Habs Prospects 2021-22

[seventeen]

Dec 7, 2021 14:00:41 GMT -5 Boston_Habs said:

The issue wasn't so much Harris per se, but the seeming lack of regular contact with the guy. Maybe the Harris camp is fussy about that and have been angling all along to forego a contract with MTL so he could be a free agent when he's done with Northeastern, but at a minimum it speaks to how the Habs development team has been staffed (or understaffed) under Bergevin.

I was listening to Andrew Berkshire's podcast and he had someone on who used to work for MLSE and she said that organization is crawling with development people, nutritionists, psychologists, power skating coaches... you name it. They spare no expense. Reading between the lines of some of Gorton's comments and comments from the Jordan Harris camp suggests the Habs are an organization that runs pretty lean and in many cases just doesn't even have the kinds of positions that you find at organizations like MLSE or Fenway Sports Group.

Cheap, in other words?

[NWTHabsFan]

If you wish to see a couple of the new draft picks, Charlottetown’s game tomorrow (Wednesday December 8) will be streamed for free on CBC Gem starting at 7:00pm Atlantic time. The game will feature over-age forward Xavier Simoneau who is chasing Roy for the league scoring lead, and defender William Trudeau who was a surprise invite to Canada’s summer selection camp.

[NWTHabsFan]

Well darn, tomorrow’s game on CBC Gem will be less interesting without Simoneau playing.

[NWTHabsFan]

Kapanen named to the Finnish WJC team.

[NWTHabsFan]

Last night, the battle of the WHL’s top two teams (Winnipeg and Edmonton) went as advertised. A tight well fought affair that came down to a goal in the last half of the third to decide. It was a PP howitzer from Guhle that won the game.

Myšák added his 16th goal last night by pouncing on a loose puck in tight. The Bulldogs won 4-0 while rocking their Grey Cup Ticats jerseys.

Trudeau had an assist in Charlottetown’s match that was shown on CBC Gem last night. And in a rare tough game, Dichow was pulled after the second and giving up four goals. His team lost 5-4.

[NWTHabsFan]

This is a weird one between the OHL and Xhekaj. In a previous game, Woolley won a fight and then went over to the opposing bench and did some WWE belt move and taunted the bench by saying “who’s next?” No suspension from the league. On Friday, Xhekaj takes him on in a battle of huge heavyweights and KOs him. He does the little sleeping motion after but does not go to their bench to taunt. Indefinite suspension.

He is one tough hombre, but does get more than his share of suspensions.

[NWTHabsFan]

A fairly quiet night in terms of points production, but Stapley did get an assist in a big Denver shutout vs tough UMD and fellow prospect Biondi. Myšák scored his 17th, and he should be reporting to the Czech WJC team soon. Kidney had a multi point night with a goal and an assist.

Here is Kidney’s helper, from a nice offensive zone turnover and little dish to his line mate who scores a lovely goal. #12 in white

And his goal is one heck of a one-man effort working through the opposition to finish with a tap in goal when the puck got away on him a bit.

[NWTHabsFan]

Canada is really stacked at forward at the WJC camp, so Roy definitely faces a tough battle to impress enough to get an elusive spot. However, this guy has turned his game around by putting in the effort off the ice to let his obvious on-ice talent shine a lot more this season. An 18 year old leading the Q in scoring is hard to ignore.

Tough not to cheer for this kid. Have a great camp!

[Willie Dog]

awinninghabit.com/2021/12/10/montreal-canadiens-prospect-arber-xhekaj-suspended-again/

[Skilly]

Dec 10, 2021 11:07:15 GMT -5 NWTHabsFan said:

This is a weird one between the OHL and Xhekaj. In a previous game, Woolley won a fight and then went over to the opposing bench and did some WWE belt move and taunted the bench by saying “who’s next?” No suspension from the league. On Friday, Xhekaj takes him on in a battle of huge heavyweights and KOs him. He does the little sleeping motion after but does not go to their bench to taunt. Indefinite suspension.

He is one tough hombre, but does get more than his share of suspensions.

Yeah, it falls under the Dumbest Suspension ever category.

The fight was within the rules, cold clocking the player was within the rules, skating over him as he fell to the ice was ok ... but doing a nighty-night, to a guy who taunted the team ....no no no ... you just offended "sleepers" (I guess?) everywhere. We can't have that in the league ..

[Willie Dog]

Dec 11, 2021 11:46:47 GMT -5 Skilly said:

Dec 10, 2021 11:07:15 GMT -5 NWTHabsFan said:

This is a weird one between the OHL and . In a previous game, Woolley won a fight and then went over to the opposing bench and did some WWE belt move and taunted the bench by saying “who’s next?” No suspension from the league. On Friday, Xhekaj takes him on in a battle of huge heavyweights and KOs him. He does the little sleeping motion after but does not go to their bench to taunt. Indefinite suspension.

He is one tough hombre, but does get more than his share of suspensions.

Yeah, it falls under the Dumbest Suspension ever category.

The fight was within the rules, cold clocking the player was within the rules, skating over him as he fell to the ice was ok ... but doing a nighty-night, to a guy who taunted the team ....no no no ... you just offended "sleepers" (I guess?) everywhere. We can't have that in the league ..

This is typical hockey league bullSaperlipopette, nhl, ahl, juniors... the always punish the retaliation not the instigation... suspend someone but dint say why? Is it because Branch doesnt want to be seen as a hypocrite... Woolley taunted the game before, no problem...


when can we have this kid on our team... he's 20, he can play in Laval...

6'4" 225lb left D... bring him up put him on the 3rd pairing and let him clean house

Him, Guhle, Struble, Romanov... jeebus that is a big D corps

The fight with commentary
youtu.be/Y4fDS1Qnwtc


All his fights
www.hockeyfights.com/players/26067

[NWTHabsFan]

For the record. I really liked the signing of Xhekaj. I don’t want him to mellow. His game will translate to the pros. A walk on tryout for the OHL who has really grown into a complete beast and player in a few years. He will adapt to pro hockey quite easily IMO.

[NWTHabsFan]

Hockey Canada is giving Roy every chance to show his stuff. He played with Bedard and Guenther tonight. That line got all three goals against the CIS all star team. Roy with 1+1. Bedard with a 2+1 game. I think that Bedard kid makes the team as a multiple under-ager…lol. Sweet pass and tip by Roy. The best line he likely has played on. Go kid go!

[NWTHabsFan]

Lots of stuff happening yesterday other than Roy’s nice performance at WJC camp.

Olofsson, Kidney, Trudeau and Sobolev all had an assist in their games.

Vrbetic gave up two goals, but lost 3-2 in a shoot out. Dobeš gave up just one in another Ohio State win.

Gorniak and Biondi both had a goal and an assist games. UMD won to split their weekend with Denver. Wisconsin lost in OT after Gorniak tied it up late.

Nice steal and finish Blake!

[NWTHabsFan]

I also watched about half the game between BU (Luke Tuch) and the USDT U18 team. It was a good chance to watch Tuch and also see some of the top USA program kids eligible for the 2022 draft. Only Cooley was not there as he was at the WJC camp.

It was a quick turnaround for BU as it was an afternoon game and they had battled to a hard fought draw against Boston College the night before. Tuch seems a bit snake bitten this season. After 11 points in 16 games last year, he has not recorded a point in 9 games in a season where he also lost a month due to injury. That also likely was the main factor why he did not get invited to the WJC camp.

He was skating hard all game. Despite not registering a point, he was around the puck a lot. He was the screen on Gallagher’s goal from the point. He often was in the crease for rebounds. He also had some nice rushes and is not scared of cutting to the net. I liked his game and points will come. He was playing the right way and not cheating even with the fatigue they all would have felt with a quick turnaround between games.

[NWTHabsFan]

Game starts in half an hour in Calgary. Roy gets Bedard again, but with Dufour as the third line mate. He is doing well this season too.

There will be cuts after this game, so hope Roy has another good game.

[seventeen]

I think it would be wrong to exclude Bedard just because of his age. He will continue to make older players look foolish. Bob McKenzie tried to down play Bedard as Wright got cut from last year's team, but Bedard is special. If we come up against Russia and Michkov, we'll need Bedard to offset Michkov. He's beaten Michkov at the U18's.

[NWTHabsFan]

Dec 12, 2021 15:58:26 GMT -5 seventeen said:

I think it would be wrong to exclude Bedard just because of his age. He will continue to make older players look foolish. Bob McKenzie tried to down play Bedard as Wright got cut from last year's team, but Bedard is special. If we come up against Russia and Michkov, we'll need Bedard to offset Michkov. He's beaten Michkov at the U18's.

Bedard made the team. He should have. He is that good. I agree the battle of those two 16 year old studs will be one for the ages. I have watched a lot of Michkov’s games. Yup, he is that good. I think I will pounce on a pre-tourney ticket to watch CAN-RUS live to see both players live on the 22nd. Way better than watching on tv. I already have my NYE tics for CAN (Guhle) vs FIN (Kapanen).

[NWTHabsFan]

Oh yeah, unfortunately Roy was one of the cuts so he does not make Team Canada. Great showing for him and he should be in the mix pretty well next year if he keeps things going as he has. Vastly improved and trending upwards.

[seventeen]

Dec 12, 2021 23:07:37 GMT -5 NWTHabsFan said:

Oh yeah, unfortunately Roy was one of the cuts so he does not make Team Canada. Great showing for him and he should be in the mix pretty well next year if he keeps things going as he has. Vastly improved and trending upwards.

Good article on his evolution, from The Athletic, courtesy of Scott Wheeler:


CALGARY — This time last year, Joshua Roy’s draft stock was slipping. He was the first overall pick of the Saint John Sea Dogs in the 2019 QMJHL draft but he wasn’t living up to the hype. He was playing in a province that was — and had been — under one of the strictest COVID-19-related lockdowns in the country, unable to have his family come to visit. He was unhappy.

So, he requested a trade.

On Jan. 25, 2021, the Sea Dogs granted his request, dealing him to the Sherbrooke Phoenix — closer to home in his native Quebec — for three first-round picks and a second-round pick.

But his status as one of the league’s top prospects never really recovered and his play never got fully back on track. When the 2021 NHL Draft rolled around, Roy, once a minor hockey sensation who led the midget AAA Chevaliers de Levis on a season-long win streak, waited until its 150th selection to hear his name called by the Montreal Canadiens in the fifth round (which made him, two short years after he was the best prospect entering the QMJHL, his league’s 16th player selected in the NHL draft).

A couple of weeks later, he then wasn’t invited to Hockey Canada’s summer showcase in Calgary, the first step in the selection process for the World Junior team.

Now, though, Roy has flipped the script. And on Sunday, the final day of Team Canada’s December selection camp for the world juniors, when Roy was among the team’s final cuts, it represented not the continued steps backward of last year but another in a series of steps forward this year.

It was the culmination of Roy’s journey from that draft year stumbles and summer snub to an arrival in the one camp that mattered on the back of a QMJHL-leading 45 points in 25 games.

This is a story of transformation, rebuilding, and ultimately re-emerging as the prospect he was always meant to be.

Chevaliers de Levis head coach Mathieu Turcotte (who is today an assistant coach with the QMJHL’s Drummondville Voltigeurs), once told The Athletic that he’d never seen a 15-year-old hockey player quite like Joshua Roy.

He’d worked with future NHLers, such as Jonathan Drouin, Anthony Mantha and Anthony Duclair, but Roy was a different beast.

“Roy’s one of the best shooters I’ve ever seen,” Turcotte said. “Josh is a sniper. Around the net he’s deadly. He can do what he wants with the puck. He finds ways to score that we rarely see. And he’s also a really good all-around player and his playmaking skills are elite too so it’s not just the shooting ability. He’s loved by all of the players and he just wants to be one of the boys. He doesn’t want to be treated any different than any other player and that definitely helps us a lot in our team culture and the way our chemistry went.”

Over time, that glossy perception began to fade due to a combination of his play, his fitness, his circumstances, the trade, and everything else.

When Sherbrooke head coach and general manager Stephane Julien made the trade, he knew he had to do his due diligence.

“When we made the big trade last year, we took a lot of information on how he is as a kid and he’s a great kid. All of the information we had about him off of the ice was very good. But as a player, the way things went with his last team, things didn’t go well, he came into Sherbrooke, and he has an opportunity to reset himself for many things. He needed structure on how to train, how to practice, and how to be healthy,” Julien said.

After the trade, Julien and the rest of the Sherbrooke staff set out to build a plan for Roy to correct some of those deficiencies and improve some of his habits.

Then it was on Roy to put in the work.

And that’s exactly what he did, jumping into round-the-clock sessions in the gym with his strength coach Maxim Aubertin (who trains a group of QMJHL players and in Roy’s hometown of Beauce) and his skills coach, Simon Larouche (a local AAA coach).

Under Aubertin, he worked diligently on one thing: his conditioning.

“My conditioning was a problem so I had to build that for off the ice and my game on the ice,” Roy said on a phone call with The Athletic. “I had to do that.”

Under Larouche, the pair started over from scratch, going as far as to rebuild that shot that Turcotte once raved about. They ran through rep, after rep, after rep to make sure that he was lethal from anywhere in the offensive zone, tweaking everything from his release to his stick.

“He’s still texting me about things to do,” Roy said of his work with Larouche, chuckling.

By the time he returned to Sherbrooke, he looked like a completely different player and kid. On the ice, he was committed to playing differently and looked like a force when he had the puck. Off of it, he’d shaved his 6-foot frame down to a leaner, more muscular 187 pounds.

“This summer was huge and then I had a really good camp in Montreal, so it gave me a lot of confidence when I got to Sherbrooke. And then when my conditioning was better, I took the step forward this season that I wanted to, and I think my work in the gym was the main reason that I’m back in this position,” Roy said. “And now you’ll see me more in the corners and battling more.”

His play took off, to the tune of 16 points in his first eight games of the season.

“It doesn’t happen with the clap of your hands. It took a good couple of months in Sherbrooke and a big summer of training. Sure enough, he came back and he has had success this year. Because the talent was there and now he has everything else he needs to be a pro player,” Julien said.

Quickly, Hockey Canada’s brass had no choice but to take notice, moving Roy up their depth chart week-by-week until they felt they had to extend an invite to Calgary the second time around.

“Credit to Josh, he has just really drawn attention with a bit of a metamorphosis,” Team Canada’s management lead James Boyd told The Athletic. “There were some questions in the past about his fitness and his attention to the defensive game. But since the start of the year, he has been a key player for Sherbrooke, he has been working on both sides of the puck, and really the thing that stands out about Josh is his ability to make plays with the puck and his vision on the ice has really been exceptional. He drives play there in Sherbrooke and he’s really showing the form that made him a first overall pick in his age group.”

When asked on the second day of camp what changed between July and December, the team’s head coach, Dave Cameron, answered plainly.

“It was just more consistency,” Cameron said. “We said right at the start that that summer camp isn’t the final list. We tell the guys at the summer camp that there will be guys on this list that won’t be here and guys off this list that will be here. But (with Roy) it’s consistency.”

A day later, after picking up a goal and an assist in Team Canada’s first game of camp against Sports, the compliments continued.

“I liked him,” Cameron said of Roy post-game. “He’s smart, he’s great with the puck, and he’s got great vision.”

But making Team Canada was always going to be a challenge, no matter how well he played.

Before the camp started, Julien, who has become one of Roy’s biggest fans, admitted that if he was going to earn a spot, it had to be at the top of Canada’s lineup.

“He’s got to play top six. That’s maybe where it’s going to be tough for him. Because knowing how it works for Hockey Canada, the bottom six guys are more power forward or energy guys. And he’s a guy who needs the power play and needs to be top six. Or, if he’s going to play on the third line, he needs to be with players who are offensive. I don’t see him on the fourth line or as an extra,” Julien said.

Still, the invitation was another in an increasing number of steps forward for Roy this season.

Julien can see it in almost every facet of his game.

Defensively, he has never been more committed. So much so that Julien is now using him on the penalty kill.

“He is doing very well without the puck. There’s no doubt about it. But at the same time, he’s like many players in the NHL. He’s a very talented player who generates a lot of offence but those types of players, even in the NHL, they’re not perfect on defence either. But he’s a very smart hockey player. So you tell him once and he’s going to do it,” Julien said. “He cares.”

And offensively, he has found another level, the kind that used to supersede his peers and again does.

Julien can rattle off a list of reasons why on that front.

“He’s a guy who can make other players look really silly. When you think he’s gonna shoot, he’ll pass. When you think he’s gonna pass, he’ll shoot. And he’s probably one of the best players in the league shooting through sticks, or pads, or skates. And he’s not full speed. Like he’s not a power skater. But he’s not slow. And he’s very strong on his stick when he has the puck so when he gets it in the offensive zone, he’s going to make a play all the time. All the time,” Julien said.

“There’s one thing in junior that a lot of players have where when they get the puck, they’re going to lose it somehow or do something bad with it. Josh is probably the best player in the league with the puck that way where when he gets it in the offensive zone, something’s going to happen because he’s so strong and it’s so hard to take the puck away from him.”

If he continues to build on that progress, Roy, who is still eligible to play in next year’s tournament in Russia, won’t be cut his second time around.

Hockey Canada director of player personnel Allan Millar was quick to point to Roy as one of the two most improved players in Canada (alongside Leafs prospect Ryan Tverberg) during their evaluation process.

“Josh has really turned his game around in a year and a half,” Millar said. “The viewings that we had on him live and on video, for me, it was elite hockey sense (and) it was really good puck skills. He’s a player who makes plays that not a lot of guys can make. Based on those intangibles and that level of IQ and skill, we felt we needed to see him on camp. He’ll be a strong candidate for us (next year).”

And for Roy, that’s just the start.

“It’s very nice to compare myself to all of the best players in Canada no matter what,” Roy said. “I can see what I need to improve to be a better hockey player. I know what’s next now.”

[NWTHabsFan]

Well, it took the OHL over a week to announce that Xhekaj’s suspension was three games rather than “indefinite”. He was dinged for his “role” in the fight. Oh well, move on. He gets to return to play tomorrow against Woolley’s Owen Sound team. I think that entire team will give him a wide berth tomorrow.

Back at it big Arber.

[NWTHabsFan]

Kostenko returned to action after missing just under a month with an undisclosed injury. Spartak eased him back in by sending him to their junior club for two back to back games over the last couple of days. He recorded an assist in each game. He did, however, miss two shoot out chances last night as his squad lost in the SO. I expect he should return to Khimik in the VHL at some point.

[NWTHabsFan]

Trudeau popped in his 5th of the season pouncing on his rebound. 5.5 secs left in the first to make it 3-1 against the Moosehead. They smoked them 8-2 in the end.

[NWTHabsFan]

Still lots of junior action for some prospects. The goalies were really rocking it last night.

Dichow had a 50 save shutout in the Allsvenskan. Yup…50 saves!

Dobeš saved 42 of 44 in a 3-2 Ohio State win.

Vrbetic made 28 saves, but his team came up short on offence 2-1.

Over in the Q, Simoneau returned to action and had an assist. Trudeau had a goal and assist in the same game. Roy had an assist in his game.

The big man, Xhekaj, returned to action last night against the Soo. They lost 4-3 in OT but Xhekaj had a very good game with a goal and assist. Both points were from hard wrist shots. His goal was from the slot and his assist was tipped from a blast from the blue line. I watched some of the game and was impressed by his mobility for a big tough defender. And yes, he likes to crush people the odd time.

[NWTHabsFan]

A 17 save effort for Dichow to earn his second shutout in two nights. Here is one of those saves off a penalty shot.

[NWTHabsFan]

All four of the Q prospects were in action last night as the league played its last games before a much needed Christmas break. They all left their marks on their games.

For Charlottetown, Trudeau had a whopping four assists and Simoneau had two goals and a helper.

Kidney had a pair of assists in the Acadie-Bathurst win.

Roy scored his 17th of the season, but it was all the offence that Sherbrooke could muster in a 2-1 loss.

[Willie Dog]

Guhle named Team Canada Captain

www.tsn.ca/kaiden-guhle-canada-captain-world-juniors-1.1737381

[NWTHabsFan]

Charlottetown Islanders’ William Trudeau capped off a very productive last week before the holiday break earning a spot on the CHL Team of the Week.

Oh, and Seattle’s Korchinski is one of the best of a pretty good group of defenders that are draft eligible out of the WHL this year. More on that in the new year when I christen a Draft 2022 thread.

[NWTHabsFan]

Some news on Habs prospects from Rob Ramage.

He talks about Guhle, Harris, Myšák, Farrell and Mailloux.

[NWTHabsFan]

Jan Myšák named captain of Team Czechia 🇨🇿 for the second straight WJC.