Development Camp - Days 4&5

[NWTHabsFan]

Thursday and Friday were the last days of drills, with some scrimmages being planned for tomorrow on the last day, Saturday.

Here are some comments about Thursday from whitesnake over at HF:

GOALIES

PRICE: I think he's amongst some people who just wait for this camp to be over. Though he listens to Melason very closely, do everything that he's told to do and so on, there's some laziness from him......until the games situations begins. There's was kinda of a little scrimmage 3 on 3 on a very small part of the ice, nets were kinda of on one side along the boards and goalies had to be awaken to say the least and he was quite good, but let a couple of softies in the 1 on 1 and some brekaways situations as well. The 5-hole was a little open today. But like Artie, I'm not a goalie so it's probably thougher for me to analyse smoothness and perfect positioning to laziness but I do believe it's a little bit of both in case. He definately seems to type of guy that will thrive with the highest competition possible and just don'T feel the need of bringing it on every shot, every shift.

LACASSE: Well he's the type of goalie that will always bang his stick and show his discomfort when everything is not going his way. It could show that he cares but it also shows that he doesn't seem to have the greatest confidence in himself. Should borrow some Price's cockiness, but before, the guy is so big, you just wonder how those pucks keep going in so much, his positioning is sometimes way off, his movements from side to side are more aggressive than Price but I guess he has to make it for the lack of smoothness that the other one has. As of today, I'm still not sold on the guy at all, but working with Roy will certainly help, if it doesn't well.....

FORWARDS:

My general comment is that I like everybody's work ethic, it's the 4th day of great intensity and the majority give it all on every exercice, I say the majority 'cause some people begins to show a little more fatigue and the limitations of some are begin to show as well.

AUBIN: Didn't flash again today. He's showing though some nice speed and showed some nastiness as well on those 1 on 1 battle for the puck. Though he's not the strongest out there, doesn't seem to me that he's so much a perimeter player. Nice wristers on some occasions.

CHIPCHURA: A man amongst boys who had the pleasure of showing us how strong his legs are in an exercice where a guy was pulling another player that was lay down on the ice. Always finished first in his group while doing though the player he was pulling was Kostitsyn so he might had an advantage there, it's not like he was pulling O'Byrne......But even though there's some limitations as far as pure skills are concerned, he just his maturity and grittiness on these 1 on 1 and 3 on 3. Love the guy (hockey wise of course....)!!!!

D'AGOSTINI: He's so flawless on those exercices. I don't see anything that makes me think he'll never make it. Another guy that has maturity written on his forehead, plays a sound game, nice control of the puck, good speed, no Samsonov, but nice speed nevertheless. Doesn't mind getting his nose dirty, works hard, guy to watch for Hamilton....Another favorite of mine....

KOSTITSYN: I believe he's one of them who begins to feel a little more disinterested, either by fatigue or just because.....Though he showed me some great moves that I didn't see all week today and some serious wristers top shelf, he didn't work as hard as the previous days, but seems to begin to want to ''gel'' a little more with the boys......Doesn't seem as alone in his corner that he seemed in previous days. We saw some smiles today from him, at least he's having fun.

MAXWELL: Say what you want I like his skills so much, if he beefs up and work on his skating, I don't see what he wouldn't make it. Definately one of the best hands of the bunch, sharp turns as well, it's when it comes to 1 on 1 and those 3 on 3 that his physique begins to show a little more. Though, I don't remember which d-men he played against, think it was Gleed, he just undressed him in a couple of occasions, great nifty moves on his part, very very talented. A little easy to knock him off the puck but not as easy as his W friend......

WHITE: Oh! Ryan! Don't worry, it ends soon......Just not his type of camp, just not his type of week......Skills wise, one of the least talented out there, if not the least....But again, he should thrive in game situations no??? Well he was knocked off the puck so easily on those 3 on 3 and 1 on 1. And they had some skating drills with pylons and such, I just don't see any movement with his feet......His day should come Saturday with that scrimmage but there's tons of work to do. And for a grinder with a suppose great scoring touch, he absolutely needs add some pounds in muscle and work on his average shot 'cause he'll never make it. I believe he's the guy amongst everybody with the most work to do......But he's one of those guys that works harder than everybody, seems to have a great spirit, seems dedicated to gave it all. If somebody can overcome all of this, it's him.....But he has to stop being owned every single by Maxwell, 'cause if he doesn't what would he do against O'Byrne.....

MIKUS: Well for me he's the most skilled guy in there, when it comes to great skating, good shot and great moves. Needs now to find something called.....THE NET!!!! But again, another one with a great spirit, works as hard as anybody, is not a floater, doesn't shy away from the physical aspect of the game, worked hard in those 1 on 1, though he has that tendancy of searching for blood when something hit him..... He seems to have that revenge mentality though. I think Fréchette hit him hard with his stick and Mikus at one thing on his mind was getting back to him. Nothing serious, but I kinda liked that attitude.....

STEWART AND WYMAN: I like both guys, again for those type of guys not the camp to show what they can do so far. Especially when it comes to feet movement and skating skills, though both have good skating, nice shots but are missing some nifty moves to shine in that camp. It's not their game though and were better in that 3 on 3 'cause it was along the boards and they could use their body to work their way through. On the 1 on 1, well we have some good d-men and both were average in that departement. But I see good future for both. I just like how Wyman skates with the puck, sounds strange but I like it. He's just my underdog for making it one day.....Both have nice wristers.

P.S Don't get me wrong I like Maxwell and White, and understand it's only a development camp and all but I seriously doubt how anybody could have put White as a 1st rounder. You clearly see the difference in skills between Fischer and them and even between Maxwell and White. Those 3 were put in mock drafts in the 1st round, well you see why Fischer is one of them, but I really believe Maxwell was chosen at the right place and definately see why White fall down to us based on his skills set. Though the Habs were clever enough to go beyond that and see that the game he brings with the spirit he has, the guy can't go anywhere else but higher than he actually is.....Go Ryan Go!!!

D-MEN:

CARLE: Well, I know it's just a development camp but people I'm closer than ever to be sold on this guy. Contrary to White, this is just the perfect camp for him to show what he can do. The guy has incredible hands, his wristers top shelves from close range are just fabulous to see. He has that great capacity to steal pucks from players just with his hockey sense and overall intelligence. Listens to the coaches there a lot, was working with Gingras at the end, and I think they were saying to him to play with a longer hockey 'cause is postioning with his stick had some flaws. But is there to learn, works hard, has a a great positioning when it comes to 1 on 1 situation. Didn't see him that much though 'cause he was in the opposite side, but what I saw from him on those situations was enough for me. And on that 3 on 3, he made some incredible passes tape to tape short range, just impressed me. I can be easily impressed, but I had high expectations on this guy as you know wasn't thrilled by the pick but AS OF NOW, I'm impressed. And on some plays, I would go as far as to think that he looks better than Fischer, you kinda see that he probably doesn't have Fischer's upside, but his maturity is there. Just hope that he's not going to reach his ceiling too fast though. Impressive but the real test will begin with those scrimmages....But so far, good job Matt!

CEPEK/FRÉCHETTE: Well Cameron, for a 7th rounder, does a great job. I see a big gap between Cam and Martin. Cameron neesd to work on his defensive positional play but makes great first passes and has a good shot that will need some work though. Same for Fréchette who if he'll get a call, will need to beef up though show some nasty side today that was interesting.

FISCHER: I like him, but I feel there's a long road ahead of him, but we did expect that. As strange as it sounds, and only based on those 4 days without any real scrimmages but 1 on 1 and small 3 on 3, I feel he needs more work on his first steps quickness and puck control than anything else. Loses the puck a lot in high speed and then on another play, the puck is glued to his stick which makes you think, well when he's going to do that all the time, what kind of great d-man we will have. You see so much upside, is incredible. But patience is a vertue and in Fischer's case, we will need to remember it. But when this is done, I can't wait to see......But I'm impressed about his defensive awareness and positional play, doesn't get beat that easily and he's quite strong on his feet, stronger than I thought he would be.

O'BYRNE: The tower from Hell!!! Had a quieter day today. I guess he's tired of owning everyone on the ice but again showed some toughness in these 1 on 1 and doesn't quit really. Was beat once or twice by some great moves ( I believe one was Kosty, the other Maxwell) but never quits and steal the puck from behind with his long reach. I can't wait to see what he does at another level.

KORPIKARI/GLEED: Put those 2 together 'cause I believe they are showing both great maturity, poise play, nothing fancy but real sound defensive play and see their game both well translated in higher level. Those 2 are to other ''sleepers'' for me, they just look like professional players out there. Korpikari has a better puck control and has a better wrister than Gleed but Jon seems more dedicated in every play and doesn't seem to sleep on any play in front of him while Oskari has some ups and downs, with the ups much more evident than the downs. But I like both overall, just wait to see how their, if any, offensive game will translate in the bigs. More hope for Korpikari than Gleed though. I belive Gleed will become a more mobile Andrew Archer....

Again another good day for the boys, less interesting for the fans I thought but an overall great day.

I'll be there Friday....of course.....

P.S. Latendresse had his left ankle wrapped up in some kind of ''bandage'' Does not appear to me like he'll play at all though he's walking on it. Those medias has to stop at one point. Somebody ask him to higher his pants a little for him to take a picture of that ''bandage''......

[NWTHabsFan]

Friday, Day 5, musings from whitesnake again:

Well guys,

There's nothing really to report today. It last only 1 hour, 45 minutes of skating drills, lateral movement, 60 meters dash, everything in small groups so it was really though to follow everybody. And they finished the day by just shooting puck in empty nets, slapshots, wrist shots, and everything like that but just enough to see the following:

1- Again it shows that Chipper doesn't have the top speed on some players there and doesn't have the feet agility as well. Though it's only his second day at camp, I can't wait to see how it looks in a scrimmage.

2- Let's say that the slowest guys on the 60 meters dash was Cepek and White today. Fisher is impressive with his long stride, just loves his skating that seems effortless compared to most of the guys.

3- Carle is definately the most natural skater out there, there's guys like that you like their style and he's one of those. Pretty fast lateral movements as well.

4- I guess I went there a lot this week, when I came in, Timmins was on the ice and said hello to me.....Maybe it's time I should apply for a scout job for Quebec.....

5- Goalies made their usual work with Melason with their lateral movement and then 15 minutes later, it was over.....Have no idea where they went, never came back, and didn't see them in the bus afterwards...For the time that I saw him, Price seemed in a better mood today with the coaches and in general....

6- In the last 15 minutes you had a chance to see everyone slapshots and there's a lot of work to be done in that department for pratically everybody except.....Korpikari and O'Byrne. But Korpikari has a clean shot, most of the time on the net and to me I would say a NHL shot already.....Maxwell was praticing some one-timers and it didn't go to well. Though in the end, it was in the net most of the time....But he doesn't have a great shot yet. Paquet has a nice slapshot, so is Gleed. Chipper has a great wrist shot, I would say NHL ready. Same for Kostitsyn.

7- Didn't see much of D'Agostini, White, Stewart and Wyman today.For what I saw they did there business, D'Ago and Wyman had a great lateral exercice. D'Agostini definately the fasters in the 60 m dash.

8- The saviour was there!!!!Mr. Latendresse did show himself on the ice today, mostly working by himself, showed some discomfort with his ankle most of the practice but did have the time to show some great puck handling skills and despite his ankle problem, made some lateral skating exercice that was OK. In the end of the practice, it was funny I think Carle was the shooter and there was a ''Tip'' competition with Aubin and Latendresse. Have the feeling Aubin won, though near the end, Latendresse was eating Aubin alive......Then Fischer was the shooter, and again Tender was a little better in that department.

9- They had a computer on the bench to show guys about their skating technique and how to get it better.

10- From the management that I know of, only Carbo and Timmins were there. The others were some other guys from I don't know where doing the skating exercices.

So that was definatley the dullest day of them all, nothing much to report, I have no idea how I succeeded in writing so much stuff, if I think of something else, I'll let you know.

Can't wait for tomorrow's scrimmage, a full report will come on everybody's desk after the game!!!

[NWTHabsFan]

From Matthew Macaskill over at Habsworld:

So it's been an eventful couple of days for me, but I've got some time to make a small update right now. I'm not sure that I'll actually get a chance to make another update tomorrow. Thus, the next update you get may be the official write up I do for the HabsWorld main page.

The coaches have been implementing a lot of very interesting drills. They had some good ones today: Players had to skate with one foot on a puck, while skating on 1 leg, feed their stick through the space between the skate blade and the boot (mostly every player had trouble with this one), and one where players were attached to a bungee chord that was attached to the boards and they had to skate away from the boards with it one.

My favorite "unique" drill though was when players were hooked onto each other. One player would lay down on the ice and the other had to pull their partner down the ice. They made a race out of it, which Ryan O'Byrne won twice.

I think the highlight of my day was when they were doing a 1-on-1 drill with the goalies also in net. Basically Defenseman vs. Forward and the Forward tried to get by the D-man and score on the goalie. Ryan O'Byrne (6'5, 225lbs, Age: 22) was paired with Sergei Kostitsyn (6'0, 190lbs, Age: 19). Kostitsyn was pretty much denied (more like mauled) by O'Byrne each time. However, there was one instance where Kostitsyn looked very determined and worked hard enough to get through O'Byrne and get a shot off right before being knocked over.

C Kyle Chipchura - He looks like a man playing with boys. Quite literally actually, he just seems to look so much older than everyone out there, very mature. He's quite strong and won some battles, while skating hard. He doesn't really have the best offensive skills (Stick-handling, deeking, etc), but he does have a knack for finding the net one way or another.

C/RW Mathieu Aubin - This guy looks better and better every day. He's god a great shot and is good at winning battles along the boards and in open ice. I really hope he gets to play with the Dogs this year.

RD Ryan O'Byrne - His size is really intimidating to the other players. He really does use his size, but may have to learn how to do it without taking penalties. He's just so strong and protects the puck quite well, making it difficult for others to knock him off the puck when he has it. He's also got a very heavy shot. Even his wristers/snap-shots look like they'll leave some bruises.

G Carey Price - He seems to have a great glove hand but he's been letting a lot of goals in during the past two days. It might be getting into his head a bit, as he tends to pause and stretch/meditate after drills where he's done badly. Looks like his height may be a bit of a problem for him. Though, don't let that scare you, he still looks very good out there and he's only 19. Goalies need more time to develop. Yesterday he took a shot to the side of his helmet that sent him down to the ice for a minute, causing everyone in the rink to go quite until he got up and seemed okay a few moments later.

RW Sergei Kostitsyn - Today was the first day I really saw him having fun out there. I'm not sure how good his English is, but playing with the London Knights should have helped that a bit. My guess is he's a bit like Perezhogin and needs some time to get comfortable and used to everyone and everything. He shows some good skating and has a very good shot. His strength is a big of an issue though, but he uses his agility to move around players (a skill that he hasn't fully developed yet though).

C/RW Ryan White - Steve Begin meets Donald Audette. He's likely the worst skater at the camp, and looks quite tiny. However, he makes up for it by playing hard and has always got a smile on his face, seems to have a very good attitude really. He finds a way to score quite often, and it always surprises me when he does. He's really has to work on that skating though.

LD Oskari Korpikari - I finally got a good look at him the past couple of days. He looks solid out there, very strong on his skates and seems to be an above-average skater. His offensive abilities also seem to be good, but looking at his stats, he doesn't seem to put up any numbers. I think he's more than ready to come to North America.

RD Mathieu Carle - It seems everything I've read about him is true. He's got some very good offensive skill and is an excellent skater. However, he needs to work his defensive game. When he does defend, he likes to use his skating to get around or deek out opponents. He should probably work on simplifying this.

LW Gregory Stewart - He looks better and better every day. He's really impressed me the last two days. He's a good skater who's not afraid to muck it up in the corners. He's got a great shot and is capable of scoring some big goals. He's pretty close to being AHL-ready. If he doesn't cut it this year, I'm sure he'll be there next season.

C Ben Maxwell - He's small, but he's likely one of the best skaters at the camp. He can really fly and has got some good offensive abilities. I've got to get a better look at him over the next 2 days though.

G Loic Locasse - He's looked a lot better over the past couple of days, making some good saves. The fact that he'll be playing for Patrick Roy's Quebec Remparts is great news.

-Matthew Macaskill