Habs77

Question for you btw: Were any or all of Savard, Timmins, and Pierre Gauthier in Ottawa when Bonk was drafted? It would be another case of going after a player they are familiar with... like when we grabbed, gulp, Traverse.

We've been complaining for YEARS that we desperately needed to get bigger at center... now we get one and you want to throw him out of his natural position on the wing?? People c'mon now, focus. All 3 lines get good ice-time believe me he will be used... 5-on-5 and PK, probably some PP. As for top line wingers, with Kovy/Ryder/Zednik/Higgins we're fine... and if we don't get Kovy we'll reach out for another. I could see a Bulis-Bonk-Hossa line a good 2-way line effective at both ends... or if Hossa continues to disappoint put Laperriere in there instead. In the end CJ will do as all coaches do, play around with the lineup until he finds a combination that clicks. Just know that the only thing that won't change are the 3 centers. [Edited on 27-6-04 by Habs77]

I don't get this need to play him out of position on the wing. We needed a big 3rd center, we've got one now. All 3 top lines get about the same minutes, he'll be used often even on a 3rd line don't worry. Even Gainey has said he'll play center, and added we still have money for Kovy. So it's all good.

The ISS report on Yemelin: A solid but unspectacular puck-moving defenseman out of Russia. Can make a crisp first pass out of the zone but he won't be wowing anyone with offensive flair. Size and positioning make him an effective defensive d-man but he'll need some work on his puckhandling and some maturity with the puck to be a real contributor in the NHL. Despite his lack of ideal size he should develop into a top-two-pairing stay-at-h0omer who can contribute offensively. Has a hard low shot and usually on net. Not a gamble this late for the club willing to be patient in order to see if he can blossom into a player

Even if Garon will turn out to be a top 5 in the NHL... the fact is that right now he's unproven, and staying here he would never had gotten the chance to show us whether he had the stuff of a full-time #1 or not. Gainey was either going to have to gamble on the unproven Garon and trade Theo... risking disaster if Garon fumbled. Or he was going to stick with the former Hart trophy winner and deal Garon for probably less than he might be worth since he was unproven. Look at Kiprusoff, an unproven backup until he got his chance... turned out to be the best goalie in the whole league this year IMO. SJ got a 2nd rounder for him. We got Bonk, a big center that fills a huge hole in our lineup... to me that's better than getting a 2nd rounder. His potential is questionable, can he suddenly find new life in a new city who knows. Either way he's at the very least a big body that we needed. Much better spending 3.5M on him than 3M on Perreault to sit on the bench or 2.2M to Juneau when he was over the hill. However Garon ends up is no longer important, although I wish him luck. Now what needs to happen is for Theo to reward Gainey's show of confidence with a strong year, and career... and Bonk to re-ignite his career in Montreal. P.S. Sportsnet mentionned that Gainey said that tomorrow the Habs might look to shore up their goaltending depth... even if I think with Halak & Dannis we were in not that bad of a position. And Huet will be the backup for sure... forget Dannis, he needs to play, AHL for him.

They said on TV, forget whether it was RDS, TSN , Sportsnet... that he was a Kaspiraitis-type defender. Not big.. but plays like a bulldog, which explains the PIMs. Savard actually went after Kaspiraitis a few yeas back at the deadline... but PIT ended up sending him to COL instead. So in that sense, not a surprise to see AS go after his clone this time around.

PRELIMINARY RANKING EUROPE ”Country-by-country”, NOVEMBER 2003 from Central Scouting 14 Alexei Yemelin 25 Apr 86 D/L 5.10 165 So he's not 5'1''... there was a missing zero, still small, Markov type smaller offensive D man shoots left. Hell Korneev is similar too, but he shoots right.

He's listed as a riser by Woodlief: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/hockey/colu...-woodlief_x.htm Alexei Yemelin -- We¹re still not sold on him, but we at least have to acknowledge he's got some tools and he's come a long way since the start of the season.

I really don't see the Kovy angle being affected by this deal... Perreault was making 3M on his own, Bonk at 3.5M is money better spent. We are still in the Kovy sweepstakes IMO... with the number of players we've let go, we have more money than some seem to think.

It really all depends on how Garon turns out... and only time will tell. Now that's it done, I'll try to focus on the positives: - Theo is now the clear #1... and that's fine by me. - Bonk address a clear & present need for a replacement 3rd line center for the departing Juneau... while addressing the need for size at that position. Some will say Bonk is overpaid, or underachieving, but the fact is big centers don't grow on trees... and we desperately needed one. As for sacrificing Garon, Habs are high on Dannis & Halak going forward so we still have good depth going forward... and Huet is an adequate backup. Is our team better as a result of this trade?... yes since Garon usually sits on the bench and Bonk fills a huge hole in our lineup. Good trade IMO... now we have someone who can handle the big centers in the East physically.

In Dan Linn's pre-draft Mock for Habs picks... http://www.habsworld.net/show_prospect.php?id=602 - he preferred Korpikoski, who NYR moved up for to take in the very next pick... telling us they agreed with Dan - his 2nd suggestion for that pick was Bruce Graham, who was ironically again taken by the Rangers... and even more ironically with the 51st overall, which used to be the Habs 2nd pick that we traded with Balej for Kovalev. - his 3rd suggestion was Lukas Kaspar, who if I'm not mistaken was still available at Montreal's next pick... 84th overall. We instead take D man Alexei Yemelin...

From TSN,ca: 18. Montreal - KYLE CHIPCHURA, C, Prince Albert Lowdown: Fourth-ranked North American prospect lists Peter Forsberg as his favorite player, which is appropriate for a center who plays well at both ends of the ice. Solid faceoff man, he sees action in all game situations. While not a smooth skater, he has above-average speed and is hard to knock off his skates. Scouts praise his character and call him a "team player." Had three goals and two assists in seven games at the World Junior Championships but missed the Top Prospects Game due to injury. Was NHL Central Scouting's top-ranked North American prospect at midseason.

3 future captains taken in the last drafts... Komi, Higgins, and now Chipchura. I love going with character... it's SO important, just look at Hainsey & Hossa

Posted 11/30/2003 6:10 PM Updated 12/2/2003 1:10 PM Told you so: Goalies making the leap with ease By Kyle Woodlief, Special to USATODAY.com Prince Albert's Kyle Chipchura is a bit of an enigma to RLR. In our most recent viewing, he once again didn't do much, but we can still see why he's a top 15 talent. Skating was a bit better than expected. Is dangerous every shift, and has that "hunter" look when he's on the ice, just looking for a place to make the big play. Very good puck handler, and can make some nice moves at top speed. Very confident on the ice. Our impression was that he's a bit of a floater, until he turned it on in the third period. Also stood up for a teammate when there was a knee-on-knee hit — that's something we always want to see.

Kyle Chipchura Name: Kyle Chipchura Position: Center DOB: February 19, 1986 Height: 6-3 Weight: 200 Shoots: Left Hometown: Vimy, Alberta, Canada Team: Prince Albert Raiders Profile: Picked by the Raiders first overall in the 2001 WHL Bantam Draft. A very complete, two-way player. Budding power forward. Has very good instincts. Is like a shark on the ice. Appears from seemingly nowhere, arriving in the precise spot where his presence will create an impact. Has no real flaws in his game. Very crisp passes. Skates strong and has quickness. Very adept stickhandler. Has good defensive awareness and forechecks hard. Willing to drop the gloves, whether sticking up for himself or teammate. Last season he registered 30 points in 63 games with 89 PIM’s. This season, he upped those numbers to 15 goals and 33 assists to go along with 118 PIM’s, in 64 games. In the opening round of the playoffs he was voted 1st Star Of Game 5, tallying 1 goal, 4 assists and a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct, for good measure. Continued development could lead to him becoming the premiere power forward from the 2004 Entry Draft. Year Team League GP G A PTS +/- PIM 02-03 Prince Albert WHL 63 9 21 30 +3 89 03-04 Prince Albert WHL 64 15 33 48 +6 118 03-04 Prince Albert WHL(PO's) 6 2 4 6 +1 12 2004 Canada U18 7 3 2 5 0 28

Oh I know he's still ours... just looking at the lineup, they should have a pretty good team

Actually.. it's probably too late. Hasek is over the hill to say the least, the biggest worry will obviously be his health. This is Muckler bringing back another old friend from his Buffalo days... but like Rob Ray bringing in finished players solves nothing.

From http://www.spectorshockey.net/ Signing in Europe For Duration of Potential Lockout: Julien Vauclair(II) Lugano, SWI May 7, 04 Niko Kapanen, (II) Zug, SWE June 10, 04 Andrei Markov, (II) Moscow Dynamo, RUS June 19, 04 Alexander Khavanov, (III)* Moscow Dynamo, RUS June 19, 04 Artem Chubarov, (II) Moscow Dynamo, RUS June 19, 04 Maxim Afinogenov, (II) Moscow Dynamo, RUS June 19, 04 Pavel Datsyuk, (II)* Moscow Dynamo, RUS June 19, 04 Mike York Iserlohn, GER June 25, 04 [Edited on 26-6-04 by Habs77]

Wasn't that the knock on Ryder too?... I remember a lot of comments on his skating and it doesn't look half bad to me. If he's the best big guy we have a shot at, Picard is fine with me... I haven't seen any of the prospects myself so I don't have a clue. I just trust Savard/Timmins & company to make the right choice.

Great job with the mock drafts and the comparison between the different ones out there... that kind of content people really appreciate. I have to say I personally believe Montoya will go much higher than 11th... as someone will trade up to a pick between 4-8 to take him IMO. Or that's all I've been hearing anyway. There is so much talk of many picks possibly being traded it's really hard to predict how things will play out beyond 1-2. Hell it's hard enough to predict even if every team keeps the picks they have. What I'll also be looking forward to is if teams will use draft day to move certain vets they are looking to unload... especially with the all the uncertainty surrounding the new CBA. Whether it's Guerin, O'Neill, Bonk, etc... I'm wondering if Gainey wants any part of that action.

I had picked England to win, but the second I saw Rooney go off... I was certain Portugal would come out on top at the end. Superb shot for Portugal's OT goal... but then kudos to England for having to stomach to come back. Then Beckham shows us exactly what sets Zidane apart, talented but also clutch. Then great story to see the keeper make the deciding save followed by the deciding goal. The other quaterfinals will be hard-pressed to match this one.

I'm not surprised to see him charged, as his deliberate & planned assault on Moore has put the latter's career in question. But as for a conviction, or sentence other than a slap on the wrist even if he is convicted... I very much doubt. Simply because rich people, especially stars, get away with even murder... so why expect a different result especially when this happened in the special context of a physical professional sport, and not in the street. The lockout couldn't have come at a better time for Bertuzzi, all this will be settled while nobody else is playing either. Personally I'm not worried for a big Canadian star like Bertuzzi, but I am a little worried that it might increase the chances of seeing Perezhogin charged in the future.. a Russian unknown who would face greater chances of being convincted IMO. That would absolutely enfuriate me because in Perez's case he was retaliating in kind to a stick to the head initiated by the opposing player...

Forget Hainey or Beauchemin, we need to bring a big vet like Salei on the left side... and Bouillon slides into #7 spot. Breezer will sign an extension at a major discount from his present deal, end his career here. Rivet is the one with 3 years left on his deal and he sucks, if we could find any team dumb enough to take him I'd make the deal. O'Byrne can't get here soon enough. [Edited on 24-6-04 by Habs77]

It's called reality... look into it.

I'd take Salei on my team any day, he's the missing link... would allow for Bouillon to slip to #7 on the depth chart and balance out the D with 2 big men and 1 puck moving D on each side. Left: Souray, Salei, Markov Right: Komisarek, Rivet, Breezer Bouillon would be a kind of super-sub, Markov gets a fellow vet Russian in the D core. As for having to pick up Sykora, it depends how much the Ducks offer to pick up... but right now he has 2 years left on a 3 year 12M deal. If the strike removes one year, then 1 year at 4M. I guess this could be an option if we fail to re-sign Kovy... but Sykora is small and that's not the best fit. On the plus side he's only 26 and has a knack for scoring goals... plus he does have the experience of playing for NJ so he should be familiar with the trap. Not ideal, but worth considering because Salei is really appealing to me. Since we'd be forced to take Sykora, I'd hope to be able to hang on to our 1st pick... and just sacrifice Hainsey.