Pac-man steals the show

posted by Mike Boone at 7h12 EST on Jul 12


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Max Pacioretty wowed the crowd at Canadiens' development camp on Friday.

The  big forward scored twice on nifty backhands during the 3-on-3 scrimmages.

On the first goal, Pacioretty drove the net and was slammed after scoring by Andrew Conboy, who was chosen 120 picks after Pacioretty in the 2007 draft. Conboy is a 6'4" bruiser who managed to rack up 188 minutes in penalties playing in the relatively tranquil – by Canadian major-junior standards – USHL.

Conboy will be a freshman at Michigan State this fall. If Pacioretty returns to Michigan – which he probably will – they'll be seeing more of each other.

As Pat Hickey writes in The Gazette today, Trevor Timmins describes Pacioretty as "head and shoulders" above the other prospects at camp.

Take this to the bank, people: Max Pacioretty will be with the big club when the 2009-'10 season begins. And he's going to  be a good one.



  Timmins said Swiss-born defence prospect Yannick Weber, who missed the scrimmages, has a high ankle sprain.

Canadiens are ticketing Weber for Hamilton and would like to sign him, Timmins said, "sooner rather than later."

 •  •  •

Also impressive at camp: P.K. Subban. Canadiens' third choice (43rd overall) in '07, Subban has the most accurate shot of any defenceman in camp.

And he's already a fan favourite, as Pierre Durocher writes in the Journal du Montréal.

Durocher also has a piece on two WHL players destined for Hamilton: Ryan White and Ben Maxwell.

Marc-Antoine Godin of La Presse talks to Maxwell about the injuries that have hampered  his development.

•  •  •

Jay Feaster walked the plank in Tampa Bay yesterday, and Eric Duhatschek writes about all the sturm und drang engulfing the Lightning since the new owners took over.

Among the changes: Tom Kurvers – remember him? – as assistant GM.

•  •  •

Damien Cox in the Toronto Star on Mats Sundin's state of mind.


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Habtroll's picture
GRRR...Give the kid another name. There Is only one Pacman and he now plays for the greatest American football team. The Dallas Cowboys. GRRR....Habs Rule.....sometimes suck. GRRRRR...here's why...

nfldanchor's picture
Its great to see how the Habs are creating one of the best farm sytems in the Nhl. Detroit and Dallas have been very sucessful by strengthening their minor systems. I think Bob Gainey deserves a lot of credit for this and the Habs have an even brighter future ahead.

William_Holden_Is_Hot's picture
some crazy talk goin on in here.

The truth is a mentor of mine once told me the key to inner peace is humility! I'm a slow learner O.K. so that being the case Mike K. With the "C" would certainly enhance my level of inner peace this year. I wonder where Koivu is at in his level of humility would he accept an "A"??

You would give a young guy with 4 years experience the C over a guy with more than 10 years of experience. Please take a deep breath and say, "serenity now" a few times and you will feel better. "Give Koivu a Lifetime Contract"

sidhu's picture
Teach, this post had nothing to do with me, honest!

The Teacher's picture
LMAO, suuuuuuuuurrreee ;) Laraque will make them Pay the Price!

sidhu, I am then to assume this proposal has already been brought to the table. I'm still playi'in catch up with you guy's! So it shall be done I formally second your motion let the revolution begin!

I think you are respectfully bonkers. "Give Koivu a Lifetime Contract"

sidhu's picture
Habber, not exactly - Teach and I have an ongoing debate about Koivu. I respect Captain K, but I've long-advocated for Koivu having a diminished role on the team.

" Why is it the wiser i believe i am the more of a fool i become. " Socrates was deemed wise by a great oracle because he knew that he knew nothing at all! You can't fool us with your sophistry!

hey GUYS oh and gals, Boy the newcomers to HIO got it goin on! Well last year at this time I was say'in Kovy was a cancer WRONG, Carbo wasn't what we needed WRONG, WE were 3 yrs away from greatness WRONG, and Koivu isn't the Captain we need to go to the next level. My apologies to all, 40 years of following the Habs and Hockey led me to believe i was wise. Why is it the wiser i believe i am the more of a fool i become. I believe this year i'm gonna sit back and just enjoy the ride. However my gut tells me we need a changing of the gaurd in captaincy with all do respect to koivu. aaaah crap i'll just proceed to shut to *#@!% up!

Connecticut Man1's picture
"Then there are the Canucks. Let's talk again around Christmas." The last line in The Star Phoenix view of how the West fared in the FA frenzy. Looks reasonably accurate after scanning the two page rundown really quick.

Thanks for the welcomes guys. I'll do my best to spend boring work hours offering my insight and not feeding any trolls...

Grabbed The Cup's picture
You'll find there's an inverse relationship between your love for this site and your ability to ignore trolls.

Connecticut Man1's picture
"Demitra and depth defenceman Rob Davison, another former Gillis client signed Thursday for $560,000, nudge the Canucks' cap number to $47.19 million, leaving them just enough space under the $57.3 million ceiling to shoehorn in Sundin. "We've been patient [with Sundin] but we're attempting to be as progressive as we can on every front," Gillis said. "We communicated to Mats we were going to try to sign players who complement him. We're continuing that line of communication. [Signing Demitra] should add to our team generally and hopefully it's a positive step in that direction." And hopefully not the last one." Sounds a lot like Vancouver is giving up on Sundin, IMHO. And isn't the cap 56.7 million? I know they would only have to trade/demote one player to bring the cap number back down, but that doesn't sound like someone that is very sure about his Sundin chances... Nor does it sound like Gillis is even sure if the Demitra signing was a good thing? That whole statement sounds like a he is laying down a nice soft landing for the imminent let down about to be unleashed on Canuck fans.

I agree with you that the 'nucks may be throwing in the towel. Given all the well-worn reasons why premier players allegedly don't want to come to Montreal, there is one real problem with playing for a western club: the travel involved. Mats is getting married this summer and, unlike those of us who have been hitched for several years, probably is not yet in a position to appreciate those long business trips away from our spouses.

Grabbed The Cup's picture
"Mats is getting married this summer and, unlike those of us who have been hitched for several years, probably is not yet in a position to appreciate those long business trips away from our spouses." I love my wife dearly, but...

Connecticut Man1's picture
What you guys really mean to say: "Absence makes the heart grow fonder..." Because the couch is not the greatest place to be sleeping every night. :0)

Grabbed The Cup's picture
That is much better, you've done this before haven't you?

Connecticut Man1's picture
No comment. heh

I really admire a guy who cuts right to the chase.

Crap, I hope Vivian doesn't see this. If she does, my *** is grass and she'll be the lawnmower. Twenty years of marriage haven't dulled the blades either Herb. She's from Philly and I still owe her dinner from the playoffs.

Grabbed The Cup's picture
LOL Just goes to show how whipped we are, I was thinking the same thing as I was typing my response.

I still have two good hands but would like to explain the callouses on them as hockey related.

Hi everyone,I finally cracked and created an account here... I guess the post-hockey depression syndrome has reached an all new level! Anyway, I'm glad to hear that Max P. is impressing and I'm also quite excited to hear of the Shawn Belle acquisition. Shawn Belle is a guy who I remember at the WJHC's and thinking that he would have a relatively easy progression to the pro-ranks based on his skating and work ethic. That didn't turn out to be true...however I will stand by my original vision of this guy and couple that with Gainey's perception of talent and consider this a steal of a deal. In fact, i have a feeling that Belle may turn out to be the dynamic, athletic player PK Subban may have been drafted to be. Subban has great offensive upside but I can't see his overly offensive style meshing very well in a Carbonneau system, but hey I could be wrong. I'll weigh in briefly on the Mats situation. I think that if Mats plays that he will dawn the CH and I believe he will be a tremendous fit for one to two years (although I wouldn't be against extending him into his early 40's if he's still got the passion and he's willing to play for a relatively cheap veteran discount...I think our situation is the best to offer Mats a chance to win while playing in a hockey market. I also do believe that Gainey is on the verge of creating the type of team where deep and loyal friendships (family like ones) will emerge within the organization from top to bottom and hence convince players to play here for beneficial rates and I believe Gainey is the type of human being that many key players can both respect and trust as a manager. I thin kthis is a Mats signing booster as well.... I could be way off, but I think the signs are pointing in that direction. Wherever that direction is, and Mats or not, I believe at the very least it will a good few years of high quality hockey. Now the parity in the NHL is at an all-time high, so Championships should begin to cease being the sole indicator of a good builder and GM. In other words I am saying that if we continue to play great hockey like the 2007-2008 season for years to come, then Bob has done a tremendous job, title or not. if the trend that started last season continues, we're at least due for some deeper playoff runs. And yes, i do feel that we can win a championship now and any season within the next little while with the current Habs trends in place. but no matter how many players we sign, trade, draft and develop, it still takes a great deal of luck and fortune to win a title. Let's face it, the league has 30 teams now all battling for the same honour. being respected and feared to play in a game of winners and losers is a great compliment in and of itself. love hockey for hockey's sake eh?

Chuck's picture
Welcome, and well done diving straight into the deep end of the pool! __________________________________

sidhu's picture
Welcome! I'm also encouraged by Max Power's reviews so far and the trade for Belle Centre.

The Teacher's picture
Welcome, and glad to see the positivity in your words! Laraque will make them Pay the Price!

Connecticut Man1's picture
Nice ice breaker. And a hearty Habs welcome to HIO.

Grabbed The Cup's picture
Welcome to HIO, good post!

I'd like to second that. Welcome aboard. You've started strong right out of the box!!!

Robert L's picture
Mr Gordon, welcome to the craziness that is HIO! ............................................................................................................................................... "Fans are great, but the quickest way to start losing is to listen to them." - Sam Pollock, Lions In Winter, p

William_Holden_Is_Hot's picture
DID HE SIGN YET THEN?

Connecticut Man1's picture
Just for you WH: Sundin signed... heh

The Teacher's picture
Beautiful! Laraque will make them Pay the Price!

Connecticut Man1's picture
#13 in "bleu, blanc et rouge" looks kind of wrong in that particular pic, don't it?

The Teacher's picture
Yup, the wrong proportions. Laraque will make them Pay the Price!

Yes, it was Mats turn to pick up the tab for dinner with friends. My sources tell me he used his Visa card and left a pretty nice tip.

William_Holden_Is_Hot's picture
OMG

You tossed a grapefruit. I just couldn't help myself from taking a swing at it.

Robert L's picture
Connecticut Man1, if you're still around...I read your wife's Habs password entry post from earlier, and I have a slight variation on it. For year now I have been filling up at the same owner operated gas station, and the owner of it, and his 2 sons, are big Leafs fans. I never buy 20 dollars of gas, I always pump in $19.67 or $19.93. I've told a bunch of friends about this over time, and now according to the owner, there are at least two dozen cars pulling up to buy $19.67 of gas every week. ........................................................................................................................................... "Fans are great, but the quickest way to start losing is to listen to them." - Sam Pollock, Lions In Winter

The Teacher's picture
Hahahahaha, Habs fans are AWESOME! Laraque will make them Pay the Price!

Connecticut Man1's picture
I bet it drives them nuts!

Robert L's picture
They are actualy pretty good natured about it. He once said he was happy he wasn't a Blackhawks fan, or else he'd be taking in six cents less. ........................................................................................................................................... "Fans are great, but the quickest way to start losing is to listen to them." - Sam Pollock, Lions In Winter

Connecticut Man1's picture
They should just be happy they aren't getting paid a penny per leafs Cup... Even in dollars per Cup that would be a lot of tiny sales.

24 Cups's picture
Not sure if anyone cares, but McCarthy, Stumpel, York, and Brylin have all signed with the KHL for next year. The Original 24 Cups

Connecticut Man1's picture
Here is an interesting read. "Is Too Much Depth and Talent Possible?" Nothing many of us, here, haven't already said (or agreed with). And it is a good problem to have...

Ian Cobb's picture
Alright, it is time to go out and have a swim on a very hot day, then go down to the water front to watch the free concert and fireworks. Catch up to you later.-IAN COBB--Ph.C

Connecticut Man1's picture
Hockey world's bong water drinker is passing out a quick hit. No thanks, I'll pass on that one...

The Teacher's picture
Oh no, Sidhu will get back on his Marek Malik kick :P Laraque will make them Pay the Price!

sidhu's picture
If Eklund is the one whose actually validating my suggestions, then I must really be nuts. That said, I don't think it's possible for the Habs to sign Sundin and a D-man like Malik. If the Habs have any interest, it would only be as part of a plan B, C, etc. I like Malik because of his size and his career +/- numbers - he's solid 5 on 5. In truth, I think Eklund just threw the Habs into the mix to provoke us crazy Montreal fans into visiting his site over and over.

Connecticut Man1's picture
A Loony short and a post too late: "Teppo Numminen could be the next domino to fall..Atlanta, Montreal and LA are all reportedly interested..Malik is also coveted by those teams as well...

Ian Cobb's picture
Is there anyone out there that can walk me through changing my picture on the site. I have another in MY PICTURES i want to put on.!!!!

Ian Cobb's picture
Tried 4or 5 times--but there must be a step missing between click on pic and submit. It says file could not be copied. Failed to upload pic. ?????

G-Man's picture
Hi Ian, delete your picture first, then upload the new pic. In between, you want to close Firefox and restart it. (You might have to restart your pc if you don't see your new pic). Good luck. Gilbert 2008/09 is the season of the Habs

Ian Cobb's picture
I'll try, but I am not on Firefox anymore because I uploaded to the new firefox 3 and the site is not up to speed yet. I guess ?

Hoegarden's picture
Ian, after you remove your picture, log out from HIO. On your next log in, go to your profile and make sure your pic is no longer showing. You can then select your new pic, submit and I would repeat the log out/log in. It should definitely be there.

Reza's picture
The Teacher is right, must be something going on with HIO, I just tried mine with the right size and while I didn't get that error my picture is now blank.

Connecticut Man1's picture
Did you shrink the pic down to a small enough file? It can't be any bigger than 80 X 80 pixels.

Ian Cobb's picture
I'll try that thanks, But wait until you see the picture, I can't even shrink around my own middle

The Teacher's picture
Does it appear in red after? If so, then I think it is a problem with HI/O Laraque will make them Pay the Price!

Ian Cobb's picture
Yes pink. And thanks for the try. Maybe Its because Robert set me up on the site from his end cause I did not know how to get on many months ago. Are you going to be able to pick up Robert to come here or what is up with that.

The Teacher's picture
I won't know until after I meet with the Doctor next week. Laraque will make them Pay the Price!

Ian Cobb's picture
I am a Doctor, did you not know?? Ian Cobb--Ph. C

Ian Cobb's picture
I was waiting for you to ask me what the C stood for. COBBISM

The Teacher's picture
Hehehe, you didn't need to tell me for me to figure it out ;) Cobbism is well respected across HI/O ;) Laraque will make them Pay the Price!

The Teacher's picture
At the top Ian, it says "You are logged in as "Ian Cobb. You can change your profie or log out. You want to click on change your profile. Right after you do that you will see IAN COBB, view and edit. Click on the Edit tab. On that page you will see info to change your picture. Click the box marked "delete picture" You will then have to tell the site where to find your new picture. You do that by clicking on the browse button under and to the right of "upload picture". Then you click on the picture that you have stored somewhere in your computer. After that you should have to click on submit or something. If it does not look like it works, it might be because Habsinside out is having a problem as I couldn't change my pic a few days ago or you just have to click on the refresh button at the top of your browser window. hope I didn't make it to confusing. Laraque will make them Pay the Price!

Reza's picture
Go to http://habsinsideout.com/user/ian-cobb and click on the Edit tab, click 'browse' in the 'Picture' section, find the picture on your computer and click 'Open' (in the same window where you found the picture) and then 'Submit' on the bottom of your profile page (http://habsinsideout.com/user/ian-cobb) here on HIO The picture must conform to the dimensions posted there, if its bigger and you need help to resize it let me know.

Ian Cobb's picture
Thank you Teach & Reza, I will give it a go. IAN

The Teacher's picture
Much more concise. Laraque will make them Pay the Price!

The Cat's picture
Anyone else hear that Shanahan is thinking of going to Russia?

Hud's picture
I'm not buying it. If his wife didn't want to come to Montreal...would she really like to go to Russia? shanahan finishing his career overseas, that would be weird in my opinion.

howtathor's picture
Just came back from the rookie camp. Was it ever cold in there! lol. Very impressed with Pacioretty. He does look a cut above the rest. Mcdonagh too. If Fischer put's on a few pounds he'll be a good one. From this years picks I was most impressed with Quailer. He has the size and the shot to be a good one. Overall, I was impressed with the size of the players. A few years down the road we'll be one scary team to play. Not that we aren't scary now but with size AND speed? Look out! David Desharnais, all 5'6 of him was notable for his shot and his poise. He certainly didn't look out of place. I hope he gets a shot with the Bulldogs. Unfortunately, Missaen the big goalie was out today but Mayer was pretty impressive. The future looks bright! Next stop training camp... Seen Sundin?

Ian Cobb's picture
Thanks for the update.

fuhgawz's picture
maybe i am just to much of an AK27 fan to think other wise but i dont think Kovy wants to leave the Canadiens i truely believe this is where is heart is and the with youth surrounding him he has finally found his passion for the game again and he still has something to prove. I know next season is going to be tight when it comes time to re-sign him but i fell that Kovy and Saks will both be willing to sign for less then they can get else where ..... they are part of this team and the team is currently in an exciting period of its life both of these heart players will want to stick it out ...... i just hope BG can find a way to do it --- Kovy and Saks raising a cup here would be unforgetable --

The Teacher's picture
Kovy will be like everyone else. His heart will be where the money is. It will be foolish to think otherwise. I find it funny how the tone toward him has changed from this point last year when you couldn't find a person who wanted to keep him, and anyone who says they did is not telling the truth. Laraque will make them Pay the Price!

Chuck's picture
Well then, call me a liar! :) __________________________________

The Teacher's picture
Liar! did you really? LOL ;) Laraque will make them Pay the Price!

Chuck's picture
Honestly! I always wanted to keep him! __________________________________

Connecticut Man1's picture
I did too... Even when he isn't scoring he eats up a lot of time carrying the puck in the offensive zone. That has got to wear down the other teams D and drive their goalies nuts waiting for the big pass/shot. He didn't put up the points like we hoped right off the bat, but he sure made the team a whole-hella-lot more exciting to watch.

C Man - Lats may eat up a fair amount of time with the puck but what i'm not crazy about is that the opposition more than usually ends up with the puck after his good work. That was the knock on Ryder also.

Moey's picture
I agree with you 100%, I think Kovy will have another banner season. He claims he wants to keep playing until he's 50. (Another Gordie Howe). To see both of them raising a cup, there won't be enough Kleenex in the world.

Chuck's picture
The only way to top that would be for them to team up on an overtime Cup-winning goal! Dare I dream? __________________________________

Moey's picture
Sniffle, that would put me in the hospital with dehydration!!!!

The Teacher's picture
That's something we can all look forward to! I'll even bring you water (or a Molson) if it happens! Laraque will make them Pay the Price!

Moey's picture
Thanks, water and a pail of oats would be marvelous.

Lightning's signing Gratton means they have 17 forwards under contract and what does that mean? .. St.petersburg Times ..... http://blogs.tampabay.com/lightning/2008/07/what-does-gratt.html

William_Holden_Is_Hot's picture
OMGZ MEAN THAT VINCENT IS COMING 2 PLAY HERE OMGGZ

Chuck's picture
I love the last line of the article: "All we know is with 17 forwards, the Lightning has a lot of chips with which to play." Too bad most of them are 25 cent chips. __________________________________




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