Halak: the goalie of the future?

[Yeti]

Good article by Brunet in La Presse.

Halak is in the top three in the AHL in GAA and save %, ahead of goalies selected in the first round. Not a tall goalie at 5'11 but a fierce competitor with great puckhandling skills, very athletic. If Gainey trades Aebisher, Halak is closer to Mtl than most people think...

www.cyberpresse.ca/article/20061124/CPSPORTS01/611240703/1002/CPSPORTS

[Doc Holliday]

Interesting.

If the guy is such a hot prospect, could the HABS dangle Price ?

[Gas]

From what I've seen in Hamilton as of late, there appears to be more of an upside to Little Slav than Yann Danis. I'm not trying to diminsh the good goaltending that Yann gave us over the last couple of years, but Halak has become the show stopper.

My only concern is that most European goaltenders seem to have these frequent hit and miss seasons. Now, I'm sure every poster here could put the name of a European goaltender that is consistently good, but to me there seem to be a lot more that are inconsistent.

Bottomline is that Halak has 6 shutouts over 20 or 21 career AHL starts and right now...he's pretty awesome.

As for Price....well...you never know. I'd like to see Halak play in the NHL first before anything is done.

[Disgruntled70sHab]

docholliday said:

Interesting.

If the guy is such a hot prospect, could the HABS dangle Price ?

Price would open up a few more options for sure, Doc.

Cheers.

[cigarviper]

I wish that Melanson would keep his friggin' hands off our goalies. We have enough already thank you. He's just gonna clog things up is all. ;D

[seventeen]

docholliday said:

Interesting.

If the guy is such a hot prospect, could the HABS dangle Price ?

That's been my thinking for a while, Doc. It appears Price is playing a bit better this year, but he hasn't had the progression that Halak has.

slambios.canoe.ca/sportsplus/hockey/player.cgi?3768

Especially after his first year in the QMJHL, he's improved very consistently. Last year, he was very good for Long Beach, when he wasn't injured, and when he came up to Hamilton, he kept making a difference. There was the occasional bad game, but shutouts in 30%of your games isn't all luck. Right now with 10 minutes left in the 3rd, the Dogs are leading the Milwaukee Admirals 6-1. Halak has stopped 23 of 24 shots in the first 2 periods. Milroy, Grabovsky and Kostitsyn have 2 points each, and Lapierre has the hat-trick. The Dogs have turned into one monster team, especially since Cote returned.

stats.theahl.com/stats/game-summary.php?game_id=1002488

Anyway, for some reason, I've had a lot of confidence in Halak's ability to keep getting better and eventually make the Habs. Not only make them, but become a very good keeper. He's showing he can play well on bad teams and play well with a good team too. The only reservation I have right now is that he hasn't played as well in the playoffs compared to the regular season, but that could be because his teams (usually mediocres ones) are playing the better teams in their first rounds. I'd probably wait before trading Price, but if a really good deal comes along (eg Richards or Lecavalier), I wouldn't lose any sleep trading Price as part of the package. It makes possible a lot of deals that might not happen without that Grade A prospect.

[NWTHabsFan]

Halak comes up with another great performance with 31 saves this afternoon for a big 6-1 win against Milwaukee. That sure won't hurt his league leading stats any, so great to see from young Jaroslav.

Price has really shown improvement this season, and the true test will be in making the Junior team and leading Canada with a big performance. Pretty important given his disappointing cut from the team last year. He will be ready for Hamilton next season, which will mean that a big decision will be needed with Huet, Abby, Danis, Halak and Price giving both teams a nice problem to have. It will be interesting to see if Danis becomes the odd man out, or if they move Danis up to back up someone in Montreal next season if he finds his groove thang again this season.

The Dogs announcers cannot say enough about Halak and his good play of late.

[M. Beaux-Eaux]

Halak, Price, they're bums. So is Kostitisyn the Elder. Trade 'em all—throw in Plekanec and Perezhogin as well. And Komisarek. If you haven't reached superstar status by age 23 you are of no use to the Habs. Of course I may be wrong,

[chief6]

mrbozo said:

Halak, Price, they're bums. So is Kostitisyn the Elder. Trade 'em all—throw in Plekanec and Perezhogin as well. And Komisarek. If you haven't reached superstar status by age 23 you are of no use to the Habs. Of course I may be wrong,

This was lost of me.

[M. Beaux-Eaux]

chief6 said:

mrbozo said:

Halak, Price, they're bums. So is Kostitisyn the Elder. Trade 'em all—throw in Plekanec and Perezhogin as well. And Komisarek. If you haven't reached superstar status by age 23 you are of no use to the Habs. Of course I may be wrong,

This was lost of me.

Fair enough. It's difficult to tell when a Capricorn speaks in jest or is being serious, as my freind Tanya has reminded me (which explains my hit or miss probability at parties and with women).

However, in terms of young hockey talent, I am of the persuasion that it is generally more astute to see how an obviously gifted athlete responds to coaching and his own desire to take the next step (see Ryder, Michael) before jettisoning him. I place that same faith in the Habs hockey management people, no matter how frustrating it may be to some fans (understandably so since we all want success). Case in point is Duncan Milroy, who I lauded when the Habs picked him. He severely disappointed me for a couple of seasons, but now seems to have found his mojo and likely a passport to an NHL career.

Sure, we can all point to first round picks who are flourishing elsewhere and complain that our own don't measure up, but that, I think, is missing the big picture and sells our amateur scouts and our coaching staff (at all levels) short. Having high expectations is fine, and especially common to fans who desperately want their club to come out winners in the sweepstakes, which is entirely natural, but it is not necessarily realistic. As Gauthier's predecessor said, and for the life of me I can't remember his name (except that he was a former Nordiques' exec—a francophone with an anglophone surname), "We must wait until the age of 25 before we dismiss a player as having no future in our organization".

And yes, Halak seems to be making a strong case for himself as the first coming since San José.

[chief6]

I see. Thanks for clarifying. I was unsure if your comments were an indictment of the players, or of impatient fans. And I tend to agree with you. Some fans need to stop wishing we had Crosby, and be thankful that we have a very nice group of prospects in Hamilton, and a pretty good bunch of young players already with the big club.

[cigarviper]

Yessiree, since the attention to detail has been given to the entry draft, the Habs future has gotten brighter. Not shrewd trading practices or splashy UFA signings, both in demand by fans and media alike.

Thanks to Andre Savard and now Bob Gainey who continues to find those character players in the later rounds, this team is coming close to a time when it can enjoy the fruits of it's labour of yesterday. Find the best eyes for talent in the business and retain them at all cost I say. I wish Andre were still with the org.

[Anardil1]

mrbozo said:

chief6 said:

This was lost of me.

Fair enough. It's difficult to tell when a Capricorn speaks in jest or is being serious, as my freind Tanya has reminded me (which explains my hit or miss probability at parties and with women).

However, in terms of young hockey talent, I am of the persuasion that it is generally more astute to see how an obviously gifted athlete responds to coaching and his own desire to take the next step (see Ryder, Michael) before jettisoning him. I place that same faith in the Habs hockey management people, no matter how frustrating it may be to some fans (understandably so since we all want success). Case in point is Duncan Milroy, who I lauded when the Habs picked him. He severely disappointed me for a couple of seasons, but now seems to have found his mojo and likely a passport to an NHL career.

Sure, we can all point to first round picks who are flourishing elsewhere and complain that our own don't measure up, but that, I think, is missing the big picture and sells our amateur scouts and our coaching staff (at all levels) short. Having high expectations is fine, and especially common to fans who desperately want their club to come out winners in the sweepstakes, which is entirely natural, but it is not necessarily realistic. As Gauthier's predecessor said, and for the life of me I can't remember his name (except that he was a former Nordiques' exec—a francophone with an anglophone surname), "We must wait until the age of 25 before we dismiss a player as having no future in our organization".

And yes, Halak seems to be making a strong case for himself as the first coming since San José.

I think the former Nords exec you're drawing blanks on is Martin Madden. I'm not too sure myself. He does fit your "profile" however. Franco with an English name.

[M. Beaux-Eaux]

anardil1 said:

mrbozo said:

Fair enough. It's difficult to tell when a Capricorn speaks in jest or is being serious, as my freind Tanya has reminded me (which explains my hit or miss probability at parties and with women).

However, in terms of young hockey talent, I am of the persuasion that it is generally more astute to see how an obviously gifted athlete responds to coaching and his own desire to take the next step (see Ryder, Michael) before jettisoning him. I place that same faith in the Habs hockey management people, no matter how frustrating it may be to some fans (understandably so since we all want success). Case in point is Duncan Milroy, who I lauded when the Habs picked him. He severely disappointed me for a couple of seasons, but now seems to have found his mojo and likely a passport to an NHL career.

Sure, we can all point to first round picks who are flourishing elsewhere and complain that our own don't measure up, but that, I think, is missing the big picture and sells our amateur scouts and our coaching staff (at all levels) short. Having high expectations is fine, and especially common to fans who desperately want their club to come out winners in the sweepstakes, which is entirely natural, but it is not necessarily realistic. As Gauthier's predecessor said, and for the life of me I can't remember his name (except that he was a former Nordiques' exec—a francophone with an anglophone surname), "We must wait until the age of 25 before we dismiss a player as having no future in our organization".

And yes, Halak seems to be making a strong case for himself as the first coming since San José.

I think the former Nords exec you're drawing blanks on is Martin Madden. I'm not too sure myself. He does fit your "profile" however. Franco with an English name.

Yep, that's the man. Thanks.