Rookie camp starts today ladies, gentlemen and Leaf fans…
The youngsters will be on the ice in Brossard to commence what is the beginning of the Montreal Canadiens 2010- 2011 season.
This is part two of my player evaluations leading up to the first game of the season on Oct 7 against the mighty Maple Leafs of Toronto. The two teams will provide an interesting battle and a wonderful pre-cursor to the upcoming season as the Habs set out to prove that last season’s play – off run was not a fluke.
In my evaluation of the Eastern Conference, I chose the team to be number two in the standings amid many ‘ catcalls ‘ from friends and foes alike.
The reason I chose the team to end up in this position is simple ; maturity…
Bob Gainey and currently, Pierre Gauthier, have put together a team with a solid core of veterans – a group of eight players that have reached a time in their careers when the realization sets in that a Stanley Cup is not something that arrives at the front door every day. When these players were in their first, second or third seasons as professionals – the world of the NHL was their oyster and like all of us as young women or men, a lifetime is an endless playing field with many years to fulfill our dreams and aspirations.
What’s Next ?
As a player hits the age of thirty or higher, the realization that their age is equivalent to fifty-five in the real world hits them harder than any body check they have received to this point in their careers.Suddenly – a career without a Stanley Cup becomes quite real and no matter how many goals,assists or points a player may have accumulated, all that does not matter if you never got to hold Lord Stanley’s Silver Cup.
This is the main reason that I have picked the Habs to finish second.
Players like Gionta, Gomez, Gill and Moen have tasted victory and realize what it will take to win again. They also realize that as they get older, their bodies get slower and the rookies in the league get faster…next season will be hard, the season after that will be harder and so on…
Others such as Halpern, Spacek, Hamrlik and Markov have all reached or are reaching that point without having lifted the Cup above their heads.These players are hungry and with the tales of Stanley emitting from the lips of the players who have won, it is a lethal combination that should propel this bunch into the next level. Cammalleri, Gorges, Pouliot , Lapierre, Auld and Kostitsyn are young enough to provide enthusiasm but old enough to learn from the veterans sitting next to them under the watchful eyes of the Canadiens’ past mounted on the dressing room wall.
Carey Price, the most scrutinized player on the team will show everyone that he deserves the starting job and that his will that won him many accolades in Junior is a strong as it ever was. Price does not like to lose hockey games and he shows it on the ice. How this became fodder for the media and fans is beyond me as this is one ingredient that I want my goalie to posses. Patrick Roy had it and noone complained when he was bringing home two Cups almost single handily.
The Next Generation
Aside from Subban, Leblanc, Tinordi, Atvsin and Pacioretty, who else among the kids do I think will have a shot making the big club ? Not many but here are a few that have an outside shot at making the team….
Yannick Weber
The right handed Virgo defenceman from Switzerland has the best chance to either make the team from training camp or at least be one of the first players to be called up from Hamilton as the season progresses.
Weber has a natural instinct offensively as his totals of 32 points in 65 games last season attests. Many players obtain these type of points in the AHL but what separates those that can make the jump to the NHL and those who can’t is discipline. Weber shows an abundance of this as he is quick to realize his defensive responsibilities and regularly will shun an opportunity to jump into the play if his zone is not tidy.
The Habs are full with defenceman and unless Ryan O’Byrne completely messes up during training camp – Weber will have to wait in the wings and play hard.If Hamrlik does not sign another contract at season’s end, look for Weber to be part of the team next season.