Josh Gorges is impressed with Jarred Tinordi . Mike Cammalleri and Tomas Plekanec are excited about Aaron Palushaj and the entire coaching staff is impressed with Lars Eller and Ian Schultz. Does it get any better than this ?
Smoke and mirrors or a clear and sunny future awaiting the Montreal Canadiens as they finish up practices and prepare for their first preseason game. Time will tell but it has been a very long time since this organization has had so many talented kids breathing down the necks of the ” sure things’ in Le Bleu, Blanc et Rouge.
When Jarred’s Father Mark played for The Minnesota North Stars and later with the Washington Capitals, he was one of the most respected defencemen on the ice and in the game. He did not skate like Paul Coffey. He did not have the play-making skills of Larry Robinson.What Mark Tinordi brought to the ice each and every night was stabilty. He seldom messed up. Game after game the elder Tinordi was present and accounted for and forwards knew that if they were entering a zone with Mark waiting for them – it would not be an easy task to set up or score a goal.
In the few times Jarred has been on the ice – he displays the same type of poise and stability that his Dad showed. No brain surgery when it comes to removing the puck from the zone. A quick look and in the words of Robert DeNiro…” Ba-da-bim. Ba-da-boom’ the puck is on a teammates stick or safely headed into the opposition’s zone and out of harm’s way.
The best part ? The kid is only 18 years of age and he will be coached by Dale Hunter this season on the London Knights in the Ontario Hockey League. He has the genes and the maturity and barring a major injury look for this guy to be a star one day for the Montreal Canadiens.
At the other end of the ice, it is safe to say that Mike Cammalleri knows a few things about goal scoring. He is making a reputation for himself as the master of one-timers , preceding perhaps Brett Hull a the last star player to be known for this type of ability.
If Mike likes Aaron Palushaj – I tend to believe him.
Palushaj has very, very good hands. A ‘ soft touch ‘ which is something that coaches cannot teach to their pupils. Habs fans will remember Ron Flockhart – he had them. Stephane Lebeau had them also but what appears to separate Aaron from those guys is his ability to ‘ know when to hold ’em ‘ and ‘ know when to fold ’em ‘. He obtains the ability to not take chances. At the NHl level that is the name of the game when a split second decision results in a give-away that may lead to a pass that leads to a goal…what were those words again Mr. DeNiro ?
Palushaj and Eller are two former Blues that are either going to make Benoit Pouliot have many sleepless nights or make him a better player. This is a character building year for Pouliot. He will become a Doug Wickenheiser and evolve into a defensive specialist in the league or he will arrive as the twenty-five, thirty goal man that he came advertised as.
Cammalleri, Plekanec, Palushaj is a damn good line on paper. So are the former two names with Pouliot. Martin will start the season with the latter and hope that the ‘ original ‘ Pouliot that came in a trade for Latendresse is the real Benoit. Aaron will be waiting in the wings and if Pouliot disappears as he did so often last season – Palushaj will give everyone an opportunity to learn how to pronounce his name.
Pivotal Year for Kostistyn
With his little brother playing Honky – Tonk in Nashville, it will be very interesting to see how Andrei Kostitsyn performs this year.
Prior to an almost season ending knee injury last year – Andrei was on fire. He appeared to be getting stronger and more confident every game and his productivity on the ice showed just that. Confidence is his worse enemy and like Stephane Richer before, a fragile pyche does not lead down the path to a hall of fame career regardless of natural ability. Eller and or Palushaj in the line – up will give Martin more options for line changes this season when a certain top six trio are not firing on all cylinders. Gomez, Gionta, Pouliot, Plekanec, Cammalleri, Kostistyn, Eller and perhaps Palushaj give the Habs eight offensive weapons at their disposal, all of them having the ability to score minimum twenty goals.
Having Boyd, Lapierre, Pyatt, Moen, Halpern and Darche ( Schultz ? Conboy ? ) throwing their weight around effectively will also free up some space for the Habs offensive lines to produce. It is a good season for the forwards of the Habs to strive and it is a good season for those waiting in the wings to strive.
It’s a fun time to be a Habs fan….Ba – da – bing, ba- da – boom !
Below is the roster for tomorrow night’s game against The Bruins.
Carey Price and Curtis Sanford
Defencemen: Jaroslav Spacek, Josh Gorges, Hal Gill, Yannick Weber, Jarred Tinordi, Frédéric St-Denis.
Forwards: Tomas Plekanec, Michael Cammalleri, Benoit Pouliot, Maxim Lapierre, Travis Moen,Tom Pyatt, Jeff Halpern, Louis Leblanc, Gabriel Dumont, Aaron Palushaj, Benjamin Maxwell,Andrew Conboy.
Scratches from Team A: Ian Schultz, Olivier Fortier, Sébastien Bisaillon, Dave Urquhart
Game Time is 7 30 at The Bell Center
Halak loses his first game as a Blue. See story at http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=334671