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Visits with Matt D'Agostini, Terry Harper
posted by Dave Stubbs at 6h02 EST on Aug 19
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Dave Stubbs has been a sportswriter since 1976, which was roughly a decade after he wore the first of many holes through the knees of his jeans playing nets in road hockey (using a modified butterfly popularized by Hall of Famer Glenn Hall). He still has the welts to show on his shins from that rotten, frozen orange ball.
Stubbs kept thick hockey scrapbooks filled with game summaries and Gazette and Montreal Star stories, collected dozens of Bee Hive Corn Syrup photos and put a fortune of hockey cards through the spokes of his bikes. First book ever owned: Scrubs On Skates, the classic by Scott Young (Neil's dad).
Stubbs's fantasy is to travel back in time to the 1950s and watch the great Canadiens dynasty that won five consecutive Stanley Cups. Or a decade earlier, to watch Elmer Lach centre Rocket Richard and Toe Blake on the fearsome Punch Line. Or at least to get Rogie Vachon into the Hockey Hall of Fame – where he belongs.
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Terry Harper and Ted Harris.... those were the days .. and we thought Komi was a tough dude ... he couldn't hold a candle to those 2 d man !
...Terry Harper, John Ferguson and Billy Hicke came up from the Minors pretty well at the same time ...at a time when the Canadiens had smaller skilled players (...sound familiar ?) but were being physically intimidated by especially Philadelphia's Broad Street Bullies (...Shultz, Doernhofer, et al, and others like Toronto's Shack, Chicago's Nesterenko, etc.)
...at Their call-up They moved into my dad's building ...I don't get excited about too many things of celebrity ...but I remember how 'I can't believe this !!!' was My every second thought and phrase from My mouth
..across the street from Our building was an outdoor rink I would stay out on My own unto 9, 10 11 PM in 30 below until My ears were frost-bitten ...My talents were more for goaling (...my absolute hero ...Plante) ...but alone on a rink late at night ...My 'dream' would MORPHE to dreaming when I will be another Dicky Moore (...and if My French had been more proficient ...preferably another Henri Richard) ...I lived and died with anything to do with the Montreal Canadiens ...to have, out of the blue, these three walk into My life at that time was beyond excitement ...I use to read religiously those great and long-gone columnists of The Star & Gazette (...except, Red Fisher is thankfully still hangin'-in' there) ...and knew Management were looking at Our farm to bring up some tough players to add to the line-up ...had read their columns mention names like Ferguson, Harper and Hicke ...so, unlike my dad, I KNEW Who They were ! ...and the memory still brings a smile to My lips today ...a sparkle in My eye
...I remember My dad giving Me the keys for Fergie's apartment and meeting Him for the first-time to let him in and hand-over ...I remember how huge and tall I thought he was (...He sure looked a LOT bigger than the 6' - o" He was listed as) ...I remember how small I thought his wife looked beside Him (...He told she was a former-figure skater) ...and his then tiny daughter Whom was younger even than I) ...later, as I may have mentioned before, it was Fergie Whom supplied My tickets to The Forum ...and His outside business interests later caused Us to re-connect over the following years
...Billy over several months, before moving on to a permanent home, used to join me at our open-air rink ...to scrimmage briefly with Me and Our Friends ...and circle the ice for 30 minutes or so several times a week (...to this day, I have never seen in-person a skater who can fly like He did ...where Myself & Friends were left with Our chins on the ice for hours in astonishment)
...Terry Harper I did not get to know as personally, but I remember how upset I would become when Our Fans would boo or give him derision for His style of play ...I thought Terry was one of Our most important defenceman at that time ...He was strong as a bull, had an extra-ordinary wing-span that would effectively separate the puck from a rushing forward and tie him up very legally ...He was tough (...though his boxing skills were nothing to write home about) ...and never took a step-backwards
...Terry ...unlike many of His peers of the day ...is today still in great shape ...lives in California and still plays for fun
...Terry ...another ex-Hab who left us too soon because of Our Fans whom did not appreciate his value and character
Habitant means PASSIONATE HOCKEY
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=423049
Random question, but didn't vinny prospal usually play on the wing in Tampa? he's listed as a Center on most sites. If he can play center effectively, that was going to be a weak spot in NY.
If Dubinsky can't hack it - and quickly - as a number one center then Torts will get Prospal to fill the hole. You don't want to let Gaborik go to waste... it was a good, and cheap, depth signing for Sather (which is slightly unusual for that guy...).
FASTEST FINGER QUESTION:
Put these players in order for MOST goals PER (NHL) GAME PLAYED in the coming year (09-10 season):
A. Dags
B. Gomez
C. Higgins
D. Lats
E. Sergei K
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`Could this team miss the playoffs? Who knows?' - Bob Gainey on the new Habs.
Higgins - 27G/78GP (0.346g/game)
Latendresse - 24G/78GP (0.308g/game)
D'Agostini - 12G/40GP (0.3g/game)
Gomez - 22G/82GP (0.267g/game)
SK-74 - 18G/76GP (0.237g/game
Sergei 25 goals in 70 games
Higgins 22 goals in 72 games
D'Ags 10 goals in 35 games
Lats 19 goals in 76 games
Gomez 19 goals in 80 games
I like those totals, although you may have been a little too nice to Sergei. He has it in him - but this year? I hope so.
I will go with Higgins, Latendresse, Gomez, Sergei Kostitsyn and D'Agostini.
Lats
Higgy
Gomez
Sergei
Dags
"chipper (Chipchura), stewy (Stewart), burner (O'Byrne), lappy (Lapierre) and pricer (Price) higgs (Higgins) komo (Komisarek) gorgy (Gorges)"
Good thing these guys have hockey skills, they suck in the originality deptartment. Lol
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Fans are great, but the quickest way to start losing is to listen to them." - Sam Pollock
every one knows to make a hockey nickname you just add y, er, or s to the end of the first syllable in a name. Although, apparently i got it wrong, cause I always shorthand chips, laps, pricey, and higgy. lappy sounds like a dog
What about O'byrne: "Burner".
Really? Is it because of his speed, or does he rip everyone off?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Fans are great, but the quickest way to start losing is to listen to them." - Sam Pollock
You got it jimmer!
---------------------------------------------------
`Could this team miss the playoffs? Who knows?' - Bob Gainey on the new Habs.
there is already enough DOGS on this site...lol
haha (groan)
Hell, that was better than "Jimsey".
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Beliveau is the best that ever was.
I'm gonna miss saying "getting Higgy with it" this season...
Many thanks to Stubbs and the team for getting us through the summer -- but hot damn I miss hockey...
With a bit of fear, I wade into this comment I found on ESPN.com. Please no Saku - or francophone (including French Press, for Bugs' sake) comments!
New home, new language
Scott Gomez is embracing his new hockey life in Montreal and will be doing his best to assimilate into the bilingual community. To that end, Gomez will be starting French lessons next week.
Gomez, who had never played for a Canadian team prior to being traded to the Habs this offseason, said it was his former coach in New Jersey, Larry Robinson, a Hall of Fame defenseman who played with the Canadiens, who often mentioned that if anyone ended up playing in Montreal, they owed it to the fans to learn French.
It is advice Gomez remembered.
Gomez, from Anchorage, Alaska, speaks some Spanish and is concerned about the difficulties he's going to have not rolling his R's with his new second language.
Bonne chance.
...there were likely many reasons why Larry did not come back to Montreal as a coach or in management ...but it certainly was Our loss ...He would have had as much an impact off-the-ice for Us ...as He had on
Habitant means PASSIONATE HOCKEY
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=423049
YAWN...suivant svp....
------------------------ Nos bras meurtris vous tendent le flambeau, à vous toujours de le porter bien haut. Vive La Sainte-Flanelle!
C'mon doug, a "bague" is a ring. You mean, "sac de deuche." :)
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Beliveau is the best that ever was.
LOL, I have this huge post written out in french rippin' you a new one....
I'll write this in english for the benefit of those non-bilingual people on here.
I'm glad I decided to double check befor I posted it. It totally started out making fun of yr funny translation of douchebag.
Anyway sorry Doug, but I'm just really fed up with the whole language thing.
Good on Gomer for trying but aside from ordering diner and asking for directions, when it comes to hockey, who the hell cares. I'de rather have him speak in a lucid and well articulated manner in his native language than have some garbled misquoted attempt to placate the unwashed masses. Let the journalists translate for him, that's their job, they don't seem to have a problem doing it for every other non-french player in the league.
Man I can't wait for the season to start so we can bitch at each other about what really matters...the game.
------------------------ Nos bras meurtris vous tendent le flambeau, à vous toujours de le porter bien haut. Vive La Sainte-Flanelle!
only wednesday's it would seem
--- we need a kovalev
Not on this topic, but I'm curious as to how everyone thinks latendresse will perform this year and going forward. I mean, this kid has to be due for a breakout year. Anyone think he actually has the potential to be close to as good as bertuzzi was in his prime (the canuck years when him and naslund ripped it up)? Can this guy provide some big body presence and be effective on the top two lines?
I hope they keep him and lapierre together this year. they seem to feed off one another.
me too, but I wouldn't mind him getting time on the first line, as long as his production doesn't drop off.
As long as his production doesn't drop? On the first line? If he has any chance of sticking on the first line, he needs a big increase in production. I don't see him being anything other than a 20 goal, 2nd/3rd line guy.
I'm just saying besides his initial few games with Koivu and Tangs, he played better with Lapierre on the 3rd line. Obviously he'd have to produce more on the 1st line to stay there.
There's no reason he can't become a perennial 25-30 goal guy. I don't know if he's there yet, but I do know it won't happen if he stays on the 3rd line forever. I'd bump him up to the Pleks line before SK74, Dags or MaxPac -- he's got the experience, the seniority, and a track record of exhibiting flashes of brilliance in his rare opportunities on scoring lines.
What do the laffs and the titanic have in common? ..... A: They both look good until they hit the ice.
Hurricanes Sign Center Stephane Yelle
Interesting interview. The more I think about it, the more I think that keeping Plekanec and losing Koivu was a mistake. No one will be able to replace Saku's locker room presence for at least a handful of years.
I also found it interesting that he mentioned Scott Gomez as the guy he's most excited to play with. Both Gionta and Cammalleri were attracted to the Habs because they acquired Gomez. Maybe there's something about this guy that other NHL players really admire that we, as fans, don't see.
Letting Koivu go was a BIG sign that this "era" is officially over and done with. Koivu can no longer play 18-20 mins a game and be effective. He has demonstrated the heart of a lion, but runs out of gas after 1 period. Pleks is younger and faster with more stamina. Is he as good as Koivu? Probably not, but don't kick out every young player the Habs have developed for nostalgia.
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Beliveau is the best that ever was.
Koivu was a really hard worker and I could take him over la petite fillette anyday.
I think you are right that letting Koivu go was sign of the end of an era. I will also say that D'Agostini wouldn't be expected to say anything less than great things about Saku. D'Agostini demonstrates respect, a good quality, IMO.
I have no intention of downgrading Koivu's role as captain, but I do suspect that he was captain of one side of the room in recent years. This, not necessarily any fault of his. Harmony is something that might be needed, more than any of us are aware of, in that room. We can't be sure. We don't sit in there. But you can be certain that Bob Gainey knows. Gainey and his assistants and scouts have amassed a fairly talented bunch of young prospects over the last half-dozen years. The recent purging of the dressing room could be a tell-tale sign of how these young prospects are being influenced. Again, it is not my intention to downgrade Saku or what he brought to the table during his time in Montreal. Koivu served the CH very well. It does seem, though, that a different mix is in order.
Well, if you're buying, I'll take a triple paralyzer.
dog days of summer? wow-- probably doesn't mean anything to anyone but me, but me it hits like a thunderous mountain. i really should be studying. no question about it.
I think Dags is going to be a great player for the habs in the coming years if not this year. I think the new players will help the younger ones witht their confidence and we will see the young guys surge.
“He knows, like, unnecessary facts about putting Sears catalogs on your shin pads.” Sean Avery on Don Cherry
D'agostini reminds me a lot of chris higgins in terms of playing style, only I think d'agostini doesn't take himself as seriously as higgins does and will probably have more success because of it. Higgins always put too much pressure on himself to perform, and although I admire the dedication, it wasn't garnering results. Looking at players like D'agostini and Pacioretty, you get the sense that trading higgins really was not that big of a loss for us.
Is it october 1st yet?
I see a lot of the same qualities, if he can learn to play defensively, then yeah pretty much the next Higgins.
I kind of disagree with this assessment. Higgins is a lot more reliable in his own end where D'Agostini looks like a lost child.
Defensive reliability for a forward comes with more ice time and experience. I don't recall Higgins being so "reliable" in his own end his first couple of years. What a kid learns about defensive responsibility in Junior, or in the minors, can go right out the window at the NHL level. Everyone is bigger, stronger, and faster. Cut D'Ags some slack here. He'll figure it out. A little more experience, that's all.
He might be more reliable in his own end, but it'd be nice if he would have figured out how to be a consistent 25-30 goal scorer, which is what the Habs needed. They didn't need more defensive wingers.
Higgins certainly had his chances, and showed a lot of promise. He just put way to much pressure on himself to be the 40 goal scorer he thought he would be one day. Maybe he should have started by working on being a 30 goal scorer first. He might very well be a 40 goal scorer one day, and a change of scenery might do him some good, but I dont think NYR is much less of a pressure cooker then montreal.
And, I agree with the point that d'agostini is younger and will learn how to be defensively responsible. Like it was said, higgins was not defensively responsible when he first started out with the habs. D'agostini will be playing for Jacques Martin and with some great veteran players who know how to succeed in a defensive system, so I'm sure Dags will learn to play the other side of the ice.
Good interview, apart from the first Dumb and Dumber question: "What do you make of the off-season changes, did they help or hurt the team?"
What did Godbout think he would say, that all the changes sucked and the team is now hurting?
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Beliveau is the best that ever was.
"
What is your favourite movie?
Matt - Dumb and Dumber
"
Dag is a keeper for sure now.
You got that right. Funniest movie of all time.
When we suggest lineups and dismiss youngsters as "never will be" we most often forget the aspirations that have taken them this far. Dags comments are guarded of course but his repect for his coaches and Koivu shines through... He intends to be a top 6 forward...maybe he is right!
all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail." (anon)
Love the originality with all the of the nicknames!
----- "Come on, let's keep a little optimism here." -- Han Solo, Return of the Jedi
I love those one on one interviews. Well done Matt Godbout, simple and to the point and has some nice hidden messages in there.
Sholi2000.com 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry
6h02!! boy... are cafes even open then? hope you make your own at that time