Development Camp Summaries

[NWTHabsFan]

I have tracked a few folks down who have prepared summaries of last week's development camp for 20 Hab hopefuls. Here is a link to one of them done by Matthew Macaskill over at HabsWorld.

www.habsworld.net/article.php?id=1150&PHPSESSID=386ae2b94a7ad87310bc62e4ae747107

Just a few comments I would throw in to complement this article.

1. I would expect to see Aubin, D'Agostini and Stewart playing in the ECHL in Cincy if they do not make the Hamilton Bulldogs' roster. The Habs of late have not generally sent their signed forward prospects back to the CHL as overagers, instead giving them a chance at either the AHL or the ECHL. With a number of spots in the Hammer opening up with the departure of the Oilers, these guys do have a chance to make it in the AHL this season. Just my guess based on their current trends.

2. Fischer will be playing this fall for the Golden Gophers of the U of Minnesota, not at the rival U of Minnesota Duluth (another Bulldogs team BTW).

3. Lacasse signed a pro contract so he will at least get a look at the Bulldogs camp, although I would agree he should be sent back as an overager to get coaching from Patrick Roy and the defending Memorial Cup champs. Not a bad consolation prize, although don't think he won't be trying hard at the pro camp. In this case, I would guess back to the CHL as opposed to the ECHL as both Danis and Halak should be in pretty good shape to lock up the two spots in Hamilton.

4. Maxwell will definitely be back in Kootenay of the WHL as he is too young to play in the AHL at 18.

5. Mikus has been selected by Chicoutimi in the import draft and Timmins indicated that he will be playing there this fall...so he will be closer to the brass as early as Sept/Oct and this would mean he should be ready to participate at the Rookie Tourney as well in early September for the Habs.

[NWTHabsFan]

And here is the final camp summary from whitesnake over at HF who wrote up reports every day and this is another detailed report of the talented bunch of youngsters who all hope to wear the bleu blanc et rouge at some point (and not just in scrimmages like these!):

Here's my personal take on the game today. General impressions is that most of the guys were tired but nevertheless gave a good overall performance for the fans playing sometimes 3 on 3 and other times 4 on 4 with no physical play permitted. But here's my report on each guys today:

HEROES OF THE DAY: MIKUS, KOSTITSYN, LATENDRESSE, D'AGOSTINI, AUBIN, CARLE

GOALIES:

PRICE; The best goalie out of the two with his sound positional skills, his fast glove hand, and fast leg movement. Though he wasn't outstanding, I thought he had a good game and an overall good week for him. He didn't let some weaks goals but didn't save the day either. Liked his rebound control skills as well.

LACASSE: Well, it started on the wrong foot for the guy. He came on the ice with his ''Protect skates, you know what you put under your skates to not damage them...'' and fell down on his behind, mask went up and all that, let's just say that he was a little embarassed......As far as the game is concerned, let's just say that Roy will have a lot of work with this guy. Rebounds were all over the place, let in some fluke goals, did some good saves in some occasions, mostly with the butterfly, even though he was on the winning side, didn't think he had a great day, and didn't have the best of week either.

DEFENCEMEN:

O'BYRNE: I don't think he had the greatest day today. Hockey sense wasn't all there, didn't see too much of accurate passes, try to control the puck probably more than he used too and didn't find a lot of openings. But in a game where you completely remove the physical aspect of it, he sure doesn't look at ease too much. Definitely not his style of play, but with what I've seen all week, this guy is a keeper who just needs a physical game to look more at ease. Great overall week for him.

KORPIKARI: This guy does not flash a lot, either in skills or in a game and still it was the case today. You won't notice him that much, definitely possess a NHL ready shot, great wrist shot, I like his fluid skating as well, control of the puck, nice passes but he's our Niklas Sundstrom version of a d-man, does all the little things right, but you can easily watch a game without noticing the guy at all. He had a good overall week

FISCHER: I'm impressed not necessarily based on his direct play but based on the fact that the guy is freakin 18 years old and do possess some incredible natural ability. Didn't have his usual speed today though, still has nice long strides, I think he wanted to prove that he was a good defensive d-man as well, I like how he looks unbeatable 1 on 1, always playing the guy instead of the puck, though has a tendancy of keeping the puck a little too long, which did create some turnovers. But his passes are great, and again, you do see there's room for improvement but you do see that the room is there, which makes Fischer a great first choice for this year's draft!!! Great week for the youngster!

CARLE : This guy for me has the trophy for the best youngster at this camp. Though Fischer could have a higher upside, Carle, in this year's camp, showed how incredibly talented he is offensively, tremendous hands, great skating, very very fast, on the small side, I don't know why he looked smaller today with a real jersey, but didn't look out of place defensively either, did some great pokechecks, showed some great desire to backcheck as well, but I believe somebody will have to put a cord on the guy, seems to love controlling the puck and going from one side to the other. Again it was some 3 on 3 and 4 on 4 so positioning was not that great of importance, but you didn't see much offensively from the other d-men except him and Cepek so you see who's good at it and more capable of doing it. Is showing a lot of maturity for his age. He definitely had a great week!

GLEED: My sleeper pick for d-men as far as good sound poised defensive d-man out there. When he's on the ice, you just have the feeling that we won't get caught or make a big mistake. Today, I didn't see that much of an offensive side to him though he showed some great wristers once in a while. But you're looking for a good, mature, sound defensive d-man with some mobility as well, he's your guy. He had a good week as well!

CEPEK: He had some good and some not so good moments today. Liked to control the puck and try some things offensively but got undressed at a couple of occasions and didn't look confortable defensively all game. The guy is a 7th rounder, missed most of last year's season so obviously he's a project, but you see some glimpses of a good hockey player with a nice hockey sense. Totally undressed Price at the shootouts, Price is still looking for his pads.....

PAQUET: Well he could have an award as far as being better in those last days that he was at the beginning. He showed some great hands today and while not being the fastest, showed some great lateral mobility and some nastiness as well. Hit Maxwell unintentionally on the mouth with his stick but even though there was no contact, he did use his body a little. Needs to fill that frame though.....Good week!

FRÉCHETTE: I wouldn't be interested in bringing him back. I don't think he looked that bad today but was truly forgettable and I don't know what he will bring to any of our teams.....Did his best, worked hard, but didn't impress me. Again, showed more than any other try-outs that we've had in the past but not enough for me. Not a really good shot, not a presence defensively, showed some things offensively but not enough. Sorry....

FORWARDS:

AUBIN; Well this guy looks like a contender for a spot in Hamilton. Sure he played with Latendresse but he did create some room for himself, showed some interesting speed and great moves at high speed, offensively had a great, great day. Didn't see too much of his defensive play, that could be something to work on, but I was really impressed by him today. Very good week for him.

CHIPCHURA: Well, Chipper, had some problems today, mostly with his passes, most of it being totally inaccurate, and created tons of turnovers. You do have the feeling like he's beyond all of those guys, but again when a game doesn't need some physical play, it's not a game for him. So if you take the game itself, wasn't impressive. But it was his 3rd day of practice so to be a little behind is understandable. But based on that, if you can base yourself on such camp, there's no way he'll be with the Habs this coming season. Anyway, I never thought that it was a possibility, a full year in the Dogs will be great for him. So an overall OK camp for Chipper....

D'AGOSTINI: This is a guy that does an overall job fairly well and always seem to be at the right spot, at the right time. Scored some beauties, has a great wrist shot to go with his speed and you have to love the way he drives the net and never quits. He's just a solid player that will make the Dogs, I think his overall game is more ready than Aubin. Great, great week for the kid!

KOSTITSYN: What a day for the kid!!! Truly impressive today, the kid that seemed to be tired and didn't enjoy the practices, just show you why everybody is so high on him in game situations. Didn't expect a lot with the kind of week he's had, but showed some great hands, and moves with a bulldog mentality while being really strong on his skates. Made some great accurates passes as well, and showed his NHL wrist shot he already has. Great day for him today, an overall OK week though, let's just say he totally save his week with today's performance.

LATENDRESSE: Total Domination!!!! It's when you compare Chipchura's performance and Guillaume's performance that, with 1 less day than Chipper, begin to question, either Chipper was really not in shape, or Latendresse is so dominating. Great puck controls, great goals, great passes, great backcheck, always wanting the puck, was pissed when a play didn't go his way, what's not to like?? THE player of the day!!!! Awesome work!!!!

MAXWELL: Did show his great vision, needs to work on his shots though, I didn't see a good slapshot all week and today was no exception. Did show some OK wristers, today included. But he wasn't the worst of our 2006 picks today and all week, do look more like a passer than a scorer. There's more great things about him then questions' marks that's for sure. A good week for him.


MIKUS: THE hands of this whole group. He's so impressive with his fast hands and fast speed that you wonder how he wasn't able to have a lot of points in any league he played. Has that tendancy of keeping the puck too long, but did show some great pass ability. Superb goal in the shootouts!!!!Doesn't seem to be to shy in traffic, I like that about him a lot. I was truly impress by him today and all week. Great, great week for him, can't wait to see what he does in Chicoutimi!!!!!

STEWART: We don't have enough of those probably power forwards in the team that you cannot not like him. Showed some great versatility for a big guy, always putting some effort defensively as well, but some great things today as far as his hands and puck control are concerned. Not saying he'll become the next Leclair or anything, but he was better offensively that I thought he would be. Good overall week, and good day today, especially with the nice wristers he showed us, his good speed and great work ethic.

WHITE: Well It's finally over my friend. Thanks for the smiles, thanks mostly for the effort, thanks for the spirit, but today like the rest of the week were not great days for him. He should've shown more today, and to be honest didn't see him that much. Made a nice pass once.....Tons of work ahead.....But again if somebody can make it, it's him!!!!

WYMAN: My sleeper to ever make it as far as forwards are concerned. You could simply copy and paste the Stewart comment and apply it to him. I have the feelling he could be more dangerous offensively than Stewart, but doesn't apply himself as hard as Stewart defensively. I would see Stewart in a PK, I wouldn't see Wyman doing it. But you cannot not like his control with the puck at high speed and his great forecheck even in a game like today's. Needs to add some more precision in his shots and use his teamates a little more but from blue line to the net, could be a really dangerous guy......or could not develop enough and never make it......Just to be sure I'm right.... But a very good week for him I believe.

In general, I've never been more hyped and excited about a bunch of rookies. I've seen a couple of those camps already, and this bunch, as a whole, is really talented. Definitely the best bunch having a great mix of speed, skills and heart!

That's all folks!!!! Hell of a week for me, lots of fun, hope you enjoyed it. Obviously it's only my take, and who I am right? But if it only was taken not that seriously and for fun, well at least it served a purpose.

Go Habs Go! Go Prospects Go!!!!!

[Andrew]

I'd love to see O'Byrne in Hamilton this year. He's ben a darkhorse favorite prospect of mine since we drafted him. Like Fischer he was drafted on raw potential - having played at a low level of competition (BCJHL), but with loads of upside. It sounds as though he's ready to make the jump to pro.

[Habs_fan_in_LA]

The Development Camp sounds like the Hab's. No outstanding superstars, but great depth.

[Forum Ghost]

Here's a behind the scenes look from hockeysfuture.