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

Since the end of the Habs playoff run there have been many changes and to me it feels like a kind of sequel to last summer…. however not in the same mesure we saw last season.

Jaroslav Halak is long gone to his new job with the St Louis Blues and it still seems as though some fans will hold on to that one for the months to come.

New arrivals Lars Eller and Ian Schultz, who came over in that Halak trade, will be at the Habs development camp from the 6th of July until the 9th. Yeah…. camp starts today!!

On July 1st, I had been hopeful that Gauthier would be able to sign Ellis…. but it didn’t happen. And one can’t really blame Ellis as in Tampa he’ll certain get his shot at being number 1.

On on the goalie front I believe this does mark a year of change… as Price will be the Habs number 1 goaltender going into this season. He had been etched in at number 1 before, but still being so young…. behind both Huet and then behind Halak who caught fire, he had some time to taste the NHL pressure cooker…. taste the pressure, the good times and the hard times.

I think Price did some maturing last season while Halak was getting all the playing time judging by how he seem cool with the media.

No big UFA signings this year…. and I wouldn’t have expected it. I saw some people were forever hopeful that somehow the salary cap would be forgotten and we’d end up with a Kovalchuck… but really. That’s a demand for the miraculous.

I’m hoping to get back to blogging alot in coming days. It’s a busy time for me and days, weeks are flying by….

As for the Habs development camp… here’s the list of players attending!
Name 2009-10 team
AVTSIN, Alexander Dynamo Moscow (Russia)
BRISEBOIS, François Colgate (ECAC)
BRUNELLE, Jonathan Drummondville (QMJHL)
CONBOY, Andrew Hamilton (AHL)
ELLER, Lars Peoria (AHL)
ELLIS, Morgan Cape Breton (QMJHL)
ENGQVIST, Andreas Djurgarden (Sweden)
GALLAGHER, Brendan Vancouver (WHL)
KLUBERTANZ, Kyle Djurgarden (Sweden)
MacMILLAN, Mark Alberni (BCHL)
MAXWELL, Benjamin Hamilton (AHL)
MAYER, Robert Hamilton (AHL)
PALUSHAJ, Aaron Hamilton (AHL)
PATERYN, Greg Michigan (CCHA)
QUATTROCCHI, Joseph Fort McMurray (AJHL)
SCHULTZ, Ian Calgary (WHL)
St-DENIS, Frédéric Hamilton (AHL)
SUBBAN, P.K. Hamilton (AHL)
TINORDI, Jarred USA U-18 (USHL)
WEBER, Yannick Hamilton (AHL)
WESTIN, John Modo (Sweden)
WHITE, Ryan Hamilton (AHL)

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.

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.

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!

The newest member of the Montreal Canadiens might see the light of day in the next game on Tuesday against the Calgary Flames.

At first when I saw that the Habs had claimed Jay Leach off waivers I figured he would probably be in Hamilton. But it’s quite possible or maybe probable that he’ll play on Tuesday night.

Leach is a big stay at home defenseman at 6′4 220 lbs and he does play a physical game.

With injuries to half of the defensive core Bob Gainey has been trying to bolster the D with a variety of moves to date.

In last night’s game Ryan Malone scored a goal by being able to stand around in front of the crease and not just get one whack at the puck but got his own rebound off of Carey Price’s stop to put his second shot in the net. This has been a big problem for the Canadiens and not just this season.

If Leach gets some ice time this is one of the tasks he’ll likely be given. Clear the front of the net or at least make it much harder for the opposing teams to park their players there.

With Leach’s signing however I ask myself who will sit out?

My gut tells me it’s Mathieu Carle but the guy I would prefer to have sit out the next game would be Marc-Andre Bergeron.

What I like about M.A. Bergeron is his shot but I’d like to see more of Mathieu Carle.  Carle has been trying to crack this lineup for a few years and since he’s gotten his chance this season he hasn’t looked to bad in the 3 games.

I listen to Montreal’s The Team 990 a faire bit and I always enjoy it when Tony Marinaro has Norman Flynn of RDS on the show to talk about the Habs.

One thing that Flynn has talked about alot lately is playing the young guys…. like a Mathieu Carle. Flynn has talked about putting them out there and giving them a shot. I agree.

I don’t think he’s saying to put them out there and leave them out there for the season… but I think what he was saying is to really give them a shot. I don’t think it’s of great benefit to play a guy like Carle for 2,3,4 games and send him packing while 3 of our defensemen are out with injuries.

I think Mathieu Carle should get some games… let’s say, 9 games (insert your number here)… the point is, as Flynn pointed out, “let’s see what are young guys can do!” Put them in a situation where they’ll get a real taste of winning and loosing.

A young guy like Carle who’s got talent and desire to play in the NHL might just be able to step up. At some point if these guys really are our future players (some may want to debate) and we did draft them so they would be then they’ve got to be given the chance.

We saw a guy last night in the Tampa Bay game that was not projected to make their roster but after a good camp he got a shot and has been playing well. His name is James Wright and he scored one of Tampa’s goals last night.

I know there’s lot’s of talk about not throwing are young guys into the fire, but while we’re not in the running for 1st place in the east I’d rather see a guy like Carle get his shot.

Carle is 22 years old, he’s played 2 full years (minus missing a bit with injuries) of pro hockey in Hamilton making progress last season.