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Post by habmeister on Jan 5, 2007 17:22:22 GMT -5
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jan 5, 2007 21:01:13 GMT -5
He levelled on of our boys almost into the bench today, so he is a tough customer. He was on their PP and PK, and logged loads of ice time. He also has a decent and accurate shot on net, as witnessed by Russia's first goal. I also like his mobility and passing for a big man.
I know that after the draft Timmins indicated that their Russian scout was so sold on this guy that he wanted the Habs to use up one of their second round picks. In hindsight, he may be a steal for a fifth rounder, although it is pretty darn early. I have heard Timmins make comparisons to Emelin before, which is good indeed. If only the organization can lure both of those young Russians to this side of the Atlantic.
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Post by Skilly on Jan 5, 2007 22:06:57 GMT -5
He put himself out of position with the hit on Downey. Aside from that, he had a good game. Never saw much of him during the tourney though.
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Post by Doc Holliday on Jan 6, 2007 10:37:23 GMT -5
...Russians...  ...he'll have to agree to come over here... ...adapt to the NA game... ...adapt to an unfamaliar surrounding... ...learn to communicate... Dominate in an inferior/slower but more physical league with smaller rinks... than re-adapt to the faster play of the NHL... ...still a long, long, long, long way to go... |
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Post by ropoflu on Jan 6, 2007 11:41:27 GMT -5
...Russians... ...he'll have to agree to come over here... ...adapt to the NA game... ...adapt to an unfamaliar surrounding... ...learn to communicate... Dominate in an inferior/slower but more physical league with smaller rinks... than re-adapt to the faster play of the NHL... ...then he hits free agency  |
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jan 6, 2007 11:57:57 GMT -5
...Russians... ...he'll have to agree to come over here... ...adapt to the NA game... ...adapt to an unfamaliar surrounding... ...learn to communicate... Dominate in an inferior/slower but more physical league with smaller rinks... than re-adapt to the faster play of the NHL... ...still a long, long, long, long way to go... Doc, I agree, however you also have to like to see our fifth round picks playing well against their peers. Like seventeen said in the WJC thread, it is not all doom and gloom on the blueline any more when it comes to our prospects. It was not too long ago that the future was quite bleak in fact. The drafting team has focussed on this and pulled some kids with good potential to stock up the farm, all while accumulating the odd good goalie and a few nifty forwards in the process. O'Byrne seems to be adapting to the AHL nicely, and is a huge presence back there. He likely will only get better like he did in his three years in the NCAA. Fischer is getting regular ice time on one of the top two NCAA teams in the country (a whack of them return home from Sweden with bronze medals) in his rookie season. Emelin continues to dominate in the RSL and is now wearing a letter at 21 years young. He was also on the Russian team at a four tourney event earlier this year. Valentenko is getting good RSL ice time and had a strong performance at the WJC. Cote has returned from injury and is back to his old, solid, safe, reliable form in the farm. Carle is leading the QMJHL in scoring for defenders. The oft forgotten Korpikari continues to toil away with one of the perennial powerhouses in Finland, leaving us still unsure how he fits into the Habs' plans despite his few appearances at past Habs' camps. He is still young as well, and looks to be a real solid stay at homer. Success at the junior level, in the AHL or NCAA, or even in the European super leagues is no guarantee of success in the NHL. However, at least we can now compile a list that has some decent potential and promise. |
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Post by Skilly on Jan 6, 2007 13:37:42 GMT -5
The oft forgotten Korpikari continues to toil away with one of the perennial powerhouses in Finland, leaving us still unsure how he fits into the Habs' plans despite his few appearances at past Habs' camps. He is still young as well, and looks to be a real solid stay at homer. Stay at homer ..... that explains why he is in Finland.   |
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jan 6, 2007 15:04:58 GMT -5
Stay at homer ..... that explains why he is in Finland. He has also been called a Karpat-bagger. |
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Post by oldhabsfan on Jan 6, 2007 17:44:10 GMT -5
...Russians... ...he'll have to agree to come over here... ...adapt to the NA game... ...adapt to an unfamaliar surrounding... ...learn to communicate... Dominate in an inferior/slower but more physical league with smaller rinks... than re-adapt to the faster play of the NHL... ...still a long, long, long, long way to go... By report, he already has some English and he's glad to have been drafted by the Canadiens. Good hockey players tend not to have trouble adapting from the big ice to the small - Ovechkin, Malkin, Lidstrom for example. Not so good players are not helped much by familiarity. I think of Urquhart and Sanford. For this particular prospect I would say the glass is more than half full. |
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Post by seventeen on Jan 7, 2007 0:03:22 GMT -5
He put himself out of position with the hit on Downey. Aside from that, he had a good game. Never saw much of him during the tourney though. Before that, Downie had taken part in a scrum and Valentenko had come to his teammates aid, but Downie faked a punch at him and Valentenko backed off. I think the hit was a case of wanting to get back at him. It did indeed take him out of the play, but if a forward had been backchecking properly, it wouldn't have mattered. From that point on, Downie was inconsequential, so he may have been hurt on the play. It was a very heavy hit. Another Canadian goal resulted from Valentenko's overexuberance, when he highsticked someone in front of the net (Helm?). Again, in his defense, Helm was rushing the keeper and Valentenko was fending him off. It was partially accidental, but Toews scored on the PP and that hurt the Russian team as well. I really liked what I saw. Good, strong skater, very sturdy on his skates, lots of upper body strength a good passer and a decent shot. He didn't get beaten one on one like his captain did on Canada's first goal, at all that I saw. Toews made some moves straddling the blue line once and Valentenko knocked the puck away. He's tough to beat. He would have been a good 2nd round pick and is an outstanding 5th round pick. |
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Post by habmeister on Jan 10, 2007 16:21:14 GMT -5
He put himself out of position with the hit on Downey. Aside from that, he had a good game. Never saw much of him during the tourney though. Before that, Downie had taken part in a scrum and Valentenko had come to his teammates aid, but Downie faked a punch at him and Valentenko backed off. I think the hit was a case of wanting to get back at him. It did indeed take him out of the play, but if a forward had been backchecking properly, it wouldn't have mattered. From that point on, Downie was inconsequential, so he may have been hurt on the play. It was a very heavy hit. Another Canadian goal resulted from Valentenko's overexuberance, when he highsticked someone in front of the net (Helm?). Again, in his defense, Helm was rushing the keeper and Valentenko was fending him off. It was partially accidental, but Toews scored on the PP and that hurt the Russian team as well. I really liked what I saw. Good, strong skater, very sturdy on his skates, lots of upper body strength a good passer and a decent shot. He didn't get beaten one on one like his captain did on Canada's first goal, at all that I saw. Toews made some moves straddling the blue line once and Valentenko knocked the puck away. He's tough to beat. He would have been a good 2nd round pick and is an outstanding 5th round pick. unfortunately i didn't see much if any of the world juniors this year, but i did see every emelin game last year live which is better for spotlighting/scouting and this valentenko seems like a clone of him, if he is as good as emeline we have 2 more nhl d-men in the pipeline. prospects are the most important thing to have in the new nhl, 7 years we can lock them up for. o-byrne, komi, emelin, fischer, valentenko, markov, 3 russians and 3 americans. mix in a french canadian for good measure. |
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Jan 10, 2007 22:36:12 GMT -5
There was a time I'd take any one of the Ottawa defence corps but not now. However, I'd take Volchenkov over Redden believe it or not. This Valentenko sounds somewhat like Volchenkov. There were a few stalwart Russian defencemen though. Konstantinov was a rock until his accident and Ulanov was probably a bit out of control at times, but he was one of the toughest I've seen from that neck of the woods. However, as Doc opined, today's Russians, generally speaking, seem to be ... Ru$$ian$ ... not all mind you. Cheers. |
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Post by Anardil1 on Jan 10, 2007 22:44:53 GMT -5
Before that, Downie had taken part in a scrum and Valentenko had come to his teammates aid, but Downie faked a punch at him and Valentenko backed off. I think the hit was a case of wanting to get back at him. It did indeed take him out of the play, but if a forward had been backchecking properly, it wouldn't have mattered. From that point on, Downie was inconsequential, so he may have been hurt on the play. It was a very heavy hit. Another Canadian goal resulted from Valentenko's overexuberance, when he highsticked someone in front of the net (Helm?). Again, in his defense, Helm was rushing the keeper and Valentenko was fending him off. It was partially accidental, but Toews scored on the PP and that hurt the Russian team as well. I really liked what I saw. Good, strong skater, very sturdy on his skates, lots of upper body strength a good passer and a decent shot. He didn't get beaten one on one like his captain did on Canada's first goal, at all that I saw. Toews made some moves straddling the blue line once and Valentenko knocked the puck away. He's tough to beat. He would have been a good 2nd round pick and is an outstanding 5th round pick. unfortunately i didn't see much if any of the world juniors this year, but i did see every emelin game last year live which is better for spotlighting/scouting and this valentenko seems like a clone of him, if he is as good as emeline we have 2 more nhl d-men in the pipeline. prospects are the most important thing to have in the new nhl, 7 years we can lock them up for. o-byrne, komi, emelin, fischer, valentenko, markov, 3 russians and 3 americans. mix in a french canadian for good measure. Not to nit-pick, but I believe that O'Byrne is a "boeuf de l'ouest" (BC boy). |
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Post by habmeister on Jan 11, 2007 1:14:13 GMT -5
unfortunately i didn't see much if any of the world juniors this year, but i did see every emelin game last year live which is better for spotlighting/scouting and this valentenko seems like a clone of him, if he is as good as emeline we have 2 more nhl d-men in the pipeline. prospects are the most important thing to have in the new nhl, 7 years we can lock them up for. o-byrne, komi, emelin, fischer, valentenko, markov, 3 russians and 3 americans. mix in a french canadian for good measure. Not to nit-pick, but I believe that O'Byrne is a "boeuf de l'ouest" (BC boy). yeah, i guess i was thinking that he's playing in the ncaa. he's from victoria i believe. ok, 3 american taught and 3 russian taught players. i write without thinking, or verifying, so i make mistakes, but it's unplanned and shooting from the hip. what can i say, a bit of cherry in me i guess, the good part, is there any? ah forget it. |
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