Canadiens GM Pierre Gauthier announced the signing of prospect Alexander Avstin to a 3 year deal.

I’ve been anxious to see much more of Avtsin since he was drafted. The 19 year old just finished this year’s development camp last week.

The scouting reports said this guy had an physical game and lot’s of offensive skill. There was talk of Alexander possibly playing with the Juniors de Montréal or Hamilton. Now it’s official that we’ll see him in North America.

I would guess that Avtsin will spend the season in Hamilton. I’m sure we’ll see a glimpse of him at camp!!

Check out the official release:
http://canadiens.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=534383

On Friday the Montreal Canadiens had traded up from 27th to 22nd with the Phoenix Coyotes to acquire Jarred Tinordi in the first round of the 2010 NHL draft.

If you don’t know much about Tinordi here’s the Gazette’s write up on him.

And here’s a short video interview with Jarred on draft day courtesy of Sportsnet.

P.K. Subban has been recalled from the Hamilton Bulldogs for this all important game 6 in the first round of the 2010 NHL playoffs.

Habs face elimination tonight against Ovechkin’s Washington Capitals. The game is in Montreal.

The Bell Center will likely exploded with energy. Habs weren’t really expected to win the Capitals but in the course of this series they’ve shown some good things against the Caps… and that the Caps can certainly be beaten.

P.K. Subban has become a fan favorite without barely scratching the ice in Montreal. He’s a great young prospect who’s had an incredible year in Hamilton. Always enthusiastic and upbeat P.K. will certainly bring lot’s of energy in the lineup. I expect that the crowd will show him some love tonight…. think we’ll hear some “PK” chants? I do.

Subban has 18 goals and 35 assists in 77 games with the Hamilton Bulldogs this year. He’s got great skating and puck moving skills and can play a physical game.

In my opinion, the Canadiens have nothing to loose in bringing him up being that they’re down 3 games to 2 and had a sub par performance by MA Bergeron in the last game. Although I don’t think Subban will be the savior for the series I think this is a great opportunity for him to get a taste of the pressure cooker in a Montreal Canadien’s playoff game… facing elimination.

Here’s the official press release!

According to this article on RDS’s website, Alexander Avtsin would like to hop over the pond and make the Canadiens roster as early as next season.

I think it’s great if a young player shows that the desire and if he shows the skill to do it…. then even better.

But the road ahead for Avtsin will likely not be that smooth unless he manages to knock the socks off of many in the organization.

Personally I believe that Avtsin coming to play in North America next season is a great idea. But as to the route he takes when he gets here, that may depend.

I think there’s something here for him to gain from. If it’s with the Junior de Montréal who current hold his rights in “the Q” or if he was able to jump to Hamilton…. there’s some experience for him here that would help him make the jump to the NHL in a couple of years (hypothetically).

Since he’s never really played in the Major Juniors here, working hard at coming over and lighting up the league would be a goal I would give him. Plus, with the Juniors… .he’d be in Montreal, so local fans could follow him much more closely. Dreamers would dream….. etc.

If he was able to make the jump to Hamilton, then he would be in a really great position. Not sure how many young players understand, especially the ones with oodles of talent. But hockey is a team sport and for a team to be successful there really needs to be a system, a game plan… and people (players) need to buy into it. You need to be coach able. There may be a (short) few exceptions to this rule…. but I seriously doubt there would be many.

In Hamilton with the Bulldogs, there’s a great coach/teacher waiting in Guy Boucher. Experience in the minors is an important step to most players who eventually find their way into the NHL.

Very few guys can step right into an NHL roster and fit in, play their role well and develop the confidence needed to become a solid NHLer. (yes there are some exceptions)

What I would suggest (or prefer) would be that Avtsin play in the Q next season. That not only gives Trevor Timmins and the scouting a more accurate picture of where Avtsin is in a north american style game but it would also give Avtsin himself a picture of where he is in a different style of play…. which I would think is of equal importance for a guy who really seems to want to succeed over here.

And the season after that if he can make the cut, throw him in Hamilton where Avtsin will get some pro-hockey experience with some guys who have tasted the NHL level and other “budding” players. Gain some experience, try to light it up.

Try to become “a player” in the minors before wanting to jump in.

That’s what I would envision. Maybe I’m wrong. But I don’t want to rush guys. I tend to like Detroit’s model and some of the guys they’ve found will play, be coached, gain confidence and develop.

Since he’s playing in the KHL already, he very well may find himself with the Bulldogs next season. Time will tell.

My $0.02!

I wrote a little piece on PK Subban being named to the AHL all-star squad and how much confidence that might give him moving into the second half of the season… well, one of his team mates has also been playing some amazing hockey in Hamilton.

Cedrick Desjardins has been lights out this year.

In 21 games this year he’s got a Goal’s against average of 1.66 and a save percentage of .932. In the month of december Desjardins went 8-0-0 (8 wins, no losses!), he had a goals against average of 1.16 and a save percentage of .949.

Just a few years back we saw Halak playing some strong hockey in Hamilton with the Bulldogs and now Canadiens fans should be happy that there’s another prospect making a strong show.

His strong play in Hamilton might be another factor in making it a little bit easier to move a goaltender in Montreal. He would be a possibility as backup.

At the start of the year, coming out of camp we saw a few young guys leave an impression. One of those guys is young defenseman PK Subban.

Many voiced their desire to see Subban play in Montreal. Especially after all the early season injuries to both Andrei Markov and Ryan O’Byrne. I could certainly relate with the enthusiasm around PK and the desire to see him play in Montreal. A really strong skater with a good hard shot and a player who seems to examplify the very word enthusiasm, he would have certainly looked good in the eyes of many as a call up.

I was certainly tempted by the possibilities myself.

One of the debates around the prospects was to give them time in the minors so they can play at the pro level and not throw them in the fire that it can be in Montreal.

So PK has played half a season in Hamilton and by all accounts he’s really playing well.

PK Subban was recently named to the AHL all-star game.

This is probably the best case scenario if you’re Bob Gainey… and many Habs fans.

Subban has gone down, worked hard under a great coach in Guy Boucher and is performing at a high level. He currently leads the Hamilton Bulldogs defensemen with 20 points.

And what a confidence booster for him this will be going into the second half of the Bulldogs season!

PK is one of the AHL’s stars and this experience will certainly be in his favor as he continues to play this season in Hamilton and then comes into next year’s camp.

Congrats PK!

With the recent injury to Roman Hamrlik last night the Montreal Canadiens called up Yannick Weber. Hopefully the Habs management have made all the proper contacts so that the whole “playing an in-eligible” player thing won’t happen again.

I’m sure they did.

Last time Weber was called up we didn’t get to see him in action and he was sent back to Hamilton. This time around he’ll most certainly see a bit of ice.

Here’s the official release from the Montreal Canadiens website.

http://canadiens.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=510236

Habs call up Yannick Weber
Thursday, 17.12.2009 / 12:00 PM / moves
PRESS RELEASE

MONTREAL — The Montreal Canadiens announced that defenseman Yannick Weber has been called up from the AHL Hamilton Bulldogs. Weber will join the Canadiens today in Montreal for tonight’s game against the Minnesota Wild.

The 5’11’’, 193 lbs defenseman played three games with the Canadiens earlier this season. He was held pointless with one shot on goal, while averaging 14:50 minutes of ice time per game.

Weber recorded six points (1-5-6) in 24 games with the Bulldogs this season. He added 62 shots on goal and 24 penalty minutes, with a +4 plus/minus differential.

Montreal’s 18th overall pick in last year’s draft, Louis Leblanc, has been cut from team Canada’s World Junior roster.

So far this year, Leblanc has 3 goals and 6 assists in 9 games (1 point per game) to go along with 22 penalty minutes. (Check his hockeydb.com stat sheet)

I’d hoped to see Leblanc play in this year’s tournament but it won’t happen. If Louis continues to progress I’m sure he’ll have a strong chance to make next year’s team.

Today the Montreal Canadiens have announced that forward Ryan White has been assigned to the Hamilton Bulldogs.

White certainly made a good impression in his time in Montreal… taking the opportunity to play 13 games since November 4th. Ryan has 2 assists in those games.

With the return of Georges Laraques and the recent experiment to put Marc-André Bergeron at forward… there isn’t much room for him at the moment.

The M.A. Bergeron experiement at forward last night….. I didn’t mind that one bit.

David Desharnais has been called up from the Hamilton Bulldogs and with another possible injury, he may get the chance to show what he can do.

I really liked Desharnais in pre-season… a very unlikely success story just like teammate Brian Gionta and Martin St-Louis he’s a small forward at 5 foot 7.

David had a good season last year in Hamilton and this year due to injury he only played in 7 games. In those 7 games however, Desharnais has 4 goals and 6 assists.

You can find the official release on the Canadiens website here….

I hope he has a strong show tonight!