Author: Dose

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Overview of Habs prospects: Michael Hage has as many goals as Cole Eiserman

Since the start of the season in the various hockey leagues around the world, there’s one young prospect on the Montreal Canadiens’ side who really stands out from the crowd.

Of course, we follow Ivan Demidov a lot in the KHL, but his performance is inconsistent due to his often very limited ice time.

So I’m talking about Michael Hage, the Habs’ second first-round pick (21ᵉ overall) in the most recent draft.

Indeed, Hage has been simply smoking with the University of Michigan since the start of the NCAA season.

He’s collecting points at an excellent rate, and doing so as an 18-year-old rookie in the best junior league in the United States.

In short, the Habs prospect is impressing this season, and he really makes us understand why the Habs traded up a few spots to get their hands on him.

Last night, Hage was at it again, scoring another superb goal, this time a game-winner in a 2-1 win over rival West Michigan University.

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The goal represented his 9ᵉ of the season, which now makes it 17 points in 13 games.

Nine goals is enough to put Hage in the top-5 of NCAA goal scorers, tied with a certain Cole Eiserman of Boston University.

Obviously, that name rings a bell, given that he was drafted just ahead of Hage at No. 20ᵉ by the New York Islanders in the last draft.

Eiserman had long been seen as one of the top prospects in the draft, but had ultimately slipped considerably, even raising hopes among Habs fans of getting their hands on Demidov AND Eiserman.

Many fans were therefore disappointed when Eiserman was taken just before the Habs’ pick, given that despite falling several spots, he was still seen as the top scorer in the draft.

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Well, here we are a few months later, and Michael Hage seems to be just as good a scorer as Eiserman, at least if the stats are anything to go by.

Hage is scoring superb goals at the same rate as Eiserman, and more points to boot.

Eiserman has played one game more than Hage and has 13 points, including nine goals, in 14 games.

Obviously, this is a very small sample and I’m exaggerating a little when I say that Hage is such a good scorer, but in the end, it’s a noteworthy statistic that shows just how dominant Hage is at every level this season.

In short, young Hage is developing really well in the NCAA right now, and may one day become an excellent top-6 player for the Habs, with even star potential under the following model.

The Habs need offensive and attacking talent, and that’s exactly what Hage has to offer.

Other notable performances by CH prospects

  • Filip Eriksson scored his second goal of the season in Sweden.
  • Sam Harris is still at the top of the NCAA scoring charts.

Overtime

– Indeed.

– Hutson leads all Habs rookies among defensemen after 25 games.

– Help for Guy Boucher.

– The habs checking leaders, while Kiefer Sherwood simply hits everything that moves.

– Brock Neslon could be traded. Vancouver tried to acquire him last season. [Responsible Gambler]

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Third defeat in a row: the Rocket’s fairy tale appears to be over

Yesterday morning, I told you about the Laval Rocket, who had just suffered their fourth loss in their last five games on Friday night, losing a two-goal lead to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

It was a game the Rocket should have won, but missed out on.

The good news is that Pascal Vincent’s team had a chance to bounce back last night, when they were back in action, this time against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

Unfortunately, the same scenario played out for the second night in a row, as the Rocket once again blew a two-goal lead and lost the game in regulation time.

Laval lost 4-3 to the Phantoms, after leading 2-0.

This tough loss worsens the Rocket’s record, which now stands at five defeats in their last six games.

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It’s a real shame, because everything seemed to be in place last night for the Rocket to end their lethargy.

But by allowing three goals in less than five minutes in the third period, Laval really shot themselves in the foot.

In short, after a near-perfect start to the season, Pascal Vincent and the Laval Rocket’s fairy tale seems officially over, and this coincides exactly with Joshua Roy’s recent recall to Montreal.

Indeed, since Roy was recalled to the NHL, Laval has lost three consecutive games, and has yet to win without its number 10.

The Rocket’s last victory came last Saturday, when Joshua Roy had three points (one goal, two assists) and six shots in a 3-1 win over the Belleville Senators.

So Roy’s absence is really being felt right now, and the Rocket is suffering.

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Fortunately for Pascal Vincent and his team, Roy should be back in Laval shortly, as Patrik Laine is expected to return to action in Montreal in the next few days.

Roy is likely to be the one to suffer.

In short, Pascal Vincent will have to find solutions to put an end to this bad patch and get his team back on the winning track.

The only bright spot at the moment is that Jared Davidson continues to score and dominate.

In fact, he scored his 10ᵉ goal of the season last night, which now gives him 15 points in 17 games.

Last season, he scored 11 goals and 16 points in 38 games.

If he continues to perform like this, Davidson really deserves an NHL call-up.

At 22 years of age, Davidson continues to show great progression, and could become an interesting player for the Habs in the future.

Overtime

– The Canadiens rank 2ᵉ in the Tankathon!

– No surprises so far in the Atlantic Division.

– Really impressive.

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Kirby Dach has disabled comments on his Instagram page

PITTSBURGH, PA - NOVEMBER 2: Kirby Dach #77 of the Montreal Canadiens skates during the game against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG PAINTS Arena on November 2, 2024 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images)

Yesterday, the Canadiens de Montréal unfortunately lost a game they deserved to win to the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.

After working hard to get back into the game and tie it at 3-3, it all came crashing down in the final minutes with an unlucky four-minute high-sticking penalty on Kirby Dach.

It didn’t take much for the Rangers to break out of their torpor and take the game 4-3 in regulation time.

Of course, as Martin St-Louis indirectly noted, the referees’ work was absolutely excruciating.

But what drew the most attention on social networks was Kirby Dach’s horrendous unnecessary penalty.

Indeed, every commentary on the match revolved around this game-winning penalty, and people took the opportunity to criticize Dach, who is really having a very difficult season, all the more so.

The bottom line is that after the game, Kirby Dach turned off comments on all posts on his Instagram account.

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Understandably, he was fed up with receiving hateful comments from furious fans following the loss to the Rangers.

It’s a real shame, because while I totally understand the frustration over the loss (I was very frustrated myself after the Rangers’ winning goal) and the criticism of Dach, we mustn’t overstep our bounds.

Of course, we have the right to criticize Dach, and it’s normal to do so, especially in a market like Montreal, but we must remain respectful.

While Dach clearly needs to give more, when he’s really not playing well for a guy who’s paid very well to do his job ($3,362,500 a year for two more seasons including this one), you shouldn’t directly forward hatefully at players on their Instagram page.

And seriously, I agree with Alexander Rougas of HFTV.

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Even though Dach is playing very poorly and doesn’t always seem to give an effort, we should be more lenient with him.

He suffered a horrible injury that often compromises a career in professional sports, and he missed a full season.

Dach will need more time to fully recover and, above all, regain his confidence.

So it’s not by criticizing him with hate and threats that he’ll be able to find a second wind.

In short, even if the majority of fans aren’t, let’s be patient with Dach and let him get used to NHL hockey again.

We’ll probably have to do the same with Patrik Laine, who has also missed a lot of games in recent years.

Overtime

– La Victoire wins the shootout in its opening game at Place Bell.

– Read on.

– Indeed.

– Something to keep an eye on.

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Top-5: Matvei Michkov scores his 3rd overtime winner

It was another busy day in the National Hockey League yesterday, with 12 games on the schedule.

As on Friday, there were a number of highlights.

Here are the most important.

1. Matvei Michkov gives Flyers overtime win once again

Once again yesterday, Matvei Michkov was the hero for the Philadelphia Flyers.

The 19-year-old Russian is truly one of the NHL’s best 3-on-3 overtime players, as he scored his third game-winning goal in such circumstances yesterday.

With his 3ᵉ overtime goal before the age of 20, Michkov equals the mark of Sidney Crosby, Rick Nash and Ilya Kovalchuk.

So he continues to hurt the Montreal Canadiens fans, who meanwhile have to make do with an injured David Reinbacher.

In the 3-2 loss, Jordan Binnington made a sensational save, worthy of a candidate for save of the year. A simply splendid save on Sean Couturier.

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2. Ilya Samsonov looks like Charlie Lindgren

The Utah Hockey Club was in Vegas last night, with a big challenge ahead of them: taking on the Golden Knights at home.

The Golden Knights have been virtually unbeatable at home since the start of the season, but that didn’t scare the Utah players at all.

The latter completely picked up AND blanked the Golden Knights by a score of 6-0.

A match that was surprisingly dominated by Utah.

Ilya Samsonov, who was in goal for Vegas, didn’t help his team’s cause either, as he served up a silver platter of a goal to Alex Kerfoot, his former teammate with Toronto.

In short, Utah were dominant and leave Vegas with two big points.

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3. Connor McDavid has fun against Nathan MacKinnon and Devon Toews

In a duel between two contenders who have been on a tear since the start of the season, it was the Edmonton Oilers who emerged victorious over the Colorado Avalanche, 4-1.

Surprisingly, Leon Draisaitl was left off the score sheet, while Connor McDavid picked up just one assist.

However, it was a truly sensational pass, as the Oilers’ captain shook off the cover of Nathan MacKinnon and Devon Toews, then passed the disc perfectly to Kasperi Kapanen.

In doing so, Kapanen scored his first Oilers goal.

With this victory, the Oilers overtook the Calgary Flames to take third place in the Pacific Division.

For their part, the Avalanche remain one point out of the playoffs at 9ᵉ place in the West.

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4. Kirill Kaprizov back on top of NHL scoring charts

The Minnesota Wild are having an incredible season right now, and it’s largely due to the prowess and performance of Kirill Kaprizov.

The 27-year-old Russian winger is simply dominant this season, when everything seems too easy for him.

Last night, he notched a goal and an assist in the Wild’s 3-2 overtime win over the Nashville Predators, putting him back in first place among NHL scorers, one point ahead of Martin Necas.

And what makes Kaprizov so important is that he scores in the most important moments.

Last night, he scored the tying goal and later picked up an assist on the overtime winner.

In short, Kaprizov is sensational, as he has 38 points, including 15 goals in 23 games.

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5. Capitals are unstoppable

This is probably the most surprising team in the NHL this season.

Believe it or not, but the Washington Capitals are currently in first place in the Eastern Conference, and 3ᵉ in the league as a whole.

The Caps keep winning, and doing so by scoring goals galore, even since Alex Ovechkin’s injury.

In their last four games, the Caps have scored no fewer than 20 goals.

That’s mind-boggling and very impressive for a team that wasn’t necessarily expected to make the playoffs.

Yesterday, the Caps won 6-5 against the New Jersey Devils in a completely insane game.

Pierre-Luc Dubois scored the winning goal.

Also of note, Connor McMichael continues his absolutely sensational run, as yesterday he scored his 14ᵉ goal of the season and by the same token his 24ᵉ point in 24 games.

Last season, McMichael scored 18 goals and 33 points in 80 games.

Extension

– Will Smith has seven points in his last four games.

– A first NHL goal for Fedor Svechkov.

– Here are all the results from the previous day.

– Here are yesterday’s top scorers.

(Credit: NHL.com)

– Today’s program: five games.

(Credit: Google/NHL)
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Bogdan Konyushkov, one of the youngest players at the KHL All-Star Game

SAINT PETERSBURG, RUSSIA - 2024/03/03: Torpedo Hockey Club player, Bogdan Konyushkov (6) seen in action during the match the Kontinental Hockey League, Gagarin Cup, match 2, 1/8 finals season KHL 2023 - 2024 between SKA Saint Petersburg - Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod at the SKA Arena. (Final score; SKA Saint Petersburg 3:2 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod). (Photo by Maksim Konstantinov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

With all the Canadiens’ good prospects around the world, some can be overlooked.

Such is the case with Bogdan Konyushkov, a fine 21-year-old defenseman.

The problem with Konyushkov is that he plays in a mysterious league, and his future is just as mysterious. We have no idea if he’ll ever make it to the NHL. And right now in his homeland, he seems to be enjoying himself. He’s been invited to the KHL All-Star Game.

He is one of the youngest players who will be attending, having been one of the 16 players elected by the fans.

Of this group of 16 players, he is the youngest and only athlete under the age of 24. We know just how mature this young man is for his age. The title of captain may have been taken away from him, but he was named anyway, and at 21, in a professional league where youngsters don’t have their full place, that’s impressive.

Speaking of youngsters who don’t have their place, Ivan Demidov was ignored at the All-Star Game by both media and fans. After all, he hardly plays at all, and was left on the bench for his team’s entire game recently.

In 31 games, he has 20 points, which isn’t bad at all. It has to be said that SKA St. Petersburg already has two representatives: Evgeny Kuznetsov and Tony DeAngelo.

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As for Konyushkov, he has eight points, including a goal in 31 games.

He’s never been known for his offensive game, although he’s more of a general at the blue line. The proof: he has a plus-3 record with Nizhny Novgorod Torpedo.

But don’t worry about his offensive game, especially if he comes to Montreal. Lane Hutson (and hopefully Matthew Schaeffer) will provide the attack.

Last spring, the Habs prospect underwent shoulder surgery, which could explain his drop in production.

Overtime

– Victory’s first goal of the season belongs to Abby Boreen.

– Well done.

– Victory for Montreal.

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Joel Quenneville: his name circulates among the Rangers and Red Wings

SUNRISE, FL - OCTOBER 27: Florida Panthers Head Coach Joel Quenneville monitors game progress from the bench against the Boston Bruins at the FLA Live Arena on October 27, 2021 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Eliot J. Schechter/NHLI via Getty Images)

Joel Quenneville’s possible return to the NHL bench has been talked about for some time now. The former Blackhawks and Panthers coach, who hasn’t coached a team since the Kyle Beach scandal became public, is a name that keeps coming up.

He remains in the news, even if nothing has materialized yet.

That said, as the season progresses, there are teams who might want to give a disappointing group a jolt. And that’s where Quenneville comes in…

In a piece for Responsible Gambler, Marco D’Amico talked about Quenneville… and said his name is being bandied around by two teams in particular.

The teams in question? The Rangers (who, despite today’s win over the Habs, are disappointing this season) and the Red Wings.

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We’re not necessarily talking about a possible change that would be imminent, but we do know that both teams are not meeting expectations so far. Peter LaViolette and Derek Lalonde seem to be on an ejector seat… and we know that Chris Drury and Steve Yzerman are capable of making big moves.

Especially if they start to feel the heat, too.

Of course, hiring Quenneville would probably come with a tricky PR situation. There’s no doubt he’s an excellent coach… but there’s a reason he hasn’t been able to find work until now.

At the same time, if the Oilers have hired Stan Bowman as GM, one suspects there’s a world in which Quenneville is back behind a bench. Let’s see if it’s with one of these two teams.

Overtime

– Whew.

– To be continued.

– Pole for Max Verstappen in Qatar.

– The Wolverines win the 2024 edition of this classic rivalry.

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Defeat hurts, but it’s good to see the Habs showing effort

Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

It’s not necessarily the defeats that have been frustrating so far this season.

The problem has been the team’s failure to show up every other game.

When the Canadiens decide not to play with effort, it shows in the result. But even if the result was disappointing this afternoon in New York, you can’t say the guys didn’t show up to play. And that feels good.

Seeing the guys play with emotion makes a difference.

We saw intensity throughout the match and that’s how the club should behave night after night. And it’s by playing at such a level – in my humble opinion – that the team will continue to progress.

Because I’m sure I’m not alone on my island: I enjoyed watching the match this afternoon.

I liked it, seeing that the players fought hard to get the W… Even if, in the end, the club lost.

That said, it was time for the guys to show some emotion on the ice. It looked like the players weren’t there to fool around, and I hope we’ll watch the film after the game to see just how much it pays to play like that.

But we won’t just talk about the level of effort to describe this match.

What caught my attention?

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1. Once again… The refereeing was really ordinary.

Referees missed calls and decisions were questionable. Martin St-Louis was angry after the game, and rightly so:

2. Kirby Dach had another ordinary game even though he finished the match with four shots on goal.

He only spent 13 minutes and 40 seconds on the ice and his penalty at the end of the game was unnecessary.

You can’t get popped 200 feet from your net… with only a few minutes left in the game.

Things haven’t been going well for #77 lately: he has just one point in his last seven games. We’ve got to find a way to get him going again…

3. Eille! Can we talk about Josh Anderson?

I don’t know what the forward put on his toast this morning, but it worked.

We saw the Josh Anderson of the good old days: he hit the opposition, he disturbed opposing players throughout the game, he was involved in every facet of the game and he even threw down the gloves.

Hard to ask for more.

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4. Simon Boisvert won’t be happy if I say this, but Lane Hutson is a wicked good hockey player.

His pass on Nick Suzuki’s goal was perfect.

He now has 13 points in 23 games:

5. Samuel Montembeault wasn’t perfect.

He stopped 24 of 28 shots and gave up three powerplay goals.

Hard to beat the Rangers’ powerplay…

Note that the goalie hasn’t won since November 18.

6. Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield both found the back of the net.

A 14th for #13 this season… And a 9th for the captain.

They were good during the game, creating scoring chances. It was more difficult for the other trios…

Prolongation

The Canadiens head to Boston for tomorrow’s game against the Bruins, also in the afternoon (3 p.m.).

Cayden Primeau will be in net, and it will be interesting to see if there are any changes in Martin St-Louis’ line-up.

Remember that today, Jayden Struble was left out of Martin St-Louis’ defense. Will this be the case again tomorrow?

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“I loved our match. I won’t talk about the referees”: St-Louis repeats the same thing 6 times

This afternoon, the Canadiens lost to the Rangers.

Missed the game? My colleague Félix Forget has published an excellent complete summary of the game. I invite you to read it by clicking on the link here.

But without burning the midnight oil, there’s one aspect of the game that caught the eye in particular: the work of the referees.

The officials made some questionable decisions, and it hurt the Habs.

Case in point?

In the second period, Josh Anderson was sent off for roughing… When he clearly didn’t deserve to be in the dungeon.

The Rangers took advantage, scoring on the powerplay.

That said, it was at the end of the game that things really started to go wrong. Will Cuylle tripped Joel Armia and it was as obvious as day, but the officials decided not to crack down.

The result?

The Blue Shirts scored late in the game to run away with the win, with just over 20 seconds left to play:

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After the game, Martin St-Louis went before the media… And let’s just say he wasn’t happy.

His press conference lasted a minute and ten seconds. And he repeated the same sentence after every question, in both English and French:

I loved our match. I won’t talk about the referees. – Martin St-Louis

You could see the frustration in his face:

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It’s frustrating because there have been a few times when referees’ work has been the talk of the town for all the wrong reasons.

And here, Martin St-Louis decided to send a message without necessarily saying much.

In the end, the Habs were chased six times during the game and allowed three goals.

The numerical disadvantage has to be better, especially against the offensive strength of a club like the Rangers… But at the same time, the Habs found themselves in this situation at least twice when they simply didn’t deserve it.

That’s what pisses me off. And that’s why Martin St-Louis was angry after the game, which is normal.

Overtime

– That’s right.

– It’s far from bad.

– Happy reading.

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Josh Anderson fights (and wins) a furious battle with Jacob Trouba

The last time the Habs and Rangers met, Jacob Trouba was in the news for a borderline hit on Justin Barron. The latter had suffered a concussion.

The two clubs crossed swords again this afternoon… and we wondered if someone was going to send Trouba a message.

In the end, they did… and Josh Anderson took the contract.

The result was a furious fight… that even went two rounds.

But in the end, the Habs forward got the measure of a tough customer.

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A look at the “big prospects” for the 2025 draft (following the CHL/USNTDP challenge)

Photo by Dennis Pajot/Getty Images

Last Tuesday and Wednesday, we had the chance to take a look at some of the top prospects for the upcoming NHL Draft, as the best young wolves in the CHL took on those of the USNTDP. So, what did we think of Schaefer, Misa, Martone, Desnoyers, Schmidt and company?

Let’s get one thing straight right away: as expected, the Americans simply weren’t up to scratch. It’s not a big year for their development program, and it’s quite the opposite for the CHL, which should have a very successful top-20 auction next June.

That said, the fact that the two top American prospects, center James Hagens and right-handed defenseman Logan Hensler, play in the NCAA certainly didn’t help the southern neighbors’ cause…

Matthew Schaefer, GM, Erie Otters, 18 points in 14 games, +16
Dominant in five-on-five situations and on the first powerplay and advantage, the spectacular Ontario defenseman more often than not played like the real BOSS on the ice, scoring an anthology goal in Game 1:

That said, Schaefer’s very “proactive” defensive game isn’t without its faults; the young prospect tends to play very “high” on opposing players; his gap is so tight that sometimes he can get outflanked by good skaters despite his exceptional agility and speed on skates.

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Perhaps because he saw that the opposition was very weak, the Hamilton native took a lot of risks in offensive territory, causing his share of blocked shots and turnovers, but he was more often than not able to repair his mishaps.

Schaefer, the youngest player in the upcoming auction, isn’t afraid of tough play and doesn’t hesitate to sacrifice his body, as on this sequence where he remains very involved by blocking a shot even after losing his stick and… one of his gloves! Not always what the doctor would recommend, but hey!

In short, right now, if there’s ONE player in the 2025 crop who’s almost 100% guaranteed to become an NHL superstar, it’s Matthew Schaefer.

Michael Misa, C/AG, Saginaw Spirit, 46 points, 23 games, +21
Perhaps the player for whom I had the highest expectations along with Schaefer, Misa disappointed me a little in the first game and, in the end, it was much the same in the second, despite better sequences.

Misa, who had been given exceptional status to play in the OHL at the age of 15, played mainly with Caleb Desnoyers and Porter Martone. This brought together three players destined for the highest echelons of the next draft.

Fast and fluid on skates – in a style reminiscent of Trevor Zegras – Misa makes quick plays with the puck, gets physically involved and makes a difference every time he’s on the ice.

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However, he seemed a little nervous with the puck on several occasions, often juggling it and missing a good number of passes and shots… Was he feeling the pressure of hundreds of thousands of eyes on him? Was the stick a little too tight?

Perhaps, but…

The fact remains that, in general, he wanted to do too much, notably by trying to play the hero with individual climbs at the end of Wednesday’s game with a score of 2-2, creating turnovers at the blue lines twice rather than once…

Nevertheless, Misa found a way to finish the competition with three points from two games, and was certainly one of his team’s most visible players.

Let’s see if his application for the CMJ is successful…

Porter Martone, AD, Mississauga Steelheads, 43 points in 21 games, +6
There wasn’t much love lost between the two clubs in the first game, and even less in the second. In all this, big Martone, captain of the Steelheads and at the heart of several skirmishes, looked like a fish in water, especially in the second game, which he started like a lion:

Above and beyond theskate, Martone showed us a “heavy”, mature game, while demonstrating anticipation on defense aided by his long reach, as well as finesse, patience and creativity with the puck in the offensive zone; a game very reminiscent of Corey Perry and Mark Stone.

An ordinary skater – but still better than Stone and Perry – I don’t know how concerned NHL scouts will be about this facet of his game. But when your hockey IQ is top-notch, along with your vision, physique and shooting, it’s clear that you don’t always have to be Speedy Gonzalez to succeed at the highest level.

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Caleb Desnoyers, C, Moncton Wildcats, 31 points in 20 games, +24
Desnoyers was involved throughout both games, even being named MVP of the second. Often in the thick of the action, he missed a few scoring chances, including at least one golden one on Tuesday, but as we just saw, he deflected a Martone shot in the opening seconds the next day.

Desnoyers didn’t strike us as particularly ” flashy ” compared to other forwards on the team; rather, he’s the prototype of the responsible, efficient center, capable of playing with anyone in a variety of roles, even on the wing as was the case on Wednesday. But the talent is there, as evidenced by this luminous pass on Misa’s goal:

Here’s a player who would already interest the Habs, who would certainly meet their organizational need for a left-handed center and who’s likely to be available when the Habs talk in the top-10… So it remains to be seen whether the stars will align for the Habs and the Québécois or whether the Habs will go all out to get him if they like him that much outside the top-4…

Cameron Schmidt, AD, Vancouver Giants, 35 points in 21 games, +1
The diminutive and very dynamic winger, the WHL’s scoring leader, showed off the velocity and surgical precision of his wrist shot in Game 1:

Still in the same game, he also showed us his powerplay skills on Malcolm Spence’s goal. He even played a bit on the short-handed…

For the time being, even though he plays a fairly combative style, at 5’7, nobody expects to hear Schmidt’s name in the top-5, or even the top-10 next June. But an offensive player of his calibre, with hands this sharp, is unlikely to be on the shelves for much longer.

A cross between Cole Caufield and Seth Jarvis? You could say that, yes.

And like the latter, we can well imagine a club selecting him between 11th and 16th…

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Joshua Ravensbergen, G, Prince George Cougars, 3.08, .899, 12-2-4
The big 6’5 goalie wasn’t threatened that often in Tuesday’s game, but when he was, he was big and athletic in goal, stepping forward to challenge shooters. The right-handed shot-stopper did absolutely nothing to shake off the talk that he’s the only goalie likely to be drafted in the first round this year. You can see the appeal with the naked eye.

Justin Carbonneau, Malcolm Spence and Lynden Lakovic, other prospects often ranked in the top-20, also had their moments, especially in the second game for Carbonneau, who showed us his heavier, more incisive game with the puck. The great Lakovic showed us his shooting and top speed, and Spence was generally “hard to play against”, as the saying goes!

All in all, we can’t draw any major conclusions from these two games. It would be ridiculous to do so. But it’s always better to look good when the reflectors are intense, and in this respect some did better than others, and the GMs have taken note…

We still have several months of scouting ahead of us…