Latendresse 10 pound lighter

[Easy Ryder]

At leats we get some news on players. News on players are hard to find they

come throught arfticles on other subjects.

So Latendresse is not the kind of air head that sits on his first year. Yeah he was too

slow on many plays last year and he managed to get some goals. I have heard critics

concerning him that are no true at all. Some people were saying he was lazy in the off season

but in the last two seasons he was hurt and couln't train as hard as he wanted to. Some people are saying he is get no hands,!! not he most gifted puck handler but better than average, at a lighter weight he can and he will overskate and show that there is something called natural talent to score.

He is not considered as the players who can have a break throught season but i think he will.

34 goals is what i expect from him.

Bégin, there was rumours he was still hurt, no true at all, he will go at the camp at fight for a place in the line up. If he fight and he is not hurt, he is a constant pain in the *ss for the other team.

Dandenault is as usual in the best physical condition, but the guy has no choice other than that, he cannot take it slow, same for Bouillon.

[tokyohabs]

Latendresse 34 goals? I'll take that in a heartbeat.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

Lats certainly has 30-goal potential in addition to his mighty physical presence. However, it's more likely that he's a year or two away from fully blossoming (and consider that playing at the new weight may require some adjustment as well). Still, I wouldn't be stunned by a very strong second half from him - he's as blue chip as they come IMHO.

[ShortHanded]

34 goals is more than twice what he had last year... I would LOVE it, but realistically, I'm hoping for about 20-25 goals from him, and just better speed overall.

[tokyohabs]

Why bother loosing weight? Those new uniforms will fly like the wind...

I'd be very happy if he got 30 this year. All in those hands.

[simonus]

220lbs should still be enough to plow into the crease. Hopefully he gets a speed dividend.

I don't know whether to be happy to get some actual player news or sad that this is as close as I'm likely to get for a bit

[Shu]

Why bother loosing weight? Those new uniforms will fly like the wind...

I'd be very happy if he got 30 this year. All in those hands.

The new jerseys are only 14% lighter..... These jerseys wont make that big of a difference, peple are getting abit to hyped. At such a high level that small of a diffrence doesnt mean a thing. And even if the jerseys did make a difference wouldnt that also affect everyone else? and make them faster? It would keep Lats on the same level. So yes it was much needed for him to become faster, cant wait to watch him this year!

[KoZed]

The 10 lbs Lats lost is "baby fat" so to speak. Typical fat of junior players. I dont think he'll lost much strength from that. And he'll definitely get a little speed boost from it, kinda like Ryder last year got the same after losing some muscle mass weight.

As for the 30 goals, I wouldnt be so surprised if Lats got it. Look at his vids on NHL.com. Most of his goals are wrist shots from the slot area, kinda like Ryder. But Lats didnt shoot much last season. If he takes as many shots as most top forwards (say over 200), he could easily get those 30 goals.

Difference is that Lats can also feed others and dig puck in corners, so if he doesnt get 30 goals I'm pretty sure he'll make up for some of it with more assists.

[saskhab]

Rather than hope for 34 goals (which is shooting for the moon), I hope he improves that 18 goal makeup in increased goal production & a better +/-. If he can improve from 16 to 22 goals while going from -20 to a -8 I'd be thrilled.

With the way the Habs play, I don't see a massive jump in production like that (except from possibly Higgins if he stays healthy) without it adversely affecting someone else's goal output (maybe through an injury). Remember that Latendresse's goal production without Higgins being injured would've been pretty low, likely not cracking 10. He's still a guy that's "in progress" more than anything else. Him being 10 pounds lighter won't make him a superstar instantly, it's all part of the learning curve, though. The article also says he has a lot to learn about pushing his limits in training... while complimentary, Livingstone still sees areas for him to improve for him to reach peak form.

[Chris]

I think it more depends on who his line mates are for his point total. He is lighter, so more endurance and perhaps more speed.

If he is with Koivu and Ryder i am wondering who will play some D, as Saskhab points out.

If he plays with Smoke and Kovalev who knows what will happen. Smoke is great at both ends and should help the other 2 out.

I think 25 goals if he plays alot is reasonable. As Kozed points out he is a real good passer.

In a few weeks we'll know what line he ends up on.

[saskhab]

I think it more depends on who his line mates are for his point total. He is lighter, so more endurance and perhaps more speed.

If he is with Koivu and Ryder i am wondering who will play some D, as Saskhab points out.

If he plays with Smoke and Kovalev who knows what will happen. Smoke is great at both ends and should help the other 2 out.

I think 25 goals if he plays alot is reasonable. As Kozed points out he is a real good passer.

In a few weeks we'll know what line he ends up on.

Yep. I think he can be quite productive in a lesser ice time role. I don't expect him to be top 6 for MTL forwards in ice time (Koivu, Kovalev, Higgins, Ryder, Plekanec, Smoke should all be ahead of him for sure) without a prolonged injury to one of those guys pushing his minutes way up. But I still think he can break 20 if he helps his own cause defensively and gets some PP time on the 2nd unit, and spot duty on a top scoring line.

[Fanpuck33]

Yep. I think he can be quite productive in a lesser ice time role. I don't expect him to be top 6 for MTL forwards in ice time (Koivu, Kovalev, Higgins, Ryder, Plekanec, Smoke should all be ahead of him for sure) without a prolonged injury to one of those guys pushing his minutes way up. But I still think he can break 20 if he helps his own cause defensively and gets some PP time on the 2nd unit, and spot duty on a top scoring line.

You have three centers among your top six wingers. They didn't bring in Smolinski to be a winger on the top two lines, they brought him in to replace Bonk on the third line. Kostitsyn and Latendresse will be competing for the last wing spot on the top six.

[Chris]

I'll go out on a limb, i think the lines are kind of set. At this point it's mixing and matching peices.

Lahti Koivu Ryder (those 2 need a grinder and someone to play D)

Higgins Pleks Kosty (Best line once put together last year

Lats Smoke Kovalev (i don't know what will happen here)

Begin Lapierre Kostopolous ( Possible great shut down line)

Markov Komi

Hamrlik Dandy

Streit Brisbois

This leaves alot of extra D. Maybe someone gets moved, traded for picks but the Habs have this team under contract. So i don't know how many spots are actually up for grabs.

With signing Brisbois, i think O'byrne has 1 more year at Hamilton.

[Habitforming]

I'll go out on a limb, i think the lines are kind of set. At this point it's mixing and matching peices.

Lahti Koivu Ryder (those 2 need a grinder and someone to play D)

Higgins Pleks Kosty (Best line once put together last year

Lats Smoke Kovalev (i don't know what will happen here)

Begin Lapierre Kostopolous ( Possible great shut down line)

Markov Komi

Hamrlik Dandy

Streit Brisbois

This leaves alot of extra D. Maybe someone gets moved, traded for picks but the Habs have this team under contract. So i don't know how many spots are actually up for grabs.

With signing Brisbois, i think O'byrne has 1 more year at Hamilton.

I like the forward lines you have.

Kind of a 1 2a 2b 4th line thing going on there.

D is a mess right now. For the first time in a long time we have too many NHL calibre Dmen and it makes it an odd situation.

I'm sure after Gainey figures out who deserves to be on the team (from performances at camp) that the extra parts will be sent down (save cap space right away) or moved in a deal for late picks.

[Chris]

Yep, the D has alot of 5 and 6 D men. WHo can step up is the question. The one thing to notice about this years D is they are way more mobile, better puck movers. Time will tell if they are better. They certainly can't be worse.

[saskhab]

You have three centers among your top six wingers. They didn't bring in Smolinski to be a winger on the top two lines, they brought him in to replace Bonk on the third line. Kostitsyn and Latendresse will be competing for the last wing spot on the top six.

I said forwards, not wingers, and wasn't referring to line combos but ice time. Smolinski will see more ice time than Latendresse or Kostitsyn both on the PK and 5 on 5, but maybe not on the PP where Smoke may or may not crack the 2nd unit while one or both of those kids should.

We'll see how it plays out. We assume Smoke takes the 3rd line C job but we have 2 guys behind him that are emerging as good defensive centres (Lapierre & Chipchura) while we also have an offensive centre (Grabovski) that might make it possible to really change up how our lines play out. Common sense does lead to the conclusion that Koivu & Plex centre the 2 scoring lines while Smoke & Lapierre centre the two checking lines but you never know what will develop during a season, especially with a young team like ours.

[Tony]

As Kozed pointed out, if he increases his speed, Lats will score plenty of goals.

He has a good wrist shot, he needs to use his body more efficiently.

[RobRock]

The new jerseys are only 14% lighter..... These jerseys wont make that big of a difference, peple are getting abit to hyped. At such a high level that small of a diffrence doesnt mean a thing. And even if the jerseys did make a difference wouldnt that also affect everyone else? and make them faster? It would keep Lats on the same level. So yes it was much needed for him to become faster, cant wait to watch him this year!

I remember when Reebok announced the new "jersey technology" and that they were "more aerodynamic" and immediately thought "marketing department bull". The players don't skate fast enough to the point that an aerodynamic jersey is going to make anyone noticably quicker. Keeping the players cooler and drier during the game will benefit them, and using a lighter fabric will as well, but I don't buy the aerodynamic angle for a minute. They aren't speed skaters, they're wearing big bulky equipment under the jerseys. Aerodynamics mean nothing.

[brobin]

I would be estatic if Lats could just match Ryder's totals from last year. Ryder had 28 assists. Not bad for a guy who apparently "can't feed others". He also had 30 goals to go with them. So while Ryder is clearly the "finisher" on his line, I think he contributes all around.

Lats had 16 goals, 13 assists. Nothing there indicates to me that he is any more of a play maker then Ryder. He is much better in the corners, but I noticed he didn't do a very good job of actually winning the puck. More of a "hold it in there" kind of player along the boards. I expect with experience he will get better at actually coming off the boards with the puck and setting up the play.

If those guys can both get close to 30 goals and 30 assists each, then we will be solid on the wing for sure. My expectation is a little less for Lats however, he is still learning and won't get as much PP time.

As for defensive play, both of them could use a lot of improvement, but that is just stating the obvious.

[tokyohabs]

The new jerseys are only 14% lighter..... These jerseys wont make that big of a difference, peple are getting abit to hyped. At such a high level that small of a diffrence doesnt mean a thing. And even if the jerseys did make a difference wouldnt that also affect everyone else? and make them faster? It would keep Lats on the same level. So yes it was much needed for him to become faster, cant wait to watch him this year!

Hey Shu, Pedantics International is on a big recruiting drive. Show them your post and I think they'll waive their membership fee.

If Latendresse can improve on the totals from last year it would be great. Of course, he was a rookie, so just showing improvement in all facets of the game - regardless of ice time (as long as he is getting solid minutes) - is expected.

Do people think Smolinski is skilled enough to be a 2nd unit PP guy? Haven't seen him enough.

[KoZed]

He has a good wrist shot, he needs to use his body more efficiently.

Which brings us back to his weight loss... We know Lats can lean on defensemen and take the pounding while keeping control of the puck; but its not enough. He needs that extra gear to get away and give himself a fraction of a second more to make a play. He's got the shot and the soft hands to feed others if someone's open.

The other thing that added speed improves -and we saw it with Ryder last year- is backchecking. Under Carbo, if Lats wants to take offensive chances he'll need to prove he can come back faster to help out defensively. His ice-time wont improve until then, ditto with the stats.

[zumpano21]

All I know at this point is that Lats is the type of player that MTL desperately needs. He will be faster, more durable at 220lbs but he's also in the mold of player that wins the Cup. Big, strong, fast and mean - just look at Anaheim. I can't wait to see Pacioretty and Lats dish out punishment together. *drools*

[brobin]

If Lats can get that sprint off the boards gear, he might see a big jump in output. Koivu is not big, but I have always been impressed with the chances he creates by coming out of the scrum along the boards with the puck. Lats has the pinning down, he needs to develop the pivot and push. That comes with experience.

As others have said, speed on the backcheck is always good. I remember when Ryder lost a bunch of weight. He definitely looked faster and had more jump.

[Partisan]

Hey Shu, Pedantics International is on a big recruiting drive. Show them your post and I think they'll waive their membership fee.

If Latendresse can improve on the totals from last year it would be great. Of course, he was a rookie, so just showing improvement in all facets of the game - regardless of ice time (as long as he is getting solid minutes) - is expected.

Do people think Smolinski is skilled enough to be a 2nd unit PP guy? Haven't seen him enough.

I think Plekanec is better than Smolinski in my mind unless he wants to have them both on the unit.

[Athlétique.Canadien]

Do people think Smolinski is skilled enough to be a 2nd unit PP guy? Haven't seen him enough.

Smoke is a sparkplug. He's one of those players that when Naslund, Spezza or Heatley wasn't scoring, Smoke would be there. He has character. He is very deceptively fast and shifty and has a nose for finding the slot. I am delighted we have him. He's not a superstar but more of an above average utility player who has much character. He's one of the best faceoff men in the league. Something we needed badly. IMO, he has more character than Bonk or Johnson combined. He doesn't mind getting his nose dirty and he's not afraid of corners either.