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A fleeter Gui?
posted by Mike Boone at 7h34 EST on Sep 14
Claude Julien, interviewed in the Boston Herald, on Michael Ryder:
“Personally, I thought he worked hard every time I saw him (last year). He had his scoring chances at times and maybe they just didn’t go in as much as they did the year before,” said Julien. “As the year went one, he played less and less. I don’t care who you are, at some point you’re going to start questioning yourself when your ice time is taken away from you and at some point I think the player doesn’t feel like he’s a part of it anymore. I think that’s where Michael was at the end of the year. The bottom line is it really doesn’t matter what happened last year. It’s what he’s accomplished (as a whole). I’m one of those guys who’s seen him pretty close, I’ve seen him at all three levels, so I’ve got a pretty (good) idea of the player and individual. I think the way we play our game and the grittiness of it will fit well for him.”
• • •
Bruce Garrioch in the Ottawa Sun has some pre-season argument-starters.
He rates the Canadiens the league's fourth best team, behind Detroit, San Jose and Anaheim and ahead of Pittsburgh and Washington.
• • •
Worst headline: The Boston Globe: Berard has sights set on landing job.
A rocky picture: Cliff Fletcher continues to mind the Maple Leafs store as GM, with it now clear that Brian Burke will remain in Anaheim for the duration of the 2008-09 season. Come next summer, Burke will be able to walk as a free agent, which no doubt will begin some heated bargaining from, say, a half-dozen of the 14 clubs that don't make it to the 2008 playoffs - and even some that do make it. Meanwhile, Fletcher put the fan base on notice last week with this bit of reality: "You don't have to be a Rhodes scholar to know there's going to be rocky days ahead." Just a year ago, then-coach Paul Maurice told the assembled media, "We'll compete for the Stanley Cup."
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Video Footage of the Slovakia/Bulgaria women's hockey game 82-0 .. Two Pass Line ..... http://thetwolinepass.com/?p=499
Bryan,
Was the score indicative of the play or did the goalie just have a bad game? :)
Jim - I'm having trouble picking out the highlight goal , maybe i should go over them again. I got the monster picked though.
Bryan
Did the goalie, Royavitch, tell the owner that she had played her last game for that team? Man, that's not hockey, that's target practice.
Have a good time picking out the highlight goal. You should have it done by 3-4 am if you get started now. Good luck! Talk to you tomorrow.
The Morning Skate : Should the N.H.L. Worry About the K.H.L. .. by Stu Hackel .. NY Times ..... http://slapshot.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/14/the-morning-skate-should-th...
Lats should have played at leat 40 games in the AHL last season. He and 3 other players could have rotated up and down to get a feel for the NHL, and at the same time be productive in the AHL.
He (Lats) better start inpressing me right of the bat, as last year he showed me more bad than good.
sholi2000.com
God Bless Our Infantry
2PPCLI
shol - The Hamilton stint should have happened and i blame Carbo for that cuz in his mind he was the 2nd coming of Michel Goulet (a quote) and he will impress right of the bat as he always plays well against weaker competition but he has to continue and the big thing is his consistency no consistency no play and throw away the pampers and bring out the whip.
24 Cups:
Just wanted to start up a friendly counter to your reflection:
"That's a lot to have on one man's plate at such an early age. Could your child handle that kind of pressure?"
- If he cant handle pressure then he should become a bowler instead of professional hockey player in the NHL, no less the Habs! For every Latendresse there are 5,000 "kids" that dont ever make it to one game in the NHL, so I dont buy into the pressure argument
"Lats has to earn the spot but we need him to have a good year if we are going to challenge for the Cup."
-I think Lats being better will help, but he is not a factor in determining our ability to challenge for the cup
_______________________
"ITS NOT EASY BEING GREEN...FOR A SUPERSTAR"
Might make some people happy. RDS will show two pre-season games.
September 23 2008 at 7:00PM vs Buffalo Sabres in Roberval
and
October 4 2008 at 7:00PM vs Minnesota Wild.
http://www.rds.ca/surnosondes/index.html?C...mp;sbmtSport=GO
Made ME happy...thanks for that! Will be home for the Tuesday game. Where's Roberval? And why?
Its in Quebec, I think it was for the Hockey Ville contest from CBC.
Ah yes, I remember Don Cherry on Fan590 on Friday saying he was headed to Quebec and "I hope I get out of there!"
on lats: nice to see guy has taken his job seriously and trying to improve on his weakness's.no ones gaurenteed a job youve gotta be ready and willing to give it ur all to play.lets hope guy will sore like a eagle this year and not the wounded goose he was last year.
on ryder: hes a talented player who went thru a bad season,he doubted his ability i guess and it snowballed.we know hes gunna rebound like ribiero did. just hope hes at his last seasons worse when he plays us, and not be a john leclair lighting the lamp repeatedly when vs us.
Mike Boone's article on Lats has to be encouraging. Latendresse is one of the more maligned players on this site even though he is only 21 years of age. The main complaints being his skating, defensive play, and a feeling that he has been given a free ride by management. All of those points may well be true, but I think you have to take a step back and look at his situation from a different prespective. For years now, Hab fans have cried out for three things: more goal scorers, more size, and more French Canadien players. The Habs thought enough of Lats to orchestrate a trade with the Rangers to move up in the draft and grab him. He went back to junior for a year and then played on the big club the past two years. Maybe he should have gone to Hamilton for a year but the truth of the matter was we were desperate for what he brought to the team. It's only recently that the team has had anything to get excited about. Regardless, he is here now as part of the Habs. All I ask, is that you consider this one thought. He has only been away from Drummondville for two years. He married at an early age and now has a child. He also is part of the never ending French-English tug of war that is part of the Montreal team culture. That's a lot to have on one man's plate at such an early age. Could your child handle that kind of pressure? Hey, my daughter is 24 and still likes to lean on her parents once in awhile. Most 21 year olds are still at university in their 3rd or 4th year. They're basically still riding on their parent's coat tails, evn though they like to think they are totally independent and free. I guess what I'm trying to say is that we have to look at Gui as a person, not just as a hockey player who hasn't lived up to our expectations at the ripe old age of 21.
Right now, the team doesn't have a 3rd line right winger on the depth chart that can play with a guy like Lang.. There are some candidates, but none of them have the upscale that Lats does. He would be a perfect fit on a 3rd line with guys like Lang and Higgins. This would free up Sergei to play with Koivu and Tanguay. Lats has to earn the spot but we need him to have a good year if we are going to challenge for the Cup. Whether you like it or not, we need this guy to take it to the next level. I truly hope that he has a great year and is one of our top nine forwards. Improving his skating this summer is a step in the right direction.
The Original 24 Cups
Steve - Awesome post and you came close and almost convinced me but his track record came to mind. In junior Lats set a pattern that followed him , he would have a marvelous weekend and would read his press clippings and coast for a week or two no matter how serious the games , really inconsistent. As for the tug of war and the Montreal team culture , Lats never shied away from a mike , camera or tv program and it was like he was a rock star and he was good at it but he wasn't a rock star on the ice. I'd rather have a shy quiet young man that was a hard interview that when he stepped on the ice gave a 110% and continued to improve and develop , hit , take the man out and the rest of the basics on a regular basis. Sitting on your size, age , laurels and your old press clippings doesn't make you a proven NHLer as Parrish , Isbister , Winchester can attest. That RW job should be open and Lats will have to earn it even if he is Carbo's boy and i would be more than happy if he did but for now it's Big Georges Laraque spot in my lineup.
Bryan - I'm a little surprised that you would get all caught up in the Laraque hysteria. He certainly brings a much needed dimension to the team, but I can't see him taking a regular shift on one of the top three lines throughout the season. He's a welcome addition, but only in a limited role. As much as he might add something to a 3rd ine, he will take away a significant amount from linemates such as Higgins and Lang. Laraque is a 4th line checker/agitator and we'll leave it at that.
The Original 24 Cups
Steve - I remember a game last year that the Habs couldn't get the puck off Laraque and he had a great game besides i think his presence would give our elite forwards much more room , if Semenko can do it George can. Anyway whats the difference between him and Lats , granted lats has better hands but he can't get there or doesn't want to be there. We still are lacking grit on our top 3 lines and are still the perimeter boys so Georges presence would change things up and Lats would do it for one game then coast for another nine. George will play the same role as your Knuble you were cherishing without the scoring touch. Don't underestimate Laraque abilities as he knows how to use his size and he's got a lot of it and i think you see him as a goon only.
I hope Lats does not disappoint us this year. I really believed a year in Hamilton last season would make him a better player defensively under the wing of Don Lever and Rick Wilson. Only time will tell if it was a wise decision for him to stay in Montreal.
Confidence is the key for him and I wish him the best. He really does love to play for Montreal and I believe he would love to play his entire career in Montreal.
"We will win the Cup only with Carey Price in the nets"
I could be wrong about this but, I am pretty sure that after one full season in the NHL Lats would have had to go through waivers to have been sent down last year. There's is no way a team would not have claimed him. If I am right about that, it simply wasn't an option.
Lats is still on his entry-level contract, and I'm pretty sure that all enrty-levels are two-way. Meaning he can be sent up and down from Hamilton as much as we want and no one can touch him.
I thought it was the fourth year but don't remember Locke having to clear last year and it was his fourth pro season.Checked Hainsey because we lost him that way and it was his fifth pro season when Columbus claimed him.
How many NHL games a player has played is a factor too. And if I read the CBA right the cutoff for a 20 year old skater is 160 games, after that he is subject to waivers. That's where I was wrong previously, I thought the cut off was at a far lower threshold, like 75 games.
I looked into the CBA and I beleive your right. So please ignore my previous point, though I did use ifs.:)
Thanks for setting me straight... or am I suppose to say 'my bad' here?
Excellent post 24,
here's an old one of mine on this kid.
July 29
Guillaume is about to start his 3rd year in the NHL and many are ready to give up on him. If one looks up some of better known "power forwards" in recent times, the likes of Leclair, Bertuzzi, Tocchet, Murray etc, it's plain to see that these lads were not exactly terrorizing the league in their early years. Bertuzzi had to put in 5 years before he became a 30 goal scorer at the age of 24. How about John Leclair, who reached his full potential as a PF scoring 50, he was 26. You can check the others and the results are the same.
Timmins, who apparently is not too high on players from the Q, wanted Latendresse. In fact we had to move up the pecking order to draft him. I was really thrilled when Bob signed Andrei Kostitsyn for 3 years earlier this summer but how hot was he when he was 19 or even 20 ? In Hamilton, hot and cold if I recall correctly, with a touch of laziness included.
Habs have to find the right combo for this kid and give him a fair chance to make it.His bouncing from 3rd to 4th line is not what I would call a realistic opportunity to become a 30+ goal scorer.
Habs mgmt gave up on Leclair and I hope they will not repeat the same mistake with Latendresse.
a definite eye-opening post.
it's true that latendresse is ahead of his curve compared to many his age. Sidney Crosby can't even grow facial hair.
The article definitely says that latendresse understands the needs of being a pro now more than before. Two years ago our team wasn't amazing so lats didn't feel the pressure...but today there is so much competition for every spot on the team that lats realizes he needs to step it up. Hopefully he pots 20-25 this year and silences his critics.
Good Post 24,
We also have to remember that sending Gui to Hamilton was simply not an option two years ago, due to his remaining junior eligibility. I seem to remember at the time that both, or one of, Gainey/Carbo even said that Hamilton was their preference for Latts but, that choice wasn't at their disposal. Given the teams needs at the time, Gui's stage of development and what he had done in Junior they decided that of the two options available staying in Montreal was better than returning to junior. And let's face it, 16 goals as a 19 year old rookie makes that decision look like it was a good one, under the circumstances. The fact that there was little progress, and an even a bit of letdown in his second year is unfortunate but not uncommon. Nor unreasonable when you take into consideration the type of player he is being molded into. Big forwards expected to score and use their body take time in the big show before they arrive. There are numerous examples of this.
Like much of this team, as the season approaches, there is great reason to be optimistic about Giu. Let's all wish him the best of luck as we do the team as a whole.
Back to Gui.
I think we can all agree that 20 goals is the bar the kid must reach now.
No matter what, he's gonna be on a scoring line. Use that muscle, kid, and barrel those goals in.
Once he gets the taste of scoring, I think he'll develop just as quickly as we expect him to.
20 goals.
That ain't asking too much, is it?
Peace Out
Wow. It's only been a couple of months and the Toronto media are on top of Luke Schenn (drafted #5 overall this year) for not having a good prospects exhibition game. I never realized that Luke Schenn was spelled 'Drake Berehowsky".
I'm so thankful we have so many young stud defenceman prospects: O'Byrne, Belle, Carle, Fisher, McDonagh, Subban, Valentenko, Yemelin, Weber but we can allow them to develop without being rushed.
When players like Bouillon, Brisebois, Dandenault (and Streit not to long ago) leave their positions will be filled by the next generation. I feel bad for Schenn. That kid won't know what hit him here in the centre of the universe.
Big B - I think your jumping in a little too early on Schenn , he's the real thing in the mould like Komo. The book on him is that he is prone to brain cramps but he is young and that is easy to rectify as you remember Komo coming out of university was the same and he was much older. He's no Derek Berehowsky.
Big Bird
A black hole!