Canadiens Top 20 prospects, Fall 2009

Below is a small exerpt from the Hockey's Future article which rates the Habs top 20 prospects:

11. (NR) Joonas Nattinen, C, 18 Acquired 3rd round, 65th overall, 2009

Big, skilled, and fast -- the 6'2 Nattinen may eventually develop into the large center for whom the club has been searching.

With excellent hockey sense and a strong ability on faceoffs, Nattinen is highly regarded and has been touted as a can't-miss talent. He'll remain in Finland this season and the club will look to bring him to North America the following season.

Nattinen, who remains with Espoo Blues in Finland, will play a larger role on that squad. The young forward also played on the top power-play unit at last year's World Junior Championship and will be looked to fill a similar role long term with the Habs.

Habprospects.com 2009 Annual Prospect Awards

Below is an excerpt from the HabProspect.com article:

Fastest Skater- To the overall quickest prospect

Danny Kristo

Runner Up- Ryan Russell, Maxim Trunev

When you watch Danny Kristo play, it's clear his game is based on speed, speed and more speed as he looks to have jets tied to his skates when he's flying up and down the ice.

Ryan Russell has some major wheels and he put them on display this past season as he lead the team with 4 shorthanded goals. The Russell-Chipchura duo would often be on the ice to kill penalties or help protect a one goal lead late in the game.

Trunev started the season in the KHL at age 17 but that didn't stop him from showing off his impressive foot speed and acceleration where he spent most of the season with Severstal but only saw limited ice time for the most part.

IceDogs sign Habs goaltending prospect Petteri Simila

Habster:

It's finally official. Niagara IceDogs Media Relations Officer, Brianne Whitty has released the worst kept secret in the CHL.

There were reports that the IceDogs were pushing hard to bring Simila over to North America as they had his rights.

Here's hoping that Petteri Simila will develop more steadily than another Canadiens goaltending giant by the name of Jason Missiaen who hasn't exactly flourished playing for the Peterborough Petes last season (3.81 GAA and Save % of .904 in 38 games).

Granted, the Petes were the fifth worst defensive team in the OHL with a very young defensive corp so maybe Missiaen's poor stats are a bit deceiving at first glance.

Here's the new release:

The Niagara IceDogs are pleased to announce that they have signed goaltender Petteri Simila to an OHL standard contract.

Simila was selected by the Dogs in the first round, 21st overall, in the CHL Import Draft conducted earlier this summer. The 6'6", 189 lb native of Oulu, Finland was a member of the Karpat Jr. team of the Finnish Elite League during the 2008-09 season.

Simila was also selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the 7th round, 211th overall, in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

"We are excited to have Petteri join our team. After meeting him in Montreal I knew that his skill level and ability would be a great addition to our club", says IceDogs GM Dave Brown.

It is expected that Petteri will get to St.Catharines sometime mid-August. This way he will be able to get acclimatized to the new environment before training camp and the season begin. He will train together with local players such as Alex Friesen, Johnson Andrews, Marco Insam and the Hamilton brothers at White Oaks to get ready for Training Camp that begins on August 25th.