Habs drop from #2 to #13 in Hockey's Future NHL organizational rankings

From Hockey's Future:

#13- Montreal Canadiens

Strengths: Having traded away several top prospects, the Canadiens prospect pool looks very different than it did last spring. Montreal continues to have good depth in forwards and defensemen, but lacks high-end talent. Max Pacioretty, Ben Maxwell, Matt D'Agostini, and Kyle Chipchura are all players who have tasted the NHL and made a positive impression. Yannick Weber and Mathieu Carle are two players with professional experience who could be moving up to full-time work soon.

Weaknesses: Goaltending is the biggest problem, with the organization a few injuries away from empty. Most of the team's centers are more in the checking mold, and Montreal could do with more physicality here.

Top five prospects: 1. Max Pacioretty, LW, 2. Ben Maxwell, C, 3. P.K. Subban, D, 4. Yannick Weber, D, 5. Louis Leblanc, C.

Scout evaluation: Alexander Avtsin

Alexander Avtsin after being selected 109th overall (4th round) by the Canadiens in the 2009 draft

Below is the entire article written by Alessandro Seren Rosso for RussianProspects.com. Mr. Rosso seems to think that Habs prospect, Alexander Avtsin will develop into a very good player down the road:

After Sergei Ketov has been fired from Dynamo Moscow's head coach position, former Soviet star Andrei Khomutov took his place and he surprisingly gave Alexander Avtsin (Montreal Canadiens) a stable spot in the lineup. Even if in the fourth line, Avtsin gets now regular ice time with Dynamo Moscow and his role grows match after match.

In this particular game, which Dynamo won 4-3 against SKA St. Petersburg, Alexander Avtsin (Montreal Canadiens) played as fourth line left winger, with center Anton Krysanov (Phoenix Coyotes) and right wing Denis Tolpeko. Since the start the crowd could admire his flawless skating, joined to an excellent top speed and acceleration that makes him one of the fastest players of the team, despite he doesn't have too much time to display that. His line – at least in the first period – often faced opponents' first unit, made up of Alexei Yashin, Petr Cajanek and Maxim Sushinsky, certainly not a good test. They didn't look out of place and even if they hurt the impact of such a great troika, they didn't allow goals nor particular big chances. An area that Avtsin showed the need to work on is his passing game. For the whole game he simply delivered the puck to the nearest line mate trying to go to the net or to search space forward. On the other hand, he looked comfortable both with and without the puck. At the seventh minute he used twice his excellent speed to get in dangerous position. First Denis Tolpeko dumped the puck in the zone towards him, finding him beyond the goal line on the other side, even if the rush has been wasted because of an error of the same Tolpedo. Not much later he burned a defenseman with his speed, calling a pass from Krysanov, but the invite has been intercepted by a blue liner. It could have been Avtsin's first goal in the KHL, which doesn't look to be a far result considering how well he is doing lately. Another surprise for this game was his defensive play. Certainly, he's not a defensive specialist and will never be one, but he tried really hard in any shift, often trying to play physically and to bother the opponents touching them not dirtily. His speed is also useful in defensive situations too as it permits Avtsin to get back quickly. He also keeps on getting his feet moving and that's helpful too, especially if his team gains a puck after a turnover and needs to get in the other zone quickly. Unfortunately Avtsin hasn't been played much in the second period, when Anton Krysanov (Phoenix Coyotes) was moved up to the third line to join veteran Vadim Epanchintsev and Dmitri Shitikov, demoting Ivan Nepriaev in the fourth unit. Down by two goals, Khomutov preferred playing the top lines more and he was right at the end as they managed to grab three points against a fierce opponent.

To sum it up, Alexander Avtsin (Montreal Canadiens) played a good match, especially considering that he didn't play a lot. He made no errors and gave the hundred percent in all the shifts, even back in the own zone, were doesn't excel. He also needs to bulk up and working on his passing play, but his combination of a smooth skating and above average technique makes him a valuable, reliable player even for a team of Dynamo Moscow's caliber. He needs to play a little bit more, but all will arrive with the time.

To Play For Harvard Requires Brains On Ice

A small excerpt from the Boston Globe article which talks about the hockey program at Harvard and one of its newest freshman recruits, Habs prospect Louis Leblanc:

Leblanc, the freshman from Montreal, says that when he was interviewed by NHL teams before the draft this spring, he encountered a lot of resistance to his Harvard plans. “Most teams didn’t really understand my thought process,” he says. “Obviously it was a concern for me, but I trust coach Donato, and I kind of bought what he told me. He went here. He played in the NHL. He had a 13-year career. It worked out fine for him.”

Happy, Go Lucky P.K

An excerpt from the Hamilton Spectator article by Scott Radley:

More than two hours after the players had first hit the ice for an uptempo practice -- and long after many had already bolted for the restful sanctity of the dressing room -- he's still out there. Not just standing around idly shooting.

Catching the eye of a couple teammates on the bench, he grabs a puck and with an inexplicable burst of energy starts dipsy doodling through his legs and around an imaginary opponent for 15 or 20 seconds before finally depositing a shot just under the crossbar. Then, as if he'd just scored the Stanley Cup-winning goal in overtime of Game 7, he starts an over-the-top celebration punctuated by a smile so big you wonder if his entire head might disappear into his mouth.

Welcome to the life of P.K. Subban. Hockey player. Character. Happiest man on the planet.
"Even if you beat him into the ground and he's dying, he'd always have a smile," says Hamilton Bulldogs head coach Guy Boucher about his rookie defenceman.

Habs NCAA Prospect Season Preview

Danny Kristo at the US development camp last year

Excerpt from HabProspects.com article:

The North Dakota Fighting Sioux are coming off a WCHA championship and Head Coach Dave Hakstol was named Coach of the Year in the WCHA, they will look to repeat last season's success as they are one of the very best programs in all of college hockey. For Freshman Danny Kristo and Mike Cichy they couldn't wait to join the Sio/ux as they verbally committed to the school over two years ago as the former teammates from the USNDTP U-17 are now roomates at North Dakota.

It didn't take long for Kristo to earn praise from the local media as they quickly took note of his impresssive speed and quick hands. He is playing on the clubs's top line and top PP unit and in a show of confidence from his coach, he is spending much of the PP on the point and in his regular season debut this weekend he picked up two points and saw a large amount of ice time.

Mike Cichy has found himself on the 4th line often on a line with the younger brother of Jonathan Toews, it didn't take long for him to get hsi name on the scoresheet as he picked up three points this weekend in his regular season debut. Unlike Kristo who is a shooter first and foremost, Cichy appears to distribute the puck, but on his goal he showed some quick hands by firing off a shot the second it hit his stick. Next weekend will mark the first real test of the new season as the Sioux will welcome rivals the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

Hamilton Bulldogs 2009-10 preview

With younger prospects like P.K.Subban and Yannick Weber playing at the pro level, will Mathieu Carle be the forgotten man along the blueline?

An excerpt from the Hockey's Future article by Jason Menard who previews the upcoming season for the Hamilton Bulldogs:

Defense The club will be led by a trio of offensively gifted blueliners: returning veterans Mathieu Carle and Yannick Weber, and highly-touted (and highly-anticipated) professional rookie P.K. Subban.

Joining the young trio are players like returning vet Andre Benoit, who returns to the Steel City after a sojourn in Europe, and returning players like J.T. Wyman, Chad Anderson, Shawn Belle, and Frederic St. Denis. Alex Henry is on the roster, but is still recovering from a broken arm.

With the big three in place, the Bulldogs should be dominant on the power play and will be effective in transition. However, even that stability comes into question depending upon how the Habs fare in light of losing stalwart blueliner Andrei Markov for four months. Weber, who saw some action in the playoffs last season with the Canadiens, could be called up to fill the void. Weber, likely, will need a full season in Hamilton, but Carle could find his way to the NHL as an injury replacement.

Canadiens Top 20 Prospects 2009-2010

Steve Quailer after scoring a goal with his former USHL team, Sioux City Musketeers

An excerpt from HabProspects.com:


Steve Quailer had a solid freshman year for Northeastern, after maing the jump from the USHL where he was his club's rookie of the year. The 20 year old winger was named to the Hockey East All Rookie Team but this year it's been reported that he will be moved to the center position in a move that the Habs likely won't mind as he's got a big frame and moves well plus he has shown that he has good hands, as the Habs certainly could benefit from another quaility center prospect if things work out for him there. His team will be hard pressed to repeat last seasons success as one of the top ranked teams in the NCAA, but if Quailer does well he could see an increased amount of ice time which will be good for his development.

Game Report: Mac Bennett

Habster:

Here is an excerpt from the HabProspect.com article regarding Habs prospect, Mac Bennett who appears to be a real steal for Trevor Timmins and his scouting staff.....among many steals in a solid 2009 draft.

In the first period he displayed his smooth skating and speed by rushing the puck up ice but could not get past the defense. Later on he had a shot on net that was deflected wide, but was hitting teammated with tape to tape passes making it look easy. Towards the end of the first he got a good wrist shot on net from the high slot, forcing the goalie to make a good save. He also showed a willingness to take a hit to make the play in his own end and had one hit in the offensive zone after he couldn't keep the puck in. Cedar Rapids ended the first with a 2 to 1 lead.

In the 2nd period Bennett made a nice play while on the PK, as he broke up a 2 on 1 when he dropped to the ice to block the pass as he timed it perfectly. Continued to show good poise with the puck, never seemed to panic in any situation or at any area of the ice. While on the PP he took the puck from behind the net, turned the jets on as he rushed up ice, broke in the offensive zone and got the puck deep before getting it a teammate which led to Cedar Rapids only PP goal. The club had a 4-1 at the end of the second period.