Habs Prospects 2019-20

[NWTHabsFan]

Now that is how you finish your two on one. Unfortunately, Pitlick’s goal was the all the offence as Muskegon lost 3-1.

[NWTHabsFan]

Looks like Romanov will miss some time with an injured arm. It looks like it happened in this play late in the third of the gold medal WJC game. He has not played with CSKA since his return to Russia. No word on the actual injury or how long he will be out.

[NWTHabsFan]

Goal Caufield returns to NCAA action tonight with Wisconsin. You can actually watch this game on the TSN app if you download it and sign in with your cable provider. Game time is at 9:00pm ET. Cole's teammate Jack Gorniak will also be in action.

[NWTHabsFan]

Last night, a number of our prospects were able to bulge the twine:

Harvey-Pinard (22) GWG
Houde (18)
Hillis (15) plus an assist
McShane (17)
Stapley (4) plus an assist
Pitlick (8)

Caufield failed to score, but did pick up an assist.

[NWTHabsFan]

Caufield. Goal. All good. GWG to boot.

[NWTHabsFan]

Struble did not get a point in his first 8 NCAA games. He was coming off injury, adjusting to the big jump from high school prep hockey, adapting to a new team and playing style, etc. He now has 9 points in his last 9 games after his 3 points last night, his first ever multi point NCAA game. He is still very raw, but appears to be gaining some confidence as the season advances.

[NWTHabsFan]

After starting off the season with a ppg pace, Stapley cooled off a bit. With his two assist night last night, he now has his third straight two point game. Stapley is the player who is on the highest ranked NCAA team featuring our prospects (Denver #5), so they definitely have their sights on the playoffs.

[NWTHabsFan]

A few notes on a couple more guys. Pitlick scored for his third straight game and also added an assist. He has found some offensive consistency since his trade to Muskegon. They are not a strong team, but do seem to making some moves to secure a bottom spot in their conference playoff search.

Hillis has been putting up projected career high numbers this season, and has shown real chemistry with Gogalev. The latter has been passed over twice in the draft, but appears to be having a breakout season this year. Somebody should take a flyer on him this June. We have lots of mid round picks, if he is still around.

[blny]

Read elsewhere that Struble's main area of learning revolves around when to go for the hit and when not to. Understandable, and certainly not unique. If he can learn that, what a duo (though not necessarily pairing) he and Romanov could be. Struble seems to be one of those guys, the natural athlete, that can pick up any sport in the blink of an eye.

[NWTHabsFan]

Bad news for Houde. Broken wrist, out for a few weeks. He was having his best season and this year is decision time as to whether or not the Habs offer him an ELC or not. His team is stacked after the trade deadline, so they should be playing well into the spring (they are likely the current favourite to win the Q), so he should still get to come back and play some hockey.

[NWTHabsFan]

Keeping up with some of the performances over the weekend. McShane had his 13th multi-point game of the season with a three assist night on Saturday. See attached video. Also on Saturday, the WHL's assist leader - Cole Fonstad - had this third straight game without an assist, but it was also his third straight game with a goal. Mixing things up a bit!

[Disgruntled70sHab]

[NWTHabsFan]

Unfortunate news for Fairbrother.

[NWTHabsFan]

Keeping with the theme of the walking wounded with our prospects, here are some expected/potential return dates for some of the injured. Unfortunately, there are a few that are likely done for the season too.

[blny]

Man.

[Disgruntled70sHab]

[NWTHabsFan]

Olofsson back in the lineup after missing the WJC and some SHL games with a shoulder injury. He lines up on the second line with ex-Hab Tom Pyatt. He was playing likely his best hockey post-draft before his injury. Hopefully, he can regain that form.

[seventeen]

So, NWT, what are your thoughts on the Prospects game? I taped it and just finished the first period. It’s hard to ‘scout’ any one guy because there are so many. Impressions though.... there’s lots.
Byfield looks really nervous. Has not played well. Lafreniere looks so calm. He’s on a different level than the rest.

One shift where Conor Zary went against Jamie Drysdale was fun. I like both. Marco Rossi also looks like a guy with a high panic threshold. Ok onto the 2nd period.

[NWTHabsFan]

TSN2 tonight at 9:00pm ET. University of Wisconsin featuring Caufield and Gorniak on TV against Michigan State.

[NWTHabsFan]

Ylönen with a nifty little goal yesterday.

[Cranky]

Jan 11, 2020 21:38:13 GMT -5 NWTHabsFan said:

Caufield. Goal. All good. GWG to boot.

My concern is summed up by that goal. Caufield has about two second to get into the slot and the opposing defenseman didn't close the gap. That's not going to happen in the NHL.

Plus in the NHL, he will get a steady diet of pain.

Cautiously optimistic but concerned.

[NWTHabsFan]

RHP #11 had a three point game, with two goals and an apple yesterday. His teammate, Houde, underwent successful wrist surgery and will be out 8 weeks. Back in time for the end of season or start of playoffs.

Cam Hillis also showed his eye hand coordination with his goal yesterday.

[NWTHabsFan]

McShane scored for the second night in a row, last night with the GWG. He now has 45 points in 42 games, which is just over a point per game pace. This has been his offensive production pace for the last two seasons (his D and D+1 years), so pretty flat progression. You definitely expect to see an upward trend by now with his ELC signing deadline approaching this summer. He does look to be a little quicker this season, as his skating has been pretty sluggish in the past.

Not all the guys will get contracts, as the Habs have to make decisions on a number of 2018 drafted CHL kids: Hillis, Fonstad, McShane, and Houde. They do have two over-agers in RHP and Khisamutdinov whom they could sign early or leave for another season (they can sign RHP to an AHL deal for a year and still maintain his NHL rights).

We also have a few NCAA guys who may be sniffing around contracts this summer or next: Harris and Caufield. Let's see what they do there.

And then there are the Europeans who could be signed and brought over, with Romanov and Ylonen the most likely targets this summer. I expect they will leave Ikonen for his last year of eligibility due to him missing so much time with injury the last few season and Norlinder and Olofsson both have deals in place for next season and likely can learn lots with another good SHL season under their belt.

[blny]

I look at prospects like him and I feel like they're unlikely to get NHL elc's, so maybe you can get them signed to an AHL level contract and see where it goes from there.

[Willie Dog]

Jan 19, 2020 19:42:27 GMT -5 Cranky said:

Jan 11, 2020 21:38:13 GMT -5 NWTHabsFan said:

Caufield. Goal. All good. GWG to boot.

My concern is summed up by that goal. Caufield has about two second to get into the slot and the opposing defenseman didn't close the gap. That's not going to happen in the NHL.

Plus in the NHL, he will get a steady diet of pain.

Cautiously optimistic but concerned.

You also can't teach a shot like that and the patience to wait until you're in the right spot to shoot... how many times have we seen players shoot a puck from the wrong place, or rushed... this kid will be exactly what we need.

[BadCompany]

Jan 19, 2020 19:42:27 GMT -5 Cranky said:

My concern is summed up by that goal. Caufield has about two second to get into the slot and the opposing defenseman didn't close the gap. That's not going to happen in the NHL.

Plus in the NHL, he will get a steady diet of pain.

Cautiously optimistic but concerned.

I share the same concern. His goals all tend to look the same; either he gets the puck in a wide open spot and buries it with a laser shot, or he bangs home a rebound into an empty net after the goalie has kicked out a shot from the other side of the ice. In both cases he's all alone with time and space.

Now there is a knack for getting into those places where you are all alone with time and space, and some guys have made very good NHL careers out of having done so. Brett Hull comes to mind (remember the famous all he does is score goals! quote?), but Alex Ovechkin also has that talent. We all sit there and say "how is it they left him alone??" but of course it's Ovechkin's ability to get lost that results in him being left all alone. Obviously Caufield will never be Ovechkin (who scores in a myriad of ways and does a whole lot of other things) but that one talent is still a talent. Will it be enough to forge a successful NHL career? We shall see.

[NWTHabsFan]

A goal and an assist for Ylönen today. More importantly, the Pelicans get the win 3-0.

[NWTHabsFan]

RHP with his second straight game with 2g 1a. Helps his team to a rollicking 7-6 OT win. He is #11 in grey.

[NWTHabsFan]

Romanov returned to action today after his injury sustained in the gold medal game at the WJC against Canada. He came back in style, getting his 5th assist to surpass his 4 points from last season in the KHL.

Watch him take a hit, and not get knocked down or off the puck. Strong like Traktor.

[Cranky]

Jan 22, 2020 9:41:05 GMT -5 BadCompany said:

Jan 19, 2020 19:42:27 GMT -5 Cranky said:

My concern is summed up by that goal. Caufield has about two second to get into the slot and the opposing defenseman didn't close the gap. That's not going to happen in the NHL.

Plus in the NHL, he will get a steady diet of pain.

Cautiously optimistic but concerned.

I share the same concern. His goals all tend to look the same; either he gets the puck in a wide open spot and buries it with a laser shot, or he bangs home a rebound into an empty net after the goalie has kicked out a shot from the other side of the ice. In both cases he's all alone with time and space.

Now there is a knack for getting into those places where you are all alone with time and space, and some guys have made very good NHL careers out of having done so. Brett Hull comes to mind (remember the famous all he does is score goals! quote?), but Alex Ovechkin also has that talent. We all sit there and say "how is it they left him alone??" but of course it's Ovechkin's ability to get lost that results in him being left all alone. Obviously Caufield will never be Ovechkin (who scores in a myriad of ways and does a whole lot of other things) but that one talent is still a talent. Will it be enough to forge a successful NHL career? We shall see.

You're alive? I haven't seen you for a while and I thought the third Afganistan Mail Order Bride did you in!

Three things that tend to mean very little if one has a lot of success in juniors.....time, space and size. All three disappear as the players progress up the ladder to the NHL. And unless a prospect has a outsized prominence of one in the juniors, it rarely translates to the NHL. There has to be a fuller toolbelt without any serious toolbelt flaws.

Your examples of Ovechkin and Hull needs to consider that both were/are larger physical players who can fight for that spot. Ovy is beyond just fighting for a spot, he's downright dirty about it. Hull was also a tough player and occasionally nasty to push around. Caufield, is the other end of that.

One of the things that Caufield will learn in a hurry is that the more success he has, the more pain he will receive. Those forays into the slot will surprise some in the beginning but if he is a 30-40 goal threat, those shoves will be back breaking crosschecks and board smashes will be "accidental hockey plays". It will be an every game dose, through the season.

Will he as tough as Gally? Doubt it. Gally is a physical condition beast and he's also heavy built for his height.

We shall see....indeed.