2007 WJC

[CentreHice]

skilly said:

centrehice said:

How many headlines will read, "The Price is Right"?

I prefer,

"Winning the Gold Medal and MVP ..... Price-less!!"

Well done....I'll bet MasterCard called his agent right after the final horn to finalize the deal. Are Juniors allowed to have endorsement deals like that?

[Skilly]

machabby said:

"I think this will erase some doubts for the time being, but it's his development at the NHL level that counts."

[/i][/quote]

At least Timmins and Co. realize that he has done nothing so far for the Montreal Canadiens. Like I said before the world junior tournament is littered with all-star, MVP, gold winning goalies that did didly-squat at the NHL level ... Craig Billington, Allan Bester, Felix Potvin, Jamie Storr, Maxime Ouellet, Jeff Glass, Jimmy Waite, Stephane Fiset, Trevor Kidd ... (and even though he won a vezina and a Hart we could add Jose Theodore to that list too).

I was trying today to think of how many Canadian goalies that played as a starter in the WJC, have won the Stanley Cup. One came to me immediately ... Mike Vernon ..... are there any others? There has to be, doesn't there?

EDIT: Did Roy play in the WJC? No he didn't.



I poured over every world junior roster since 1974. Wow, we had alot of no name goalies .... remember Mike Kasmetis? Ed Staniowski?? Al Jensen? Mike Moffat?

But I have found that only four Canadian goalies who played in the WJC have won the Stanley Cup. They are Vernon, Melanson, Wregget, and Legace ... and four of those (Melanson,Wregget and Legace) won it as a back-up. Call it the WJC jinx.

[Habs_fan_in_LA]

Have to admit, I questioned not including Esposito and Maxwell, but you can't argue with winning.

[habsask]

What seems to be encouraging to me about Price are:

1) ups the level of his play to meet challenges, ref excellent in two Habs training camps and now the World Juniors.

2) appears to stay calm, not too up or down.

I was skeptical about a goalie with the no. 5 pick. Hope he proves me wrong. If all goes as planned Price should be ready to step in as Habs #1 just when Huet's contract is up.

Well, I can dream can't I ? ;D

[Skilly]

I am not trying to knock Price ... I hope his is a franchise goalie and wins many Stanley Cups for us .... here is the list of the WJC Best Goalie since 1977


2007 Carey Price
2006 Tuukka Rask (FIN)
2005 Marek Schwarz (CZE)
2004 Al Montoya (USA)
2003 Marc-André Fleury (CAN)
2002 Kari Lehtonen (FIN)
2001 Tomas Duba (CZE)
2000 Rick Dipietro (USA)
1999 Roberto Luongo (CAN)
1998 David Aebischer (SUI)
1997 Marc Denis (CAN)
1996 Jose Theodore (CAN)
1995 Yevgeny Tarasoc (RUS)
1994 Jamie Storr (CAN)
1993 Manny Legace (CAN)
1992 Mike Dunham (USA)
1991 Pauli Jacks (SWE)
1990 Stephane Fiset (CAN)
1989 Aleksey Ivashkin (URS)
1988 Jimmy Waite (CAN)
1987 Marmus Ketterer (FIN)
1986 Eugeny Belosheikin(URS)
1985 Craig Billington (CAN)
1984 Allan Perry (USA)
1983 Dominik Hasek (TCH)
1982 Mike Moffat (CAN)
1981 Laris Eriksson (SWE)
1980 Jari Paavola (FIN)
1979 Pelle Lindbergh (SWE)
1978 Alexander Tyzhnyk (URS)
1977 Jan Hrabak (TCH)


Again only one Stanley Cup .... Dominic Hasek. Manny Legace won one as a back-up ...so I can add him to the list above.

EDIT: oooppppsssss Aebischer won one as a back-up too.

[Skilly]

Of all the Canadian goalies that won the WJC Best Goalie Award only Jose Theodore has won anything. Do we really want another Jose Theodore? Arguably the best goalie on that list is Roberto Luongo, but he hasn't even played a single playoff game in the NHL yet. I hope Price is better than the goalies who came before him.

[seventeen]

I'm not going to crucify Price because he won the top goalie award at the WJC. There were a lot of duds in that group, Skilly, but there are some pretty good goalies too. The fact they may or may not have won the Cup is another matter. A lot of the goalies who won the WJC award probably just put it all together for that short tournament. That can happen to a lot of kids. They don't necessarily become great NHL prospects as a result. Price was a good prospect before going to Sweden. For example, I wouldn't discard Kari Lehtonen as my goalie just because he won the WJC top goalie award. He's a very good goalie and getting better. Same thing for Luongo, who's played for some brutal teams in NY and Florida. Let's just say I'm much happier that Price had a good tournament than a bad one. It's great for his confidence.

And how about a pat on the back for our scouting staff? Mikus was Slovakia's best player, Serghei Kostitsyn arguably Belarus' best player, Price was possibly Canada's best player and Valentenko likely Russia's best player and now a stud prospect for us. BC, when was that we said defence was a weak part of our farm system? Is it too late to backtrack? O'Byrne, Cote, Emelin, Valentenko, Fischer....it's coming around.

[MC Habber]

seventeen said:

I'm not going to crucify Price because he won the top goalie award at the WJC. There were a lot of duds in that group, Skilly, but there are some pretty good goalies too.

From 1990 on, almost all those goalies have been NHL starters. Considering how many players have success at that age and then never amount to anything, I'm surprised at how well they have done. So if anything I see winning WJC Best Goalie is a predictor of future success.

[Skilly]

Like I said, I am not trying to knock Price. As seventeen said, I am happy he had a great tournament as opposed to a weak one. He learned to win, and he learned to play in a pressure packed single elimination tourney (maybe the closest he could get to the Stanley Cup playoffs at this stage in his development), and you can't say enough about how important that is to his development.

All I am suggesting, is that we should be remember the past. let's not put too much pressure on this kid to be a "saviour" for the Habs. (The media will do enough of that).

From 1990 on, almost all those goalies have been NHL starters. Considering how many players have success at that age and then never amount to anything, I'm surprised at how well they have done. So if anything I see winning WJC Best Goalie is a predictor of future success.

Yes, there are a few "quality" NHL starters who have comfortably adapted to their reclusive surroundings. But .... using your time frame

2007 Carey Price ............. too early
2006 Tuukka Rask (FIN) .............. too early
2005 Marek Schwarz (CZE) ......... too early
2004 Al Montoya (USA) ................ played in ECHL last year,
2003 Marc-André Fleury (CAN) ..... 0 NHL playoff games
2002 Kari Lehtonen (FIN) ............ 0 NHL playoff games
2001 Tomas Duba (CZE) .............. FIN and CZE leagues, 0 NHL games
2000 Rick Dipietro (USA) ............... 0 NHL playoff games
1999 Roberto Luongo (CAN) ......... 0 NHL playoff games
1998 David Aebischer (SUI) .......... 13 NHL playoff games (11 as starter, 6-5 record)
1997 Marc Denis (CAN) ................. 0 NHL playoff games
1996 Jose Theodore (CAN) ........... 37 playoff games (15-20 record)
1995 Yevgeny Tarasoc (RUS) ........ 0 NHL games
1994 Jamie Storr (CAN) ................ 5 NHL playoff games (0-3 record)
1993 Manny Legace (CAN) ........... 11 NHL playoff games (4-6 record)
1992 Mike Dunham (USA) ............ 0 NHL playoff games
1991 Pauli Jacks (SWE) ............... 0 NHL games
1990 Stephane Fiset (CAN) ......... 14 NHL playoff games (1-7 record)

We all use the excuse that these guys played on bad teams. I don't buy into that arguement. Like I said when we had Theo, and now Huet .... we rely on our goalies too much, they have to be strong from the get go. With our defense, we play like a "bad" team and win in spite of our defense because of good goaltending. So the question is how long do you wait for Price? Some would like to see him in a Habs jersey next year or the one after .... then how long to we wait for him to be the "franchise". Not one goalie on the list (except Hasek) was able to pull it together. Sure Lehtonen and Luongo are good goalie in relative abscure places who don't care if you make the playoffs with a 0.930 save percentage .... that wouldn't cut it in Montreal and we know it.

Based on history these guys all get the job done when they have a top-notch defense corps. So unless we want Price to become another Fiset, or Storr .... we need to work on getting that defense stronger before he arrives. That is the only point I am making ... and yes we have time to do it, I just don't think Price is going to be able to "do it himself" like Roy, (and like we expected Theo and now Huet).

[Doc Holliday]

skilly said:

Of all the Canadian goalies that won the WJC Best Goalie Award only Jose Theodore has won anything. Do we really want another Jose Theodore?

Should we discard Price because he's been dominant in that tournament ? If he would have stunk what would you have said ?

Top prospects have to be dominant and that is what Price has done. Dominate. That doesn't give him a passport to an NHL All-Star career but it does show that he is the top rated prospect goalie that many doubted he was. I just don't understand why you're almost trying to make a case that his great performance puts him on a track to failure.

[NWTHabsFan]

Franchise goalies are a funny lot. They are not always noticeable on draft day, and maybe not always the guy that lights it up in big tourneys like the Memorial Cup or the WJC, but you have to like when a past #5 pick (that is a rarity with the Habs of late) shows such steady and noticeable progression and improvement in his game that even McGuire was all goo-goo about him all week.

That is all we can ask of 19 year old prospects at this point, steady development and improvement. If you also happen to package that into a big body, with a mature mind, and calm and cool demeanor, that speaks to some yet unproven big league promise. Nothing more, nothing less. It does, however, demonstrate that the Habs' scouting staff were not out to lunch chosing the big BC tender with that high a pick. He has potential and promise, it is up to him and the coaching staffs to see what comes of it down the road.

Bottom line is, you expect a high draft pick to dominate against his peers. Mission accomplished to date.

[Skilly]

docholliday said:

skilly said:

Of all the Canadian goalies that won the WJC Best Goalie Award only Jose Theodore has won anything. Do we really want another Jose Theodore?

Should we discard Price because he's been dominant in that tournament ? If he would have stunk what would you have said ?

Top prospects have to be dominant and that is what Price has done. Dominate. That doesn't give him a passport to an NHL All-Star career but it does show that he is the top rated prospect goalie that many doubted he was. I just don't understand why you're almost trying to make a case that his great performance puts him on a track to failure.

No ...thats not it at all.

I am just saying we have seen this song and dance before ... the WJC is littered with goalies who played great and amount to nothing in the NHL. It is just a caution. If he stunk, I would have been depressed. Because the one thing the WJC is not littered with is goalie who stunk and went on to have great careers.

We can all be excited about his performance, but let's wait until he plays before "annoiting" him a franchise goalie. I guess what I am really getting at is that the media is saying that this performance justifies Montreal picking him #5 overall. I say it doesn't, not yet. He has done nothing for Montreal yet, and Montreal didn't pick him to win WJC gold.

[Skilly]

nwthabsfan said:

Franchise goalies are a funny lot. They are not always noticeable on draft day, and maybe not always the guy that lights it up in big tourneys like the Memorial Cup or the WJC, but you have to like when a past #5 pick (that is a rarity with the Habs of late) shows such steady and noticeable progression and improvement in his game that even McGuire was all goo-goo about him all week.

That is all we can ask of 19 year old prospects at this point, steady development and improvement. If you also happen to package that into a big body, with a mature mind, and calm and cool demeanor, that speaks to some yet unproven big league promise. Nothing more, nothing less. It does, however, demonstrate that the Habs' scouting staff were not out to lunch chosing the big BC tender with that high a pick. He has potential and promise, it is up to him and the coaching staffs to see what comes of it down the road.

Bottom line is, you expect a high draft pick to dominate against his peers. Mission accomplished to date.

Agreed. He has done everything one could expect of him to date.

[habmeister]

skilly said:

I am not trying to knock Price ... I hope his is a franchise goalie and wins many Stanley Cups for us .... here is the list of the WJC Best Goalie since 1977



2003 Marc-André Fleury (CAN) STARTING NHL GOALIE
2002 Kari Lehtonen (FIN) STARTING NHL GOALIE
2001 Tomas Duba (CZE)
2000 Rick Dipietro (USA) STARTING NHL GOALIE
1999 Roberto Luongo (CAN) STARTING NHL GOALIE
1998 David Aebischer (SUI) BACKUP NHL GOALIE
1997 Marc Denis (CAN) STARTING NHL GOALIE
1996 Jose Theodore (CAN) HART TROPHY WINNER

If you eliminate the last 3 years of goalies due to the fact that they're still making their way, you have 6 starting goalies out of 8 (theodore was a starter until maybe this season). including 1 backup. So lately as scouting goalies has improved it looks like the best goalie award is a shoe-in for an NHL starting goalie job.

;D

[Skilly]

habmeister said:

skilly said:

I am not trying to knock Price ... I hope his is a franchise goalie and wins many Stanley Cups for us .... here is the list of the WJC Best Goalie since 1977



2003 Marc-André Fleury (CAN) STARTING NHL GOALIE
2002 Kari Lehtonen (FIN) STARTING NHL GOALIE
2001 Tomas Duba (CZE)
2000 Rick Dipietro (USA) STARTING NHL GOALIE
1999 Roberto Luongo (CAN) STARTING NHL GOALIE
1998 David Aebischer (SUI) BACKUP NHL GOALIE
1997 Marc Denis (CAN) STARTING NHL GOALIE
1996 Jose Theodore (CAN) HART TROPHY WINNER

If you eliminate the last 3 years of goalies due to the fact that they're still making their way, you have 6 starting goalies out of 8 (theodore was a starter until maybe this season). including 1 backup. So lately as scouting goalies has improved it looks like the best goalie award is a shoe-in for an NHL starting goalie job.

;D

But not a winning starter .... as I have said before stats dont mean squat to me as long as the team is winning. Lehtonen is really the only winning goalie on your list.

[habmeister]

skilly said:

habmeister said:

If you eliminate the last 3 years of goalies due to the fact that they're still making their way, you have 6 starting goalies out of 8 (theodore was a starter until maybe this season). including 1 backup. So lately as scouting goalies has improved it looks like the best goalie award is a shoe-in for an NHL starting goalie job.

;D

But not a winning starter .... as I have said before stats dont mean squat to me as long as the team is winning. Lehtonen is really the only winning goalie on your list.

huh? W-L record currently

Luongo 23-15
Fleury 17-11
Lehtonen 19-9
Theodore 9-10
Dipietro 16-14
Aebischer 7-6
Denis 9-12

5 winning goalies, 4 of them starters.

your turn.

[ropoflu]

From HF:

Canadiens 2007 WJC review

Written by Jason Menard on 01/07/2007

Montreal Canadiens prospects experienced both team highs and team lows of international competition at the recently completed World Junior Hockey Championships. But regardless of how their national squads fared, the Habs-to-be all played key roles and acquitted themselves well.

“We’re very ecstatic,” said Trevor Timmins, the Canadiens director of player recruitment and development. “All four of our guys were arguably the top players on their respective clubs.”

First and foremost, Habs’ goaltending prospect Carey Price (1st round, 2005) was a standout all tournament for Canada. Whether it was his two shutouts – including an opening-night performance that put any question of who was Canada’s starter to rest – or a hardware haul so impressive that he probably had to pay extra luggage charges, Price’s profile rocketed to a new level with his performance.

Price was a key performer in Canada’s march to World Junior gold. In doing so he was named top goaltender by both the media and the tournament executives, and took home the coveted tournament most valuable player award -- all this for a player whom some pundits earlier opined shouldn’t even have been on the club’s final roster. Timmins explained that the very things that make Price an elite netminder are the things that may cause people to misconstrue his personality.

“There’s a lot of misunderstanding with Carey. He’s a laid-back personality – similar in many ways to [Cristobal] Huet,” he explained. “He’s an even-keeled person that doesn’t get too emotional. A lot of that gets mistaken for a lack of passion by those who don’t know him well.

“But it’s that even keel, that steady personality that reflects in his performance. He won’t get too high or too low, and he keeps his composure in any situation. His personality is one that’s calm, cool, and collected and he deals with everyone on the same level. It bodes well for his future.”

The Williams Lake, B.C. native turned away 25 of 27 shots in the final contest against Russia, leading the club to gold. Of course, this was just a continuation of his stellar play all tournament long. In the six games Canada played, Price was between the pipes for all 370 minutes. He turned aside 172 of 179 shots for a stellar 1.14 GAA and .961 save percentage.

It’s been a long trip from the obscure shadows of tiny Williams Lake -- a region so remote and small that his father had to fly him in their small plane to other communities to play – to the international stage, and the accompanying white-hot glare of the spotlight that comes from being the Canadian national team goaltender. And while some may have considered Price’s tournament a breakthrough, Timmins said he and the club were not surprised by the 19-year-old’s performance.

“We’ve have already seen that level of play at the NHL level when he’s been here for training camps or exhibition games,” he explained. “That’s why we drafted him. He believe he’s going to be a top-end goaltender in Montreal one day.”

And while the final game was the climax of the event, Timmins pointed to Team Canada’s penultimate game when looking for Price’s best moment. “I thought that the U.S. team gave Canada a real battle and I give them full marks for their performance,” he said. “And when Canada killed a 4-3 power play in overtime of that game, I felt that was the highlight.

“They always say your goaltender is your best penalty killer and Carey truly showed that on that occasion.”

Interestingly enough, one of the two pucks that slipped by Price in the final game was fired by fellow Habs’ draft pick Pavel Valentenko (5th round, 2006). The young Russian blueliner was a force in his six games, accounting for two goals, one assist, and a plus-three rating. He held is own in the tournament finale, finishing at even. While his work didn’t go unnoticed – he was named Russia’s player of the game for the finale – he was lucky that another action earlier in the game did.

“The referees missed it but when [Steve] Downie (PHI) was punching the Russian player, Valentenko jumped off the bench and went after Downie,” Timmins explained, laughing. “He went out there in defense of his teammate.”

In fact, that was just indicative of the overall North-American-style game that the hulking blueliner displayed throughout the tournament. Most impressively, for a player known more for his defensive prowess, Valentenko played a key offensive role firing 13 shots on goal during the tournament, including three in the final game.

“Valentenko has a hell of a shot and he was an asset on their power play,” Timmins said. “He also plays in all critical situations: PP, PK, 5-on-3, end-of-game… He’s a great prospect, now we’ve just got to get him over here. He rose to the occasion in this tournament and I like what I saw out of him.”

And as well as Valentenko played for Russia in the WJC, Timmins said that their sleeper pick can play even better. “We know the kid can play better because we’ve seen him play that way over in Russia.”

Conversely, two prospects performed admirably for woeful squads. Last season Sergei Kostistyn (7th round, 2005) was the major force that pushed Belarus into the A group, as he was named the B-flight’s tournament MVP last season. This year, despite another strong performance for the club, he wasn’t able to help them avoid regulation back from whence they came.

Despite a performance that saw him involved in over 70 percent of the team’s scoring with one goal and four assists in the team’s six games, Kostitsyn’s Belarusian squad joined Germany as relegated squads.

Kostitsyn was particularly impressive in Belarus’ first game – surprise victory over heavily favored Finland. In that first game he had a goal and an assist and things looked up for the overmatched Belarusian squad. Unfortunately, that euphoria was short-lived as the team lost its next five games.

“Belarus just didn’t have much of a team and he had nobody to play with -- nobody to think the game on the same level that he does,” Timmins explained. “I felt really bad for him.”

Of course, Kostitsyn wasn’t completely blameless for the club’s shoddy showing. “I think he just got frustrated and he brought his level down to that of his teammates,” Timmins added.

Timmins explained that he didn’t think the experience wasn’t a total waste of time, however. “You’re playing at the international level, playing against the best players of your age group,” he said. “You’re always going to have that to take away. Plus he got to go back and play with some of his friends, so there were some positives.”

A third team was on the brink of relegation – but no thanks to a fine performance by another Habs’ prospect. Belarus, Germany, and Slovakia were all on the bubble to be eliminated with only three points in the tournament, but Slovakia was able to stay in the A-flight thanks to having the best goal differential. Helping that cause was forward Juraj Mikus (4th round, 2005).

Mikus rebounded from a less-than-memorable 2006 tournament by accounting for five goals and an assist in the club’s six games. He was particularly lethal on special teams, scoring three power play goals and adding a short-handed marker.

“In the last tournament, Mikus basically sat on the bench because his coach went only with the guys who were playing in North America,” Timmins explained. “This year he was the tied for the tournament scoring lead [with four other players] despite not having a strong team around him.”

This was Mikus’ first World Junior tournament since coming overseas to play in the QMJHL. Timmins said that he was quite impressed with the level of development that he saw out of his young Slovakian winger.

“I thought he improved greatly in his play without the puck and his commitment to the defensive end,” he said. “He really came along with that.”

Mikus was named the team’s best player in two games and, despite playing for a club that finished with only one win to its credit, he was able to post a respectable –1 rating.

In the end, the Habs prospects’ haul netted one gold, one silver, one dash of hope for next year, and a sprinkle of disappointment thanks to the relegation rules. But with strong performances throughout the tournament, the quality of the organization’s prospect pool was demonstrated.

Copyright 2007 Hockey’s Future. Do not reprint or otherwise duplicate without permission of the editorial staff.

[Skilly]

habmeister said:

skilly said:

But not a winning starter .... as I have said before stats dont mean squat to me as long as the team is winning. Lehtonen is really the only winning goalie on your list.

huh? W-L record currently

Luongo 23-15
Fleury 17-11
Lehtonen 19-9
Theodore 9-10
Dipietro 16-14
Aebischer 7-6
Denis 9-12

5 winning goalies, 4 of them starters.

your turn.

Very well .... my turn .... do you want Price to be mediocre for one year, or do you want him to be dominant for many?

CAREER:

Luongo 138-183-33
Fleury 34-52-2
Lehtonen 43-24-0
Theodore 151-171-30
Dipietro 74-77-8
Aebischer 100-67-12
Denis 103-168-28

ONE winning STARTER. Abby is a back-up. Do you want Price to be a back-up? No. Are we defining winning goalies based on one year now? Then Theo must be the best goalie on that list then, since he had the best season.

Your turn.

[seventeen]

I didn't know we could accurately predict a goalie's NHL career via the WJC. Skilly, can you do the same thing with stocks? I've got an idea.

[Skilly]

seventeen said:

I didn't know we could accurately predict a goalie's NHL career via the WJC. Skilly, can you do the same thing with stocks? I've got an idea.

Again ..... as I have said time and time again in this thread ... I am not saying Price is going to be a bad goalie ... I am just cautioning people from annoiting him our saviour, our franchise, our way to the Cup. The WJC is not the barometer for that test, never has been. But it is good to see him do well ... but that is all it is. He did well against the best 17-20 yr olds in the world. Alot of goalies have done that and then nothing ....

Even the one Canadian goalie who won the Cup ... Mike Vernon ... never had a great career, (but it was a very good career).

[seventeen]

He barely made a noise in the league. Two Stanley Cups, but only one Conn Smythe with Detroit.
Useless. ;D

PS, I know what you mean, but hey, if you've got 2 legs, one is worth pulling.

[habmeister]

so now luongo and fleury aren't good goalies because they play on $hitty teams? hilarious.

[Skilly]

habmeister said:

so now luongo and fleury aren't good goalies because they play on $hitty teams? hilarious.

Theo was a bad goalie playing on a crappy team .... we didn't make the playoffs in 3 of the 6 years that Theo was a starter (and 5 out of the 9 yeasrs he was with the team ... thats pretty poop-y if you ask me). But we all expected Theo to get us to the playoffs.

Luongo has not gotten his team to the playoffs in his career. Never said he was a bad goalie, just said he hasn't gotten his team to the playoffs, he hasn't won anything.

The curse of young franchise goalies is that they do get drafted by team who are crappy (being high draft picks) ... but they are expected to be good enough to overcome the team's deficiencies. That why they are selected. We can't keep the puck out of our net, let's get us a blue-chip goalie in the draft.

Where would Fleury be without Crosby and Malkin? By the way, Crosby still performed on a crappy team, Malkin is still performing (although it isnt as crappy a team as when Crosby showed up) ... but Fleury gets a pass? Why is that. You think Fleury would have 17-11 (or better) record without Crosby?

So Vancouver is a crappy team too? Well I say Colorado is crappy too .... a goalie of Luongo's and Theo salaries shouldn't have to have all-star defense and elite offense to get them into the playoffs, should they?

Luongo and Fleury have lots of years left to win their Cups, never said they wouldn't .... all i said was only one canadian WJC goalie has ....

EDIT: And where did I say either of them was crappy?? I didn't. All I said was neither of them has a winning record.

[M. Beaux-Eaux]

The Price is right, as he showed in the tourney. What's more, he's been Careying his WHL club the past few seasons. A solid draft choice that allowed the Habs to move Theodore and his contract with a clear conscience. Besides, he passes better than many a defenseman.

[habmeister]

mrbozo said:

The Price is right, as he showed in the tourney. What's more, he's been Careying his WHL club the past few seasons. A solid draft choice that allowed the Habs to move Theodore and his contract with a clear conscience. Besides, he passes better than many a defenseman.

no kidding, he would already be top 5 in the league likely in his passing ability, it will be refreshing after going through patrick's cough ups, theo's bungles, and huet's indecision to see a goalie that can make a great first pass.