19, 2017 10:23:45 GMT -5
If he's not going to get minutes on the Frolunda Sr team, I don't have an issue with him playing in the SM liiga. Better to play against men nearer to home than against jr age kids in Sweden imo.
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Post by seventeen on Jul 19, 2017 13:07:44 GMT -5
I don't think, that if they don't make the big club in Frolunda, they automatically go back to juniour. I believe I've seen jr. age kids in Sweden play in the development league, against men. It's their version of the AHL in North America. I thought Ikonen might develop better defensive habits in Frolunda. Sami Kapanen comes across as a 'bombs away' type of coach. Ikonen already has some very good offensive instincts, but as we've seen, if you're going to get time with Julien, you better know your way around your own end. Hopefully, Kapanen gets that across to him as well.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jul 19, 2017 15:01:56 GMT -5
I don't think, that if they don't make the big club in Frolunda, they automatically go back to juniour. I believe I've seen jr. age kids in Sweden play in the development league, against men. It's their version of the AHL in North America. I thought Ikonen might develop better defensive habits in Frolunda. Sami Kapanen comes across as a 'bombs away' type of coach. Ikonen already has some very good offensive instincts, but as we've seen, if you're going to get time with Julien, you better know your way around your own end. Hopefully, Kapanen gets that across to him as well. He is still under contract with Frolunda for this upcoming season, so if they don't have room on their men's roster they can send him to their U20 team (not a very good option for his development), or loan him to another men's club. It could be a Finnish club like KalPa or a team in the second highest Swedish league (Allsvenskan). In both those cases, he would be playing against men. As you mention, he will have to round out his defensive game at some point. I am assuming that in order to be successful in the liiga that Kapanen and KalPa have to develop some defensive awareness of their players, even if they take a more unbridled approach to how players play the offensive side of the game. |
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Post by seventeen on Jul 23, 2017 13:06:17 GMT -5
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Post by folatre on Jul 23, 2017 20:43:55 GMT -5
An injury to #31 is beyond scary. I mean, the ink is barely dry on the $84 million dollar deal. I knew this is a deep draft, though beyond the first five names I had not been paying much attention yet. I appreciate the link. |
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jul 26, 2017 10:44:33 GMT -5
The World Junior Summer Showcase is fast approaching, which is essentially a summer tourney for the main WJC nations to use as part of their summer camp process. A number of our prospects will be playing and TSN will even have a few games on in case you need your summer hockey fix.
Canada (Mete, Bitten)
USA (Poehling)
Finland (Ikonen)
Both Canada and the US will have split squads, so I don't know what of their squads our kids will be on; however, here is TSN's schedule from what I can see from their website:
Wed Aug 2 FIN vs CAN 1:00 pm ET
Wed Aug 2 USA vs SWE 4:00 pm ET
Fri Aug 4 SWE vs CAN 1:00 pm ET
Fri Aug 4 USA vs FIN 4:00 pm ET
The above games are on TSN main channel. In addition, the following game is on TSN3:
Sat Aug 5 FIN vs SWE 4:00 pm ET
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Post by blny on Jul 26, 2017 10:58:11 GMT -5
Mooseheads should be good this year. LWS is right about their draft record, though they omitted Ehlers. Their scouting staff is superb. They consistently nab great kids from overseas.
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Post by seventeen on Jul 26, 2017 14:53:08 GMT -5
Ikonen scored yesterday against the Czechs I believe. Not sure what that tourney is, though.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jul 27, 2017 9:47:39 GMT -5
Ikonen scored yesterday against the Czechs I believe. Not sure what that tourney is, though. What did the goal look like, you muse? How about this: |
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Aug 2, 2017 11:46:07 GMT -5
If you want to see Poehling or Ikonen play for the first time, there is some junior hockey on TSN today. See my earlier post with details.
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Post by blny on Aug 4, 2017 13:59:16 GMT -5
Ikonen made a nice play off a face off to set up a goal for Finland against Canada. Haven't had a chance to see the US and Poehling yet. I respect that many of these kids haven't necessarily played together much, but Canada looked very sloppy in the game against Finland. Timmins made a number of absolutely brutal plays in his own end.
It's 4-4 halfway through 3rd against Sweden.
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Post by seventeen on Aug 4, 2017 19:22:47 GMT -5
Poehling with 3 assists vs Finland.
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Post by seventeen on Aug 6, 2017 1:36:27 GMT -5
Am watching the Canada/US Summer showcase. Some observations, in no particular order. Canada's play in their own zone was not good. Either they're not used to each other and the system (which is quite possible) or they are defensively undisciplined. Likely some of both.
Victor Mete had a bad game. He seemed quite nervous. Jordan Kyrou set him up for an open net in the first and he deflected it wide. Then he mishandled several pucks, as if his arms were spaghetti. I've had games where I couldn't do anything right an it was usually because I wasn't relaxed enough. Too keyed up for the game.
Jordan Kyrou was a steal in the second round of 2016 for the Blues. He was definitely Canada's best player. Sam Steel (sounds like a 1930's Dashiel Hammett character) also looked good. Not as fast as most of the players in the game, but great hands and very good overall.
I bet Winnipeg would like a mulligan on their 2016 first rounder, Logan Stanley, or as I call him, the Great Pylon. He's a perfect example of the Tinordi syndrome. Big, strong guy who is totally unsuited for today's game. He looked like he was skating in Quicksand. I kept thinking....my god, I hope this isn't an example of Weber in a couple of years.
Columbus might like another shot at their 2016 first rounder. JL Dubois wasn't impressive at all. But...as Craig Button was saying, he just isn't a centre. He'd be much better on the wing, as he just doesn't distribute the puck well.
Continuing the theme of guys who didn't look like they'll ever make the NHL, I'd add Philly's Carter Hart to that list. He never looked comfortable. Got scored on 4 times in half a game and looked like Floppy the Seal too much for my liking
On the other hand, Timmins may have hit a triple with Ryan Poehling. He sees the ice well, has good hands and he's much stronger than one might think. I saw him win several puck battles against two guys. He also has a long stride that is deceptively fast. He looked better than two guys picked ahead of him (who I was hoping would be available for us...Josh Norris and Robert Thomas).
Cale Makar looks like a player. He reminds me a LOT of Duncan Keith. Anyway, it was nice to see our guys generally do well. Did I mention Joni Ikonen scored a hat trick against Sweden? He knows how to shoot, that's for sure. Needs work in his own end too. Doesn't always read the defensive play well. But so what....he can learn that part of the game. YOu can't teach a guy to score...(see JDLR as Exhibit 1).
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Aug 6, 2017 9:48:15 GMT -5
Canada needs to get its head out of the sand and fix its D choices before December as that group is just not good enough. Stanley is a pylon. Mete was used very strangely in this event. Played the game before on his wrong side with Foote who would not share the puck and let Mete use his infinitely better skating.
Poehling had a good showing at this event. He has a lot of tools with which to work, and thankfully it will not be Coach Sly doing that for a while.
Ikonen is skilled, but definitely needs to get bigger and stronger and will need to figure a few things about playing on the defensive side of things. Ditto about Coach Sly.
Seventeen, I always liked Kyrou. Was hoping he might get picked with one of our two second rounders in 2016, and then Buttman got up to the podium and said, "We have a trade to announce...".
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Post by blny on Aug 6, 2017 10:00:14 GMT -5
Mete did make a nice play on a pp goal against the Swedes. The 5 man unit made a nice rotational play that got Mete down on the goal line on his off wing. He threaded a pass through the crease to a team mate who stuffed it home.
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Post by folatre on Aug 6, 2017 18:21:13 GMT -5
I agree guys. Ikonen is not a three zone player right now, but he knows what he is doing in the zone I care about. Like you guys say, when we are talking about agility, soft hands and goal scoring instincts all of high end quality, these things are not really teachable. The other things are more teachable (though I hope Lefebvre is long gone before Ikonen comes to North America).
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Post by blny on Aug 7, 2017 17:51:59 GMT -5
Poehling shows some lively legs on the last rush. Didn't think he had that kind of speed. Has good vision too.
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Post by seventeen on Aug 8, 2017 0:16:09 GMT -5
He has that long stride which can be deceptive (remember Mario Lemieux, who looked like he was coasting all the time, even when blowing by people?) I was most impressed by his strength. He did not lose many board battles. I like to keep score, when there's a scrum of guys fighting for the puck, which team or player actually comes away with control. If one guy keeps doing it more often than most, it's not luck. The US tended to win a lot more of those battles in that last game, than we did. I didn't like that...but then we weren't playing our best guys either. That Stanley was horrible. And Carter Hart sucked big time too.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Aug 8, 2017 15:58:26 GMT -5
If you watch Poehling's assists he often is in motion when making a play. I think his overall hockey IQ and vision are pretty impressive at this stage of development. That means he should be able to contribute 5-on-5 and when time and space is tighter.
His coach and he both have recognized that he needs to shoot more and use his shot, so it will be interesting to see this upcoming NCAA season and how well he does at upping his goal totals and the types of goals that he scores (a lot of his goals that I saw last year were tips, where he was not driving the play...he needs to score more when he is driving the play or getting in a good shooting space).
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Post by blny on Aug 9, 2017 15:02:05 GMT -5
He has that long stride which can be deceptive (remember Mario Lemieux, who looked like he was coasting all the time, even when blowing by people?) I was most impressed by his strength. He did not lose many board battles. I like to keep score, when there's a scrum of guys fighting for the puck, which team or player actually comes away with control. If one guy keeps doing it more often than most, it's not luck. The US tended to win a lot more of those battles in that last game, than we did. I didn't like that...but then we weren't playing our best guys either. That Stanley was horrible. And Carter Hart sucked big time too. I'd argue that Poehling has quick feet too. He turns a corner well and gets up to speed efficiently. I don't remember those being praised at the draft. Size, apparently good vision and the ability to thread a pass, speed; it's early days but I like what I've seen. |
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Aug 16, 2017 17:17:39 GMT -5
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Post by blny on Sept 1, 2017 10:58:04 GMT -5
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