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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jul 10, 2007 19:06:31 GMT -5
Still too far away to post reports from attending in person, but will try to post those that I can find at other sources to give a flavour of how the youngsters are doing.
Whitesnake, over at HF, is up to his usual tricks and had this great first day report:
First, you all know that a report on the 1st day of a development camp just means so much in regards to the liking of one player and how he'll do in game situations and all 'cause today was all about skating and we have no idea who skated already this summer and their respective training habits and all so with that in mind.......
Let me first say that as a bunch, this is the biggest group of prospects as a whole that I've seen in a while. And most definately the fastest group as well. Sure there's some average skaters but as a whole, I was impressed by this first day.
GOALIES
They had a guy dressed with a LHJMQ practice shirt taking some shots on all 3 goalies who mostly practised their positional skills, going from post to post, rebound controls and some other stuff. I was positioned at one end of the rink close to a blue line so didn't see too much half of their exercises mainly concentrating on the players. But I can say I liked what I've seen from all 3. Though what struck me was how big this Loverock kid looks. Fills the net nicely, though will need to be faster laterally, but I thought he looked pretty well for a guy who is 3 or 4 years younger than the other 2. As far as Desjardins, what he doesn't have in size, he has in speed and festyness (sp?). For Lacasse, well good old Loic looked like...good Old Loic. Again, like last year, at the end of the practice where the guys finally could play with pucks and shoot at goalies, he took the net and received some shots from a bunch of guys having fun all around him and did OK. But this wasn't the day to evaluate goalies, just giving my hunch on Loverock and mostly how I liked his size and his overall package he's showing already. Let's wait for game situations obviously, but right now, can't believe a guy like Lacasse was drafted and not him.
D-MEN
CARLE: Not the greatest day as far as skating is concerned that I've seen of him though he still shows his great stride and how smooth he can be. Was definately impressive in this exercise where you have to change directions quickly around some small cones, backwards and forward, but he had some troubles in some exercises. A little thickier than last year but didn't seem taller though.
CEPEK: Is it me or this guy looked like the one who changes the most since last year. Seems much taller and bigger than last year by a mile (may be exaggerating but that's how he seemed to me). Besides that, I liked what I've seen from him, nice stride, not speedy fast but did his job today.
FISCHER: Ok......This guy is deceptively fast, loooooong strides all the time, he's not slow by any means. But he didn't have a good day today. Had a lot of trouble with most exercises but he's definately a good learner and he's trying out there, still with his ongoing personnality, already clicking with some new players out there and old ones. But compared to most, he didn't look that great, as a matter of fact, he looked more like a 07 pick that most of the 07 draftees......but it is just one day.....
KISHEL: Well, this player looked like the Cepek of last year which means nothing bad, but definately nothing to write about either, though he has the award for the smallest guy out there tied with somebody else.....Some agility, not a bad skater at all but nothing to report out of the extraordinary to say the least. Somebody who wasn't too noticeable in this first day but then....wasn't a day too be noticed too much...
MCDONAGH: Let's try not too hype the kid too much but if I compare his first day to Fischer's first day last year or even Fischer's this year, he's ahead. Though I found that as the day went along, he had more problems to adapt to the crazy but fun exercices by Gingras, I love his skating stride and he just look like a hockey player out there. Solid on his skates, looked thickier and bigger than I thought, my general impression is that he should looked better as the week goes along but already he's making a great impression. Nice agility to go with that as well.
PAQUET: The tower of hell Version 2007......This guy looks even bigger than last year, more on the tall side than on the thick side but then I really think it makes his skating better than it was last year. Looked mature how there while not the most agile out there, he surprised me in that department this year. I remember comparing him to Traverse last year, well he's past that point fortunately. Didn't look great, but looked good for me.
STEJSKAL: Mixed emotions about this guy 'cause at one point I thought he looked sensationnal on some exercices and all of a sudden not that agile on others. So which is a good thing 'cause he just need to learn to bring it on every level and he might be a great pick. Great size, was impressed by how thich he was despite the 187lbs it says he has. But he most definately looks like a player out there (I know it's weak as an explanation but give me a break....)
SUBBAN: Mr. Personnality 2007. Same comment I wrote last year about Fischer apply it to Subban, terribly outgoing, joking with mostly everybody, hands on Fortier's face, probably the guy who wanted to show the most today and it showed. Though he has to work on his first strides, his overall speed is great but he definately has to work harder than some others to keep the same pace. Looks thick, I mean really thick, I'm just wondering though if it affects his skating. He's not the fastest out there but close to be, though I don't think I can pinpoint who was, really difficult with those exercises, but definatley one of the most hardest worker today and definately the award for the greatest demonstration for a exercice. Gingras had them skate on one leg from the net to the blue line and then backwards to the net again and he demonstrated his great agility by doing it in a record time while most others had some terrible problems, some falling on their behind (read Mr. Fischer...). All the boys had a lot of fun with him and even cheering when he finished this exercice. Great day for him!
TORP: See Kishel, didn't think he had that great of a day, though he's got a good skating stride but looked tentative on most drills. A little on the outside today, obviously doesn't know a lot of people so definately a candidate to do better as the week goes along. Not that tall, but though thick on the upper body, needs to work on his legs strength though. Somewhat invisible for me today.
VALENTENKO: Solid skater and for the ones who saw last year's camp, looked to me like a Korpikari's type of speed and balance which for me is good. On the outside a bit as well, with obvious reasons, I think he did good on most exercices but nothing that would put him in a different category or showed something out of the ordinary. Just solid, good skater with a nice balance.
WEBER: Well I was impressed with what looked like a better Carle version, at least for today. Looked a little tiny though his skating stride is great, a fun skater to watch, definately some natural abilities like Carle but he definatey had a better day than Mathieu. Like him.
FORWARDS
AUBIN: For a guy who's older than everybody else I was dissapointed. Looked like one of the slowest guys out there. Again, I don't think anybody can be perceived as slow as turtle but he's definately one of the slowest at least today. Looked like he wanted to play some leader role, obviously understanding that he was one of the oldest which was good to see. Most definately needs to work on his first step quickness.
BEAUREGARD: Little invisible too me today, though not the fastest by any means, I like how he skates nevertheless. Seems like a deceptive skater but will never be a roadrunner to say the least. Just at the end, we saw him taking some shots on the net and he has a devastative wrister. Most definately needs to work on the skating part of the game.
CONBOY: OK.....Definately the least agile of the guys out there. Though is north-south type of game doesn't need all those little exercices Gingras made them do, it does show the agility and how quick are their feet out there, and he looked to me as the ones with the most problems. But does he look BIG out there or what? 6'4'' sure but looked bigger than 196 to me. Impressively bless with his size, will need to work on his agility to go further. But since he's a an OK skater from A to B, how agile do you need to be from the blue line to the net right
FORTIER: Fortier's skating is great, faster than I thought he would be and a little thickier as well. Great outgoing personnality as well, I was impressed by how natural his skating abilities were, didn't expect that. Looked good on most exercices, maybe not in the one foot exercice but who did.....but definately a good day for him. But overall, he still needs to get thickier and most definately his legs will need to get stronger and bigger.
MAXWELL: Looked mature out there and almost a little disinterested (sp?) and not in his place. Was doing everything fine without really trying too hard. Great stride, a lot of fun watching him skate, great natural abilities, I believe he has this great balance of speed at one point and some long skating strides to go with that. Though he didn't looked bigger to me that he was last year. Probably the ones who changes the least in my eyes from last year.
PACIORETTY: A big Wow from me! Impressed by how great his stride was and how deceptively fast he can be. Again, I don,t believe there's any Afinogenov's in that group so bare with me but he looked most definatley liked a faster Latendresse and I believe it's already an understatement. Didn't have troubles with all of the exercices. I don't remember who was in front of him, but there was an exercice where they were skating 1 behind the other, and he was so much catching the guy in front that he had to slow down a little (don't remember who the guy was though, may have been Russell...). Let just say that out of this draft, we may have 2 power forwards to be in Conboy and Pacioretty but today there was a world a difference between those 2 as far as agility and natural skating abilities. Impressed I was.....
RUSSELL: Euh......Was dissapointed by him today. Didn't struck at especially fast but struck me as especially small and while agility is OK, didn't catch my eye as extraordinary either. Was mostly invisible as well, but I expected better as a whole package, while I knew he wasn't big, expected a lot faster that he showed today.
STEWART: Well he did OK today but nothing extraordinary either. While you see some kind of progression and maturity in his demeanure and skating, you also seem to see his limitations as he'll never be fast lightning to say the least but that's not his game. Much thickier in his upper body that I ever saw him, he did fine. But I don't believe he'll shine in those kinds of camps.
WHITE: I don't know if you remember but Ryan had a tough time with me last year....I can most definately say that he improved a lot already, looks way much thickier in his upper and lower body, might have gain a notch in his speed though he still may be in the slowest group out there. But works hard, and did improve, this is what matters in Ryan's game isn't? But most definately that his skating improved and in one day he was able to do what he wasn't in a week last year, which is getting noticed and in a good way.
WYMAN: See Stewart. Those 2 kids could be brothers and I wouldn't be surprised. Not necessarily in the look but how they play, skate, and conduct themselves. Strangely, like I was a fan of Korpiraki, who's no longer with us, I'm a fan of how Wyman conduct himself and how he looks like a player. He's just big out there, upper and lower, ain't no speedster but ain't no turtle as well. A good average speed for him.
So again, this is one day only, so it's only observations on all the players as much as I could and trying to follow every single one of them so I might be off but that's how I saw it. But that 2007 draft class as far as skating goes and agility looks great to say the least as a whole. Mr. Conboy may be the weakest, Stejskal in some moves while I would've hope to see Kishel a little more....
I won't be able to do the week like I did last year, but should be there Saturday or Sunday, I'll try to know in advance when the scrimmages will be (if somebody else goes, can you try to find out and tell us, that would be appreciated, try to talk to Timmins, he's really open to talk to people, don't talk to Beauchamp, I tried and he doesn't know anything obviously.
My 3 stars:
#1 SUBBAN
#2 PACIORETTY
#3 MCDONAGH/WEBER
That's all folks.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jul 10, 2007 19:08:05 GMT -5
Couz over at HF had this to report:
Hi everyone, this is my first post here, so I thought I would start off by giving you my development camp report...I attended today.
Okay folks here's my take on what I saw today. First off I have to mention that it was all about skating today, which pretty much makes it pretty hard to really evaluate a player since there wasn't many other drills besides skating drills, no pucks, no stickhandling, no shooting, no drills that required pucks.
Having said that it is extremely hard to really use these drills to say that one player stuck out from the others or if one player improved over last year, most of these guys are good skaters.
So, you have to assume that for a player to get noticed he really really needs to stick out big time from the others, like by a wide margin...and we had a player that did just that today, the one and only PK Subban.
That's the reason I will begin with him, he was hands down the best skater on the ice today, which means the best player on the ice, he was pretty much the best in EVERY drill. The guy is a powerful skater, fast and mobile, turns corners very well, he's not tall but he's built like a tank. He earned the only cheers from the crowd today when he just left everybody in his dust in the skating on one leg drill, he did that drill so well that the fans cheered him when he finished. I am really looking forward to seeing him with a puck, the kid really opened some eyes today....as advertised he was full of energy also, first on the ice, first in line for drills, chatting and joking with anyone around him.
On to Mcdonagh which I'm sure everyone is curious about, like I said since its just skating drills its hard to paint a picture about a player. Mcdonagh is fast, both forward and backwards, had a hard time in the one leg skating drill but seems to come as advertised vis a vis his skating, the guy is about 6'1 and 205 but well built, good frame.
David Fisher, the first thing that I noticed was his size, I saw him at the same camp last year and he wasn't nearly as imposing, the kid had a growth spurt this year, he was the biggest guy on the ice, he's listed at 6'4 192 and it was obvious he got bigger, needs more bulk to really look NHL size, but he's getting there,I assume he's not done growing. Unlike Subban, Fisher is a more effortless skater, smooth strides and efficient strides whereas Subban are powerful energetic strides.
Valetenko, 6'2 214, looks like an NHL Dman, may not be as tall as Fisher but looks stronger, not the best skater but seems to have adequate mobility, not in Subban,Mcdonagh or Fisher category, definitely ticket as a #6 type guy.
Matt Carle isn't overly tall but he's built like a Bouillon, he's about 5'11and 215-220, skates decently but nothing great, I think as a dman his strength is with the puck, I saw him last year and he's very good passer and a good shot.
Webber and Torp, are in the same kind of situation, still way too small for dmen, under 6'0 and about 190 to 195, but theyt skate extremely well, very quick guys and mobile, they are fleet footed guys that have jump to their step...but they need to get bigger to have any shot at the NHL, they're definitely in that category of smallish quick dmen.
On to forwards.
Pacioretty in my opinion was the best skating forward, which is great to see because he has great size, 6'1 and 212, he is fast and mobile, turns corners very well as was seen on pylon (no Souray wasn't there) drills. I can't wait to see how this kid is with a puck, hopefully tomorrow, if he's as good with a puck as with his skating we may have ourselves a gem here people, he really looked good today, power forward with wheels.
Ben Maxwell also looked good, he's in that Fisher mold of skating, effortless strides but very efficient, he doesn't look like he skates hard or makes a big effort but he's just as effective as anyone else. I saw him last year and I know he's a good player with a puck, stickhandles well and so on...Maxwell is a guy we should really get excited about, he did well at the big camp last year and has some Brad Richards and Jonathan Toews in him, I'm basing this on what I saw last year...if he's going back to junior like I suspect he should dominate that league, we're talking top scorer.
One guy that impressed me alot today was this years 4rth rounder I think, Andrew Conboy, with Fisher the biggest guy on the ice, 6'4 196 and moves extremely well, good skater, can skate pretty fast in a straight line, not as agile as Pacioretty but still pretty good for a guy his size, interested to see him with pucks tomorrow.
Ryan White, he's not a great skater, really needs to work hard to get from point A to B, but gives it a hell of an effort, this guy had a great year In Calgary last year so he must be a traffic, puck protection guy, skating is not his strength.
Olivier Fortier, if he has Begin type game like everyone says than we'll be happy because he's got wheels, combine that kind of high energy game with his speed and he'll be effective....I liked what I saw from him.
Anyways, if there's any questions about a certain player let me know. The figures concerning size of players is accurate as I got them from todays visit, they were giving out player lists.
Like I said it was only skating today, no pucks so its not the most interesting report...once we see how these kids handle pucks there will be more to say.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jul 10, 2007 19:10:05 GMT -5
HF's Top Corner2 Part I: I was there. I'll give a brief report of what I saw. It was all skating today.
Subban- Strong skater, outgoing personality, hard working. Great agility, very good speed. Looks really solid. Caught a glimpse of his uncanny hands while he was goofing around at the end.
Fischer- Needs to add some weight. Very nice skater, but this pick still worries me somehow. I was hoping he'd grow into his body more. Still this guys got great wheels. He was the only D dressed in red (with the forwards) ? I don't know why?
Valentenko- is a beast. Looks like Obyrne last year. This kid has filled out. Nobody was talking to him. Where's chipper when you need him. Valentenko won't be in Hamilton for too long.
Conboy-big big kid. Needs to fill. good enough skater. I like.
Styskel -also big. a nice skater but needs to improve his leg strength.
Mcdonaugh - solid solid skater. Heavy powerful strides. was trying so hard ...had some trouble with his agility. Very solid build. Looked good.
Paccioretti - very nice skating and agility. works hard seems already more advanced then some of the older guys.
Russell - I don't get it. didn't impress. Let's hope he has good hockey sense like White.
Maxwell-looked great as usual. filled in a bit. smooth skater. one of the best in terms of agility.
Fortier - good skater nice solid frame. didn't stand out but looked solid.
Wyman - it's not his skating holding him back.
Carle - looked REALLY slow in one drill, then looked great in an agility drill. Reminds me of Robidas the was he skates....but has sick offensive instincts (I remember from last year)
That's it for now gotta get back to work. ask any questions you want.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jul 10, 2007 19:11:28 GMT -5
Part deux:
I'll add a few others:
Pacquet- is big and mature. Filled in a bit since last year...but could fill in more. Good skating and agility, not great. Seems calm and consistent.
Aubin- good strong stride. Big frame. seemed really comfortable with all the drills. Should play in Hamilton this year.
Kishel- seemed a step behind all day. He is young and needs time. Just seemed a bit out of his league.
Weber- This guy impressed me. Really nice skating, solid (but small) frame. Really good agility side to side.
White- again looks only ok in these drills (better than last year though)...good thing we know he has great hockey sense 'cause his skating is not great.
Stewart- solid unspectacular. May take Lambert's spot in Hamilton/ECHL.
Cepek -improved a lot since last year in terms of skating. Still not great all around.
Torp- didn't notice him much. Looks small. Skating seems good...
Beauregard- worked hard. skates a bit like Yannick Perreault. May end up being that kind of player (we can only hope). Seems agile but not fast.
Overall a really good group of players. This years crop is a bigger group. You can tell that we have decided to get bigger. There are a few really talented guys that stand out(Paccioretti, Maxwell, Fischer, Carle, Subban etc...) a bit and then a bunch of solid guys that may work themselves into a pro career (Wyman, Stewart, Paquet, Cepek, Conboy, etc...). And some in between. I can see why these guys were picked. They all have something that could translate well into the NHL. A solid group overall.
The only one that really looked out of place was Kishel....but he's going back to the ushl so he has plenty of time.
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Jul 11, 2007 7:38:33 GMT -5
Thanks for finding these, NWTHF.
Good reads for sure.
Cheers.
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Post by habmeister on Jul 11, 2007 10:34:55 GMT -5
after reading them you almost have to start talking about subban as the steal of the 2nd round. something about our 2nd round picks lately: latendresse, maxwell, carle, subban. all beauties, so far.
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Post by DeathdrivesaVW on Jul 11, 2007 12:05:18 GMT -5
what's this i keep hearing about Maxwell...reminds some people of Brad Richards?  happy to see PK killin it |
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Post by Kareem on Jul 11, 2007 15:08:43 GMT -5
Can't wait to see Maxwell, I've heard the comparisons with Brad Richards before and I would honestly turn to men if it meant having a guy like that on the team. He's one of my favorite players in the NHL, although overpaid, he brings so much to his club.
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Post by habmeister on Jul 11, 2007 15:11:13 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Jul 11, 2007 16:52:30 GMT -5
He was flying! Amazing poise on his feet. He's better than most of our defensemen already.  |
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Post by roke on Jul 11, 2007 16:52:50 GMT -5
I don't know H&C, he seemed to slow down about halfway through the drill, I can't say I'm too impressed . Let me be serious for a moment, that WAS ridiculous, wow. |
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Post by habmeister on Jul 11, 2007 17:17:56 GMT -5
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Post by Habfaith on Jul 11, 2007 17:37:39 GMT -5
Thanks for that guy H & C, Subban's skating is just...plain... Wow.
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Post by Marvin on Jul 11, 2007 18:10:26 GMT -5
Ok did they speed up that tape of PK or what? My head was spinning watching him spin.
Marv
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Post by Willie Dog on Jul 11, 2007 20:18:58 GMT -5
That guy can talk the talk and walk the walk... absolutely sick! |
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jul 12, 2007 2:02:11 GMT -5
Okay, all the videos I have seen show that this is a huge skating group. Fischer, McD, Pacioretty, Subban, Fortier and others all can wheel. A much bigger group as well with Paquet, Valentenko, Wyman and others being walls out there. Let's hope Maxwell and Valentenko can continue surprising and improving!
Here is a day two report from the youngsters:
Okay here's day #2...it was a mix of skating drills and puckhandling today...again not easy to really say one guy stuck out from another but it was nice to see some of these guys handle the puck, alot more energy also.
Let's start with Dmen again...
Yesterday I mentioned that Carle and Valentenko didn't stick out as skaters, but give them a puck and they are a step ahead of everyone.
Carle was very impressive today, he really knows how to move with a puck, there were several puckhandling drills in which he excelled including lateral movement across the blue line to set yourself up for a slap, he did that smoother than anyone and with great agility and ease...also hardest shot among dmen for sure and he's showing alot of leadership in really tapping guys for their effort etc...I had a feeling that we would see a different player from yesterday once pucks were brought into the equation.
Valentenko is the same story, he looked much more comfortable today and his skating looked smoother, I found out this morning this was the 1st time he's been on the ice in a long time. He skates very well with the puck and has a tremendious shot also, great release on snapshots.
I'd have to say these two are obviously closest to the NHL, I think Valentenko can surprise some at camp if he's not overwhelmed.
Fisher can fly, he looks like Pronger skating, a huge frame with that bow legged stride that is pretty inevitable for a good skating big man...very impressed with his skating a puck handling.
Mcdonagh is interesting in that its obvious he's not where the guys I just mentioned are but to think this kid was playing high school caliber hockey is pretty astonishing, I can't wait to see this kid in a year and especially two, he's definitely looking better than Fisher did in his first camp, I think this kid will benefit greatly from playing a higher caliber, he skates well and seems to handling the puck well, at times tries to do too much at once and he gets disapointed but I'm just amazed that its his first camp and he's not looking out of place.
Subban again impressed with his energy, in two on two drills he threw the only bodycheck on White, to Whites credit he came back at Subban only to fall on his butt whenn he hit Subban, they both had a good laugh after the drill...Subban skates well with the puck and didn't really see much of the shot everyone has been talking about but I think these drills were mostly about puckhandling so he didn't go all out on shots.
Paquette impressed me as well, a big 6'2 dman no one talks about, but shows very nice mobility for a man his size, he seems very in control when he skates with the puck, no fumbling and overskating very fluid skater....I'm interested to find out how Timmins views this guy because I see good raw talent there.
Capek also showed decent skill for a guy who's supposed to be a more stay at home physical guy, he didn't look out of place, doesn't do the drills as fast as the top guys but doesn't look so bad.
Torp showed good mobility and quickness, he looks more like a forward, its hard to imagine he's a dman, he's just small, he has the speed and quickness of these smallish forwards you see.
Forwards.
I'll start with Olivier Fortier, he really looked good, he has great speed and hands, moves very quickly with the puck, there's some guys that are really fast without a puck but put a puck on their stick and that speed goes away, not him, he skates just as fast with a puck on his stick as without one.
Ben Maxwell, I love this kid, he seems so composed out there, he's like a veteran presence, he just does everything so smoothly, handling the puck and skating with it, doesn't try to razzle dazzle, his motions are all in sync and doesn't overskate pucks or overstickhandles like some of the younger guys were doing, he's in that category of knowing what he's doing when he has the puck on his stick, head up and fluid.
Pacioretty looked good also, I honestly feel that he's not that far from the NHL, the size is there, the skating is there and he has good hands, I believe he's a guy that has all the tools to be a quality NHLer, I was afraid that his hands and stickhandling wouldn't match that speed we saw yesterday, which is why I said I couldn't wait to see how he is with a puck, and I'm not disapointed, Timmins knew what he was doing in picking this kid, I find it hard to believe he didn't go earlier but as several scouts say these high school kids don't get the exposure CHL guys do. I'm not sure whatr his plans are about college but I can see this kid in the AHL next year.
Beauregard looked ok, his skating isn't his strength but he can finish around the net, he knows what to do with a puck, which is why he scored 71, but he'll need quite a setup man because he's not the type that will generate offense on his own.
Ryan White is in that category also, big guy where his skating isn't his strength but does well around the net, I think he really is a crash and bang and traffic kind of guy, his hands are pretty decent.
Mathieu Aubin didn't look so terrible, he has good size and ok speed, great attitude also, could surprise some people if he works on a few things like skating.
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Post by Skilly on Jul 12, 2007 5:42:36 GMT -5
Who was the second guy in the Carle video? (#85)
Of the 5 ... PK was #1, the others looked like they were going through the motions compared to him. Looked to me like 2-4 was a saw-off and Pacioretty looked the slowest/least in control
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Post by habmeister on Jul 12, 2007 12:12:11 GMT -5
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Post by Doc Holliday on Jul 12, 2007 12:17:18 GMT -5
Bah, skating bunnies...
Doesn't mean much to me, skating prowess are all fine and dandy but this isn't an Ice-Capades tryout. I bet you Samsonov would ace all those fancy, shmancy cinderella drills. Give me hockey sense, grit, a devastating shot and a will to use it...
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Post by habmeister on Jul 12, 2007 12:17:19 GMT -5
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Post by franko on Jul 12, 2007 15:08:56 GMT -5
Like the hits, but not so sure about the hug and kiss near the end . . . not that there's anything wrong with it.  |
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Post by habmeister on Jul 12, 2007 15:16:08 GMT -5
Bah, skating bunnies... Doesn't mean much to me, skating prowess are all fine and dandy but this isn't an Ice-Capades tryout. I bet you Samsonov would ace all those fancy, shmancy cinderella drills. Give me hockey sense, grit, a devastating shot and a will to use it... au contraire in the new nhl skating means a lot, without it you're left in the dust. |
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Post by Willie Dog on Jul 13, 2007 8:57:27 GMT -5
From couz at HF
Here's day 3.
What was good about today in that we got to see alot of one on one, two on two and thre on three drills, it got intense at times, Subban was throwing his body around and he and Pacioretty had a little thing going during one drill where they really got intense...good to see. It was good to see these drills as we got an opportunity to really get a look at these kids in traffic and how they handle themselves.
I'll start with the forwards today.
The guy that stood out today was Ben Maxwell, I can't see how this guy won't just dominate the WHL this year, he should also be part of team Canada, he's really a step of ahead of every other forward. In one one one drills he just schooled the dmen he faced, he has deceptive speed and moves, very good set of hands and had some beautiful finishes close in. He protects the puck very well considering he's not huge but not small either, he's strong on his feet, he really really resembles Brad Richards in alot of ways, shifty/smart player with good skill, can do everything really well. I'm not surprised Timmins has been high on this guy and said the other day that he's closer to the NHL than people think, he honestly has a shot atr making the big club next year, he really should be in the AHL this year simply based on the fact he looks way ahead of the other guys in camp.
Pacioretty also impressed today, he really has that power forward dimension to his game, uses his body well to drive to the net, combine that with his good skill and speed and he's a handful for dmen. I honestly believe that the Habs will try and get this guy in the AHL asap,like they did with Higgins/Komo, he's not too far from the NHL, size and speed are already NHL level.
Olivier Fortier is one of these energy guys, he's not overly big but he really plays hard in corners and in traffic, his skill and speed compensate alot for his lack of size at the moment, he really battles and comes out on top using that speed and mobility, in open ice he's very quick and hard to handle.
Ryan White, it was good to see him in these drills, he's a strong kid and knows what to do when he gets the puck, nothing fancy, he just works to get the puck and take it to the net, he's a pretty good finisher.
Mat Aubin is also one of these bigger bodies that finishes well, he's not as good in traffic as White but he has a very good shot, nice release.
Conboy likes the physical play, he really likes to work the corners and come out with pucks, his speed is good without the puck but not the same once he gets a puck on his stick.
Ryan Russell is in that Fortier mold also, not very big but he battles hard in corners, he doesn't have the quickness of Fortier however, he has pretty good hands.
Defenseman.
Fisher really impressed today, its awesome to see a guy that size move so well, he's a big guy as we know but he moves like one of these little shifty players, he has great reach and often won his battles thanks to that reach, he had no problem swatting pucks away from guys. Honestly, I think we should really hope this kid keeps it up, if he's gonna get better its gonna be scary, he's big (needs more bulk), fast and mobile with good agility to stickhandling and move with the puck. he skates very well with the puck, very fast on rushes when he's carrying the puck, in drills where each guy has to protect the puck he did well thanks to a combination of size and agility.
Phillipe Paquette, I said yesterday I wondered what the Habs have planned for this guy, he may be another O'Byrne, he's not as physical but he's a great skater and very good with the puck on his stick, moves very well and is smart defensively, doesn't drive guys in the boards like Subban but rather cuts off lanes very well and good position player. I say he may be another O'Byrne because he may be patient and finish school at Clarkson, but he really looks solid out there.
Mat Carle, we know he's very good at handling the puck, but despite his size handles himself very well on the defensive end of things, he's like a Bouillon in that he's not big but strong and that helps him in his defense.
Valentenko, looks like a pro out there, he's definitely not junior caliber, could use some seasoning in the AHL, reminds me alot of Quintal, not flashy or fast when he has the puck very effective however and doesn't make mistakes, takes good angles and uses his body at protecting the puck when carrying it.
Mcdonagh showed some nice things today, he skates very well with the puck on his stick and handles it well, not afraid of getting physical and playing the man face to face, unlike Fisher who really uses that reach and likes to cut the driving lanes using his speed he doesn't play that in your face style like Mcdongh, more positional, something Mcdonagh will no doubt learn...his defense will get better, still has alot to learn in that dept but we always have to remember he's out of high school.
PK Subban, just keeps rolling along, always tons of energy, he's definitely not NHL ready like he thought he could be, has to be smarter at times when playing defense rather than always relying on high tempo and energy to get the job done, at times he missed checks or over skated plays to get physical. I wonder if Team Canada is considering him?
Weber, this guy is swift, very quick and shifty with the puck, not a big guy but he has some moves, he carries the puck very well...I see this guy more as a forward with that speed, stickhandling, mobility and obvious inferior size.
Joe Stejskal, haven't mentioned him much but he did pretty good today, quietly goes about his job, not that bad mobility wise, has some work to do with the puck on his stick but has tools.
So, that's it for me...I strongly doubt I'll be going to more sessions, if some of you can go I strongly suggest it as they may finish the week with scrimmages.
As a side note Ryan Walter took part in the drills, he's really a motivator out there, like Muller.
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Post by Willie Dog on Jul 13, 2007 8:58:15 GMT -5
from top corner2 at HF
Today we got to see the kids get a little physical.
There were puck possesion drills and stickhandling drills.
Here's some impression that I walked away with:
Conboy- The guy is huge and can skate and most importantly LOVES the rough stuff. He is one of those guys that won't have to be told to finish his checks. His stickhandling needs work and he is very raw. He wouldn't be a fun guy to play against though.
Styskel- Big rough Dman. Knows how to use his body. Has decent stick skills for a D. Skating seems fine. Could work out if he keeps developing. Using his big frame is definitely his strong suit.
Fischer- was suprisingly physical out there. skates well. Nice shot. BUT I still find he has to put it all together. Definitely has the tools.
Fortier- Looked great. Has nice hands and speed. good all around skills. Should become a good pro. Works hard.
Paquet- Seems really calm. well seasoned & mature. nice stride and shot. Looks a lot like traverse (maybe went to the same power skating classes?). Still needs to get more solid. I find him a little too thin like traverse. Better lateral mobility than traverse.
Carle- Always liked this guy. Great shot. solid with the puck. Heads up skater. tough on the boards. Is a little small, but I think he will make it if he works hard.
Subban- was getting rough all day. other guys were starting to give it back A LOT. great shot! Seems too excited. trying too hard to impress. I think he needs to calm down...he was messing up drills because he was so eager. Great skills. Solid Physically.
Wyman- His hands are too hard. Everything else is ok.
Stewart- This guy has improved a lot. I like him better than Wyman at this point. He is big and physical and has some offense. I'm pleased to see him coming along.
Mcdonaugh -solid solid solid. Still a little nervous, but this guy is built like a tank and moves well.
Paccioretti - great physical presence. Uses his big frame. has some moves and skates well. Can't wait to see him in a year....cause you can see the potential is there.
Maxwell - WOW this guy is good! The best forward on the ice. Smart, crafty, fast, uses his body well....I was worried after his injury last year...I'm not anymore. He'll play at the U20's and will follow a similar path as Chipper and D'ago.
White- Doesn't look great until there is a real hockey scenario...then you see how well he thinks the game. Not fast, but gets there and is dangerous offensively. Time will tell. can't wait to see a scrimmage.
Beauregard- definitely has a knack for scoring. I'm glad we signed him. He was one of the better forwards offensively (as he should be). Let's see how he does in the pro's.
Cepek- Unfortunately he looked out of place out there.
Kishel- showed a bit of promise. Has a very accurate shot
Russel - Looked much better today. He has deceptive speed and is tenacious on the forcheck.
Aubin - Big with moves and a great shot. I'm looking for a big year in Hamilton. Needs to be more physical.
Hope that helps fire away!
__________________
Bring on the youth!
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Post by Habfaith on Jul 13, 2007 10:47:34 GMT -5
Valentenko, looks like a pro out there, he's definitely not junior caliber, could use some seasoning in the AHL, reminds me alot of Quintal, Quintal? Great. Paquet- Seems really calm. well seasoned & mature. nice stride and shot. Looks a lot like traverse (maybe went to the same power skating classes?). Still needs to get more solid. I find him a little too thin like traverse. Better lateral mobility than traverse. Traverse? Fantastic. |
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Post by halihab on Jul 13, 2007 12:45:28 GMT -5
Thank's for the updates Willie. My sleeper pick is FORTIER, I think he's going to be a good one. I'm bias, simply because he is the one I have seen play the most. Excellent speed combined with a pesky attitude. I'm showing my age a bit, but he reminds me alot of a great Philadelphia Flyer (whom I liked by the way) by the name of Ken Linseman. He's bigger than Linseman but the same smarts,speed and the agitation factor. I can see him being a better pro than Esposito.
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Post by Willie Dog on Jul 13, 2007 20:06:15 GMT -5
From Habs911 at hfboards Let me start off by saying that this was an amazing morning, meeting some players and looking at them. It was great! Here is most of the players I looked at today.
P.K Subban: He has an amazing shot! His slapper drew the eye of the crowd, has blazing speed (was blazing through the skating drills)…I think the best speed out there. He has to be more aware of the play and stop trying to do the big shot and stop being too fancy. He also needs to improve on the defensive side of things; he got beaten a lot today on 2 on 1’s and man to man. He always laughs and is great around everyone!
Overall grade: B+ (will play for the Habs one day)
Yannick Weber: I liked what I saw from him; he looks like a great passer and has a great pass reception. He needs to improve on his shooting and his agility on the ice.
Overall grade: B (I personally think he might become a Streit type player)
Olivier Fortier: Also looks promising, has great chemistry with Beauregard. He needs to find the open man faster, was always a second to late on the 2 on 1’s it seemed. Still think he will be a good player.
Overall grade: B
Thomas Beauregard: Great shot! I at least saw 3 great wristers from him. Looks promising and has great chemistry with Fortier.
Overall grade: B
Mathieu Carle: I liked what I saw from him, looked very solid and never seemed out of position.
Overall grade: B+
Ryan McDonagh: I love this guy, he has great passes and a fantastic first pass, he was great one on one and always brings the opponent to the boards. I like a lot!
Overall grade: A
Ben Maxwell: He has great agility and a great shot (wrister and slapper). However, he needs to improve on the little things like tape to tape passes and receiver one timers. But I enjoyed him a lot today.
Overall grade: A
David Fischer: This guy is good! He got much better than last season. He has an amazing wrister and great skill. His vision is great for his age and always seemed to find the open guy. He also has great speed. He even looked mature in front of the cameras, laughing and having fun with the journalists.
Overall grade: A+
Max Pacioretty: He has to improve a bit on the technical side of things, he does have however good patience with the puck and great skill. He didn’t show me much today unfortunately.
Overall grade: B
Scott Kishel: Very underrated it seems, I liked what I saw from him and could surprise a lot of us. Looked good and has great agility with the puck.
Overall grade: B+
Pavel Valentenko: One of the best out there today, really enjoyed him. He has amazing agility and great finesse skating. Has a great high glove side shot and is very good man to man. He also is great to read plays, he broke up like 3 2 on 1’s. He will be good.
Overall grade: A+
Philippe Paquet: Surprised me, I think he will be part of the Habs defense one day. He is big and strong and can hit. On the man to man today he brought to the boards and hit like 2 straight guys. Very underrated here too but I think he will wear a Habs jersey one day.
Overall grade: A
Ryan White: He did great moves and has a great shot. He has to improve on his skating however as he seemed a bit slow today and in the skating skills.
Overall grade: B
Andrew Conboy: From what I saw, he has great outside speed but needs to improve on his agility.
Overall grade: C+
Gregory Stewart: He looked every time I layed my eye on him but didn't get to see him a lot.
I know I'm missing some but I guess they justs didn't catch my eye enough. |
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Post by Willie Dog on Jul 13, 2007 20:12:08 GMT -5
from #11 Saku Koivu from hfboards Alright guys, here is my report from this morning on some of the players I watched a little closer:
Greg Stewart:
Limited ability with the puck. Struggled with stickhandling drills. Works hard, but this kid might have a tough time cracking the Bulldogs next year on a full-time basis.
Andrew Conboy:
Looks huge out there. His skating seems inconsistent. At times he looks quick and agile, other times he has trouble getting started up. His skills with the puck are still somewhat limited. You can tell he's not a top draft choice, but his size makes him a potentially interesting project for one day down the road if he can develop some.
Olivier Fortier:
He has some pretty slick moves with the puck, which I wasn't necessarily expecting from him. Decent skater. Looks on the small-side out there, at least with this group (he's listed at 5'11", 173lbs).
Ryan Russell:
Not really sure what the Habs' brass saw in him, but I certainly didn't see it today. Small and not overly quick. Has an alright shot, but that's about all I saw positive from him today.
Mathieu Carle:
This guy has a mean wrist shot. Hard, reasonably accurate. His skating doesn't seem to be a weakness, and he is super thick. The Habs list him at 5'11", 215lbs, making him the heaviest guy in the camp! Good potential there, should be an interesting season for his development. I think he should be able to see decent ice time in the AHL, especially if say O'Byrne sticks in Montreal. A decent day for Carle.
PK Subban:
Has some good wheels, but I wouldn't rave about his performance today. Nothing bad, but nothing special either. He came as reported, joking around, initiating a bit of rough housing. He looked ok in all drills.
Ryan McDonagh:
I like him. Despite being listed at 6'1", 204 lbs, he looked small to me compared to most of the others. Or average-sized anyway. Pretty good skater, alright with the puck. The potential is definitely there, but he'll need a couple of years in college.
Ryan White:
There was a stickhandling drill early on, where most of the forwards tried little slick dekes around cones. Not Ryan. He just basically swerved around them. And that's how he played it most of the day. Nothing fancy, just doing what he was told. He did have one brilliant movie where he undressed Kishel one-on-one and then poked it through the goaltender's five-hole, but aside from that, a quiet day. He is well filled out.
David Fischer:
I like his height, and if he could add some muscle or weight, he'd be a tank. But really really needs to fill out. He is talking a lot out there, likes to joke around. Seems like a good kid. Decent skills with the puck. Skating is average in the group. Again, the potential is there, but he's not close to the NHL or anything. At least another 2 years in college, then maybe a bit of time in Hamilton, but he's promising for the future.
Joe Stejskal:
I believe someone said here earlier in the week that on some plays Stejskal looks great, and on others, he seems like he's a step behind. This is dead-on accurate. There is potential there, cause he shows good poise on some plays, but he'll certainly need to work on his consistency if he wants to make something of his career. But at only 18, he has time to do so.
Max Pacioretty:
I really love this kid, even if his other days might have been better based on earlier reports from other posters. Great size, good skater. He has some slick moves around the net. He struggled a bit in a drill where you had to skate pulling another player (he was with Paquet, so I guess that has something to do with it), so maybe he'll need to add a bit more strength, but I like this pick a lot and he could become something special.
Philippe Paquet:
I had no expectations for Paquet, but he really impressed me today. He was sound in all areas, in terms of skating, with the puck, and defending. He was one of the few willing to take the body and mix it up a tad in one-on-one drills. He doesn't get the rep of some of our other prospects, but I really believe he could make it to the big show some day. I like what I saw.
Pavel Valentenko:
Great day for him IMO. He looks the most NHL-ready of all guys at the camp, so reports on him are accurate. He put on a show in the drill of skating while pulling a teammate. Was an absolute beast there pulling Wyman around. Good shot, good with the puck. There was a report earlier in the week that he was kind of alone at the camp, well that wasn't the case at all today. Guys were always talking to him (dunno how much he understood lol), high fiving him, tapping his shin pads (especially coaches and Aubin, who played a leadership role with a lot of guys). Should do great in Hamilton and will be in Montreal sooner than later. Took it easy on some drills, but performed all of them with poise and the stature of a veteran.
Ben Maxwell:
Not huge in terms of size, but FILLED with potential. Maxwell will IMO not be a mid-level player or prospect. He will either not put things together and straight out bust, or become a star. He had trouble with his first stickhandling drill of the day, but after that was sensational. He has great moves and a good shot. He had a sweet deflection goal on a 2-on-1 with Carle. He should be primed for a huge year in Juniors, and I'm very anxious to see how he'll do at the next level. A strong day overall, and expect to hear lots about this guy in the near future.
I don't think any of the goaltenders looked great. Loverock is a really big guy, but he didn't impress me much. Both Lacasse and Desjardins were good at times with some big saves, but were nothing special on the whole. Then again it's tough to evaluate a goalie from just like 2-on-1s and 2-on-0s.
My three stars on the day:
3 - Philippe Paquet
2 - Pavel Valentenko
1 - Ben Maxwell
Honourable Mentions to Max Pacioretty and Mathieu Carle.
It was a fun morning, and I hope to go back on Sunday. |
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jul 16, 2007 22:10:27 GMT -5
A full camp report from whitesnake from over at HF, who was at camp four of six days so he had a good look at the kids: So here comes my final report, which means what it means, just a report from a fan who's just reporting as he's seeing. I'm no specialist as far as HFBoards type of rating so I'm not going to go that route, though I may do some exceptions for some. Again, as a reminder, this was merely a skills camp with only 1 scrimmage 3 on 3 and where even in that scrimmage some players were even not playing their natural position. Those guys are just kids and some still has some growing to do so again, it is what it is......Also, please understand that if I say a player should make it or not, doesn't mean they'll do or won't....(just checking, don't want people to come at me saying "how do you know that", there's still some growth in them and so on..." This is just an opinion.
GOALIES
DESJARDINS: This is a goalie who I didn't think was big enough or fast enough to make a difference in any Pro league so let me tell you first that I was really surprised with how he conducted himself in Cincinnati last year. Just shows how determined he was but also how he did improve positionnally and how he's a little more agile that he was before. So I believe there is still growing to do as far as his skills.....but not that much. May become at best a good backup in the AHL but should not go further, at least I don't expect him to be. I think he had an OK week but surely didn't blow anything away, especially for a guy who had at least 1 year in the pros more than the 2 others.
LACASSE: Okay I'm totally bias here since I wasn't for him when he was picked, and never liked him. Strangely, I think we had the "chance" of seeing him on TV at least 3 times this year and all 3 times he looked kinda good despite being scored on more than he would've seen. And throughout the year, the kid was bombarded with an average of at least 40 shots per game so a high ERA was too be expected. I know the Habs brass thought he deserved a contract so they gave one to him but still I don't understand why, may has to do with just having some depth like Montreal once told us. Anyway, another guy who did just OK for me this week, while I do have to acknowledge that he looks better laterally and has that incredible tendancy of going way too soon on his knees and despite his size doesn't cover the net as much as I would like him too. His future is with Cincinnati. Can't even see an AHL future for him but still there was some pretty bad goalies in that league as well so we can't never know. Goalies could develop much further down the road than players.
LOVEROCK: Didn't expect anything, was pretty curious to see why he wasn't chosen in this past draft so obviously he kinda surpassed my expectations but clearly had a much better first part of the week than the last one. Gave us some pretty weak goals at one point. But still, if I have the bad habit of comparing Lacasse when I first saw him to him, I kinda like more the latter. He's awesomly big, or that's how I see him, seems to have a OK glove, but needs to work a lot blocker side, and positionnally. His lateral movement is somewhat subpar in some occasions and OK in others. Obviously, it's just sign of a young player who still needs to improve and I kinda believe he will. How they'll address his case is beyond me, but I still believe he's the best try-out I've seen in a long time. I have no idea about his potentiel, way too soon to tell, needs work, but who doesn't, but still I found him alright. For all those reasons, I kinda want to name him best goalie out there, for giving us better things than expected for a non-drafted goalie and compared to most experienced goaltenders, he then got my vote.
Best goalie: ANDREW LOVEROCK
D-MAN
MATHIEU CARLE: Didn't like the pick when it was done and while I like the kid way more, I obviously have questions marks about him. Strangely, I think his last year's camp was better, he had more opportunities to show his tape to tape passes, and ultra smooth skating. While he was still the same smooth skater, I think he stumbled more this year but still he was somewhat able to contain some big forwards in 1 on 1 drills. Let's remember though that there was some 2 on 1 this week I wasn't able to attend so I obviously can't judge that. But from what I've seen he wasn't pushed around so much which is a good thing for a d-men of his stature. I would so much like to see him bigger though. There's still some question marks for me as far as even just making the NHL. I know I might be totally wrong but that is just what I think right now. Still needs to work on his shot while the accuracy is quite good. Mostly his slapper, while his wrister is OK right now. Would need to improve defensively and get stronger all around. Even though he had some skating problems, it's an understatement that his skating and his passing game will help him down the road. But most definately some seasoning in Hamilton will permit to see how he can develop his game in the Pros.
CAMERON CEPEK: Okay, you'll hear this for the last time....are you ready??? My god did this kid grow or what? . I'm really wondering how playing in a expension team will help or not his game. My problem with him is that in the Pros, when you don't get notice too much for a d-man, it usually means you're doing your job properly. I just don't believe it's case for a Junior, at least it could mean that it helps your junior team, but it might also mean that your development is stalling a little adn you might not have at least that 1 great quality to go further. I just don't expect for Cameron to bring it and so I don't see an NHL future for him. Might become a defensive 6th man in Hamilton one day, I don't see real upside. Nothing is great, everything is just OK. Don't believe OK will cut it on a NHL Stanley Cup winner.... He did improve his size, his skating and his positional play but not by a big WOW!
DAVID FISCHER: Some might say that it's disappointed to see the season he had last year as far as points are concerned, and then some might understand that the kid was just getting out of college, playing behind big stars, not playing a lot and most definately seeing a lot of PP ice time if any.....Now as far as potentiel, you could CLEARLY see that it's there, his hands, his smooth skating with his enormous strides, I don't have any problems with him except 2......everything that needs to do with a raw prospect, which is concentration, consistency and so on....AND his shot. I have some concerns about it right now both slapper and wrister but most definately wrister. Most of the time I saw really weak ones by him. Did I just wasn't that lucky that everytime I saw him that's what I saw, maybe, but I may be awfully not lucky 'cause I looked a lot of time David and see this continuous weak shot shift after shift. Again, it's pretty easy to do the comparison game so when I compare both him and McDonagh, I can truly say that McDonagh should be ready sooner due to how steady he looks compared to him. So Fischer might think of completing his University before heading here and then he might have everything he needs to compete. He's still truly raw, but he works hard, want to learn, has definatley a great mind set, so he will do it. But maybe not sooner than some could have thought. If everything comes together at the right time, right place, most definately top 4, but now that we know that he can be rock solid defensively, 1 on 1 and so on, he needs to bring his offensive game to another level to say the least.
SCOTT KISHEL: Hope that the guy has the growing Cepek had in 1 year, but most definately the player who showed all week that there's a looooooooooong way to go...if any. Most definatley looks more than a forward than a d-man, I did see today some good exercices by him especially concerning the sharp turns (I had to find something good....) So most definatley out of the class of 2007 him and another of my "favorite" didn't show a whole lot but it could all change so fast. Still, it was a little too much for him but kept a good spirit and worked hard all week. I did see some good wristers from him. I didn't see any grit whatsoever in his game, way too shy, but I'm still wondering if going from d-man to forward wouldn't help him. Anyway, let's wait and see how he develops. And hope he'll be another man in 1 year for better reviews.
RYAN MCDONAGH: POTENTIAL!!!! I like the kid. Great skating, great balance, good stickhandling but still needs to work on pivots and some turns while skating forward (if that makes any sense, I know what I mean). He had a great begininng of the week and was probably one of the guys who really showed that it was a tough week 'cause in the end, it looked more difficult. Had a tough day Saturday with some Souray's moments of his own but showed a great hockey sense when PK tried to bump him out of the arena and smoothly got out of his way. I truly see a great 2-way about him, most definatley top 2 for me in the future, but I'm still wondering about the 2-year time Timmins gave us about the kid. He will be something great, but 2 years? To me it looks a little bit premature. Another that needs to work on his wristers, but as far as he's concerned, it looked more as him being too nice to the goalies than just a bad shot. 'Cause I did see a couple of his shots on the boards, and it looked and sounded way harder than I saw in a couple of occasions on the goalies. And I'm talking about the wrister, 'cause he has a great and accurate slapper already. Good job by the 1st rounder.
PHILIPPE PAQUET: I'm in the Phillippe Paquet bandwagon now. And then don't get me wrong. He's not going top 2 on any teams. But he's a rock solid defender, who always play the man, has an really underrated skating ability, even sharp turns, a tremendous wrister and really great slapper who though is not always accurate. Though his game will not translate as being offensive, which is a shame 'cause he had the hardest wrister out there with PK, it is possible that one day he plays in the NHL solely based on his mean, rough, steady defensive performance and even moreso if he adds a little bit of offense in him. I think most of us saw a lot of potentiel in O'Byrne the first time we saw him, and while I'm not saying he's a clone, I did see in most occasions the same scenario where Paquet was really dominating out there. Okay, his 3 on 3 scrimmage didn't placed him in the best scenario ever, you're sure you're not going to see him in a 3 on 3 in the NHL....but I still think his hockey sense is underrated and he could at least hold his ground with his play.....But he's also a candidate to see his development stalling and never do much than what he's doing now. But I would be really surprised that he never at least be a regular in the AHL and begin by being a call-up in the NHL. But I think he could be an easy #5-#6 steady, tough d-man and adds some points with his shot. Great job nonetheless this week!
JOE STEJSKAL: I think he did well for a 2007. He's most definately a candidate for the potentiel to develop even more 'cause he showed me that in most occasions. How? Well one day he's great, then he's awful.... Which means if he can bring his game to great all the time, he might be useful. What impressed me the most for a guy who truly looks bigger than his 187lbs, is his skating and his great balance on his skates. This open ice hit against Stewart was truly great to see yesterday and showed that he wasn't shy about what he does best. It's still undefined as to who his offensive game will translate but as any 2007 picks it's way too soon to say how he'll develop. But since he's capable to go from great to bad in an instant, I can't believe how he'll develop if he goes to great and stays there....Will he be able to? But most definately needs to work on all aspects of the game but looks like a great kid to coach most definately.
PK SUBBAN: I think enough is said about him. Great slapper, great wrister, tremendous speed, tremendous energy, I'm really eager to see what he does against tougher competition and more experienced. Will he still be eager to throw the body like he did? And how about that scouting report who called him one of the softiest player in this year's draft? Is throwing the body a new thing for him? Or did he just do that 'cause he thought he could dominate physically this bunch of guys but won't be able to in this upcoming rookie camp? Can't wait to see that. But as a 2007, was really impressive, and his defensive camp, while not being perfect, was far from being the disaster as adversied....but obviously this wasn't in a game situation so we'll see. Still think he'll end up top 4, while guys like MCDo and Fischer might end up top 3. But as a developement camp goes, an overall tremendous and impressive job.
NICHLAS TORP: In the end, it did seem a little too much for him this week. But then he looked really good in the scrimmage so it's great to see in game situation that he's able to conduct himself really well, throwing the body and play good positionnally. As the majority of 2007, had a good portion of the week and a bad one. Earlier this week, was overpowered by a majority of guys in 1 on 1 drills, but was really solid in this other 1 on 1 drills Saturday. Was able to place his body adequately this time between the opponent and the puck and had this groove going for some time. And while his skating is good, he had to perfect that and so his shot and so his overall strength. So as of now, and still I have no choice but to give my opinion right now, I don't see him as being an NHL'er. And again, if it's by comparison, and I would compare him to the small d-men that we have and while I understand they don't play a similar game, I would prefer seeing Carle and Weber before him. But he does bring a tough game when he hits a lot, doesn't hurt a lot of people but doesn't back down and while giving his bodychecks, is not always on the worst end of it. But when somebody comes at him, he might be easily overpowered. But believe he played better positionnaly near the end of the camp. There is some adaptations for everyone....
PAVEL VALENTENKO: Didn't see him in the scrimmage which sucks, but it was enough to see that this mature, composed, plain solid player will be great one day. I do see the Volchenkov's comparison A LOT so he will definately play in the NHL sooner than later. Obviously not this year, at least 1 year in Hamilton but he will make it. Looked like a man playing with boys, his puck protection skills as a d-man is impressive, he has a good wrister and slapper, really accurate. Great hockey sense to go with that. Still wonder how his offensive game will translate that's my biggest question mark 'cause defensively, there's no question marks....
YANNICK WEBER: A good camp for the kid. Just love how he skates, really fluid, like his wrister, didn't see too much of slappers on his end. Probably the smallest guy with the hardest shot. While, like Torp, he can be easily overpowered, I did see some grit in his game where he didn't like to be thrown down a lot and kinda retaliate to show he wasn't too happy about it. Looked like a Mark Streit to me how even for a 2007 I could as far as saying that I see him in the NHL. It will take some time but he has some great qualities that may overcome his size. Though like every undersized, will need to get stronger but that's an understatement. A good overall camp again for a 2007
Best d-men: Subban/Valentenko (him missing the last 2 days can't win)
Greatest potentiel: McDonagh/Fischer
Long way to go (might play at higher level but needs more time to put it all together): Stejskal/Weber/Torp
Should not make it: Kishel/Cepek
Greatest surprise: Paquet
Dissapointment: Carle (my problem, was expecting more)
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jul 16, 2007 22:11:29 GMT -5
Whitsnake full report part II (it is long, detailed a good read...but had to cut it up to fit under the limits): FORWARDS
MATHIEU AUBIN: I was and still are a big Aubin fan. For one reason, we can't have enough big centers who can not only rack some points but could not be afraid of mixing it up a little bit. While the latter is not proven, I'm still a little afraid he'll turn out Urquhart #2, he seems less hesitant to put his nose in traffic and drive the net a little more than his counterpart. Having said that, I was really dissapoint by his week. This guy was a veteran compared to the others and didn't look that much superior to say the least. Sure he does have some good stickhandling and some good hockey sense but his skating while not poor is still not up to par and didn't do much to distinguish himself. He does have a good wrister and at some point showed some leadership by going to guys and giving them some encouragements and instructions....though most of the time he's the one who needed it the most. Would absolutely love to see him getting a regular spot with the Dogs, they would desperately need some centers down there, but he will need to upgrade his play by a whole lot.
THOMAS BEAUREGARD: Well it's true, this guy can score!!!! Awesome scrimmage, a little bit more quiet during the drills where it shows that he needs another speed to his toolbox. He also needs to not be afraid to mix it up while he did play a little on the perimeter and not being that much of a difference defensively. Right now, I don't see him being a NHL'er but some seasoning and development at the AHL is exactly was this kid needs. And who knows, with great coaching and some work on his part he might develop the other aspects of the game he needs to go further. But he definately got a great hard but most definately accurate wrister, awesome hands and knack for scoring. Time to now put that to the test and against tougher and bigger competition to make a real assessment on how he'll be able to progress and upgrade his play. His small frame, his lack of grit and speed are most definately real problems, but his 1 great quality, his really great! Will see! But an OK camp overall for him where besides the shot and the scrimmage it wasn't unbelievable but at least he translated his real asset in real results. Timmins said that he's one-dimensional and so he has to at least get it done, he did this week. Now time to work on ALL these other things, foot speed, grit, defensive work.....
ANDREW CONBOY: Oh...boy.....Is big, I mean really big. And has a big smile, wants to learn, works hard, that was really fun to see him today with Gingras on his first step quickness, he was running on the ice, that was great to see. The good news is that for a big guy, who still needs to know how to play with this frame of his, is that in straight line he's actually not slow. The worst news now is everything else for me.....foot speed is slow, stickhandling needs work, hockey sense a lot of it and the rest....Is pretty tough, doesn't seem that he'll back down from anybody and defensively responsible but even there....I just don't see it at all.....never......Put some crow on reserve for me, I'll gladly eat it if ever this guy plays in the NHL, and not even sure in the AHL though a guy like Troy Bodie played 20 games for Hamilton this year, but even Bodie looked better....much better. ECHL'er for life for Mr. Conboy for me. I know it's soon but I believe there's too much things to learn in this short period of time that is 4 years....at least for him....Definately not a typical Timmins pick, don't see what they saw in him. Were they tempted to try and hit a Milan Lucic type of homerun, big tough guy who could put it all together one day and be that enforcer with some kind of talent able to play in a regular spot? Maybe....But I would've pick Allard or Hellgren before him....Thanks for the spirit though Andrew, was fun to see you have fun.
OLIVIER FORTIER: And for the 2nd time, call me bias, but I love how this kid skate, love how he brings it on every play, every shift, I believe is offensive play while underrated is actually not that bad, he showed some accurate top shelf shots in some occasions. Was definately there to compete, while he has some serious bulking to do, I believe he'll play as a 3rd liner in the NHL some day. Okay fortunately or unfortunately and while he was wearing #38, he looked like a real young Jan Bulis with his smooth skating......Good or Bad? But I really believe he'll play in the NHL one day. Needs to upgrade his offensives next year and pay attention a little more to his stickhandling and he'll be fine. Not the greatest upside of all but I believe it was a great safe and surefire pick at the time and still think he is. I really believe he had a good week.
BENJAMIN MAXWELL: Most definately the most gifted offensive prospect out there this week with the greatest hands, underrated deceiving speed with and without the puck. As far as his week was concerned, I would've hope to see him a little more committed but he did his thing and mostly doing it better than most of the guys. Like everybody says, his tendancy of dissapearing when the going gets tough might dictate how his game will translate and what his potentiel will be. But I can't see how this guy won't play in the NHL. Not a #1 center, but most definately a #2. While he has a great hockey sense and a comparison with Richards is not too far away from his potentiel, I see translating it more to a poor-man's version than the real thing....which should not end up as being that bad anyway. Can't wait for him to show his stuff at the rookie camp and at the real one. He did great last year, needs to show some improvement.
MAX PACIORETTY: Definately a great camp for him this week! I'm impressed by the maturity of the guy and his game while showing his great hands, shot, balance, hockey sense and passing abilities. I see a lot of potentiel in this guy and while McDonagh will turn out as being a great pick, possibility that this kid becomes a better one. And to think that the growing might not be over is scary....scary good....Can't say enough great things about him, totally ecstatic about him, so much that I can't be rational....so as far as potential, I'm at the point of saying 1st line with 40 goals but please don't mind me, just way too excited to analyse this boy calmly.... Does need to work on his speed though he's definately not slow, on the contrary, some foot work and some small things like that, he'll be awesome. A perfect power forward to be that needs more time to be more complete. But I don't know how you can't be excited about him. Great Week!!!!
RYAN RUSSELL: I saw a couple of great wristers from him showing his accuracy....but that was it for the whole week. Wasn't impressed to say the least, still wondering what they saw in him. Wondering what he brought that we didn't have already? Don't have a lot to say, let's wait and see how he brings it with the Dogs, if he makes it, 'cause I still have my reservations about it. Where's the grit in this guy, anyone know?
GREGORY STEWART: Greg does bring something we don't have a lot with the team which is a real presence in his 2-way game with a punch that is quite there for a guy that size though he's not an enforcer per se. While the potentiel is real limited and that he may never make the NHL, he should develop in a responsible good 2 way forward with the Dogs for years to come. Might develop his scoring touch and be effective for a higher level. So an OK week, though I might have expected better since he's a little older than the others and had some experiences at higher levels. Would love to see him gain a regular spot with the Dogs, so we'll see. So not hot, not cold, just OK but still a prospect to see evolve with time and not let him go liek that. We need guys that play that kinda of role and if it's not with the big team, at least with the smaller one to accompany our kids and let them develop with the presence he'll bring with him. Still like him, but definatley not the greatest potentiel out there.
RYAN WHITE: Like I said already, and while I do understand that his game is better suited for tough 5 on 5 game situation, I still have some reservation about him and that even with the type of season he had last year. Surprised I was to say the least about that last season, never in my right mind did I think he had that kind of season in him after seeing that development camp last year. So let me first say that he had a much better camp this year, so he did improve his overall skills. But then skating, while better, is not there in my opinion, and I'm just wondering if 212lbs is a great weight for him. Looked as if he might be a little heavy and could need to play a little lighter to find some other speed in his repertoire.....But then he does play hard, in your face type of hockey and that again is something we don't have a lot especially combined with a guy who still has a nose for those garbage goals we desperately need. I mean at one point, who cares about how you score when just how many is more important. And while he brings all of that, he brings energy, great spirit and totally a coachable kid on top of that. But for the sake of this camp, he was OK this year, especially in the scrimmage and showing how good he could be along the boards and how balance he was when he's battling for the puck. If he can adjust his game and upgrade his level of skating and stickhandling, he has everything to bring his potential to another level and still is. But stickhandling wise and skate wise.....still a tough week.....just not his game....
JAMES T. WYMAN: So you know by now my obsession for this kid. Moreso 'cause he improved his stickhandling by mile, he has a presence when he's on the ice, looks like a great kid to be around and now that we know that he's used on defense as well, as that great versatily any team needs. I still think there's some untapped offensive potential there especially since he has that great wrister he always had but seemed more on target this year. This is truly a case of he has a lot of tools and needs to put it all together. 'Cause he also could be candidate of never being offensive enough to ever make it in the NHL or make it and be a force to reckon with TO SOME EXTENT. Has a great defensive mindset, saw him a couple of times this week with the mind of a d-man especially in the scrimmage and he did well. Find he has a good hockey sense while not being spectacular, like I said a great arsenal of shots, a frame to die for, absolutely solid on his skates and probably the one who was more willing and had more fun driving the net everytime he could. Love the kid and since things highly of him and expect bigger things for him to come. But again, he might be a candidate to see his developement stall and not make it. But I sure hope not. Good week for him!
Best forward: Maxwell/Pacioretty
Greatest potentiel: Pacioretty/Maxwell
Long way to go (might play at higher level but needs more time to put it all together): Stewart/Wyman/Beauregard
Should not make it: Conboy/Russell
Greatest surprise: Pacioretty/Wyman (nice upgrade from last year)
Dissapointment: Aubin/Russell/White (to a certain extent 'cause I was expecting more from him skills wise, again my problem, has nothing to do with the game he plays in a regular season)
I tried to put names on every category though some names were too hard not too mention twice. Please also note that while my english is OK, it's definatley not up to par so a lot of things in my mind, I made the most of it on paper but it may not always be the greatest wording ever (like what I'm trying to say here...) There is much more than what I've said but that's how I was able to put it.
Was a fun week to go to, 4 days out 6 for me, was great reporting it to you guys and can't wait to see some of those kids at the rookie camp and again at the regular camp. Won't be able to report any of those ones, though it depends when the rookie camp will be (but I might attend at least over the weekend) so I hope some of us will be able to attend.
Will see ya on other threads boys, that's it for me! |
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