habscout

I've posted a preview for Tuesday night's game, but it's not up on the website yet. I'll post the URL later when I see that it's been put up.

I visit this website frequently for a less subjective power rankings list of how all NHL teams are really doing. http://www.hockeyanalysis.com/?page_id=39 These rankings taken into consideration the strength of the schedule for each team for the period they've played. I believe that's fair because it does not reward teams that defeats 2 or 3 teams that are much weaker than they are, and also rewards weaker teams that upset their opponents with much better records. It also uses an adjusted winning percentage that considers a shootout a tie, and awards no points for overtime losses. The current rankings as of November 21 have the Habs in 4th place overall, up from 7th, with and adjusted winning percentage of 0.605, a Schedule Strength rating of 0.522, and a Power Rank of 0.622, which is the teams' expected winning percentage if team played all .500 teams.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=186158&hubname=nhl Denis Savard has jumped from his position of assistant coach to head coach of the Blackhawks today. I wish him the best. I liked him as a former habs, and hope he will do well in Chicago, except when they play the Habs of course. I'm sure the Chicago-Montreal trade rumours will only increase now.

If Doug Maclean was smart, which is a debatable point all on its own, he would hire Mike Keenan as the Blue Jackets head coach. While Keenan has a reputation as a tough coach that eventually alienates many of his players, he also deserves most of the credit for developing young players to reach their star potential: Joe Thornton and Olli Jokinen are only a couple of recent examples I can mention that finally thrived under Keenan's tutelage.

Yeah, O'Byrne is rated as a 4th-6th defenceman, which is pretty much what everyone in this forum [and others I visit] has been saying all along. It's nice to see the same evaluation from a non-Habs related hockey person, so that we all don't think he's being overhyped by the organization. He's going to require at least one full season in the AHL, since it will help him adapt to the pro schedule. The AHL schedule is much more demanding that the NHL's, since it's common for teams to play 3 games in 4 nights or 2 games in 3 nights regularly. Even though Ryan is a big guy, the last 3 years in college he's played around 40 games per season. That's a big step to adapt to for him, but I'm sure he's capable. What I also liked reading in that article was the positive comments about the other Bulldogs players: Lapierre, Halak, Grabovsky. The future is looking bright.

I can easily counter the Dominic Roussel story with one name: Alan Eagleson. How many players did he steal from over how many years? And I'll be he's not the only agent who has gotten away with it.

Is there any chance this show will be available as a podcast [downloadable as an mp3 or wmv file] any time soon? I find team990.com has very little downloadable content in their archives section, but stream nearly everything. Most of the Toronto sports talk shows have a great deal of their content downloadable as well as streamed. Even if the content is only maintained for a couple of weeks, then the disk space cannot be very much to administer.

I agree with you. In particular, it's a positive sign to see Carle given the Defensive player of the week award, when he was drafted as more of an offensive player. It sounds like he's developing well.

http://www.switchpod.com/users/hf_radio/po...hite_110806.mp3

It's too bad for Bulis. I had thought that if he could find some chemistry with the Sedins, then he would stick on the the Canuck's 1st/2nd line. I still think he will make an effective checking line forward.

Pavel Bure's dad was his agent at one point in time. Other players represent themselves, and simply hire lawyers to process the legal paperwork involved with their contracts. Except for the big stars who are going to garner some endorsements [eg. Sidney Crosby with Nike], most players do not require sports agents/agencies now with the new CBA. There's no room for negotiating salary incentives any more, so other than endorsements and investing their money, agents/agencies play a much less significant role for NHL players. As for investments, anyone can hire an investment agent to manage their money. For some overseas players, especially those who speak little to no English, agencies can help the players with translators or English tutors; that was something that Ovechkin had at his disposal which did help him adjust to life in America. However, team often help players out in that regard too.

I want to highly recommend you check out the Habs podcasts at http://www.habscast.com The guys at this website do a great job of discussing the Habs, and their work should be acknowledged. For anyone with an MP3 player, or those who like listening to sports shows via the Internet, this is the only Habs centered podcast that I have found to date. Their most recent podcast includes discussions on the 2 road games in Florida. The website includes a blog, and offers the means to download the mp3 podcasts directly, or use iTunes or other podcast collectors.

http://www.sptimes.com/2006/11/15/Lightnin...d_hit_res.shtml This is a good article, as it helps explain the lack of hitting that Latendresse has had in the style of his game, since this hit in the preseason. One of the things I thought was missing from Gui's game was the physical aspect, and it appears that he's been troubled by injuring Dimaio.

I also posted this on the front page: http://www.startribune.com/512/story/800930.html Highlights: Fischer started the season up in weight at 195, up from 188 the year before. Unfortunately, he contracted strep throat and lost 10 pounds. His coach has been pleased with Fischer's play. Like most freshmen players, he's been tentative at times, but that he's capable of making the adjustment once he gets more accustomed to the pace of the play. Given Fischer's strength with his skating, I'll predict he'll make the adjust by the mid point of the college season. The Habs are likely going to give him at least 2 seasons at the college level before "talking" to him about signing a pro contract.

Here's an interesting, recent article about Ron Hainsey, from the Hamilton Spectator: http://www.hamiltonspectator.com/NASApp/cs...d=1112274690688 A couple of things stood out for me. The writer comments on how Hainsey has matured since he started his pro career in the Montreal organization. When he arrived in Columbus, the coaches gave him a clean slate. He decided to keep his game simple instead of going for riskier opportunities on the ice. He's been rewarded with more ice time and deemed a go-to player in key situations with the Blue Jackets. Ultimately, I'm sure the Habs had hoped he would have developed into the same type of player in Montreal. It's still debatable whether he blew his chance himself or whether he wasn't developed/nurtured well enough. Montreal is obviously a high-pressure hockey organization, something that Columbus is not, so that too is another factor to consider in this comparison.

"Hard Work Paying Off" http://www.hamiltonspectator.com/NASApp/cs...l=1112274690756 I think this bodes well for Lapierre making it to the Habs. Whether he gets the chance this season or next, I believe he'll get there. I remember reading that as a junior player, he was the type of guy who was always yapping at the opposition, to try and annoy them to get them off of their game. That kind of profile fits well for a 4th/3rd line player with the Habs.

Good article in today's Montreal Gazette about Carey Price. http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news...9a-525f3386234d

http://www.fan590.com/features/hotaudio.jsp The link is currently at the top. If it disappears, you could always download it directly here: http://www.fan590.com/mp3s/kirkmuller-bp-20061024.mp3

Well, a poster on another website claims they heard on a Montreal radio station that Lapierre was called up. http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=303746

If Locke doesn't get the call, then I would predict Lapierre is the next likely candidate. Both can play centre, although the edge may go to Lapierre, who reportedly has a gritty, sandpaper like style that's well suited for the 4th line. Locke may be called up due to the fact he's in his 3rd season in Hamilton, and the Habs may want to see what he can do at the pro level. Both have had decent starts in Hamilton; after 5 games Locke leads the team with 5 points, and Lapierre is tied for second with 4. Chipchurra also has 4, but I have a feeling that the Habs braintrust do not want to call him up to the pros too soon.

Missed that too. Now updated.

Oops! Ok, thanks for noticing my typo. I've corrected it.

I've just posted a preview for tonight's game: http://www.habsworld.net/article.php?id=1195

This article talks about Tanguay's "demotion" to the 2nd line. The comment about Alex not learning the new system still after 5 games is interesting. I think their 'system' is a lot more defensive oriented than what's he's used to in Colorado. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/NHL/Calga...049126-sun.html

I agree about the general strategy. Watch for Matthew Lombardi, a Montrel native who usually plays big against the Habs. That Gioradano kid played a tune against the Leafs defence too, with 2 goals from jumping up in the play.