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Latendresse Stays In Montréal!


Jean

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Alrighty, Mr. Latendresse, you played your way onto the team. Now show that you deserve to stay. I don't mean that as a pressure-type statement, it's just been a while since the Habs put a rookie at this age on the ice. Doesn't need to score in my book, work hard, show you're putting in the effort, and I'll be thrilled. The scoring will come in time.

I think Ribeiro was the last 19 yrs old to start the regular season in Montreal. Though it was only a tryout, at a time where the Habs had virtually not talent.

Before that, I think you have to go all the way back to the kids from the 84 draft (Svoboda, Richer, Corson, Roy) who almsot all made the jump before they turned 20.

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Does anyone see a glut of forwards in our system? I mean, seriously, sending Kosty and Grabs back down. Looking ahead, I don't see many openings in the system because our oldest guy is Kovalev at 33. We should gamble and make a trade for a defenceman. Let's live a little.

My first target would be the Blackhawks. They are LOADED with D-men and have nothing behind their first line.

Aucoin, Seabrook, Cullimore, Barker, Keith, Vandermeer and Kukkonen. We should be trying to pick one of these guys up. Unless of course Traverse is the answer..... :lol::lol::lol:

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My first target would be the Blackhawks. They are LOADED with D-men and have nothing behind their first line.

Aucoin, Seabrook, Cullimore, Barker, Keith, Vandermeer and Kukkonen. We should be trying to pick one of these guys up. Unless of course Traverse is the answer..... :lol::lol::lol:

there real deal would be the st louis blues. oh to have jackman in montreal :rolleyes:

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The kid makes the cut

“I had two dreams growing up. One was to play in the NHL, the other was to play for the Canadiens. Both coming true at the same time is just incredible.”

-Guillaume Latendresse

“I would tell him not rush anything because it’s a long season. This is a big step for him and expectations are high, but if he concentrates on being himself and playing his game, he’ll be fine.”

-Saku Koivu

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La Presse reported that Kostistyn said that Carbo told him to play well and to success and to be constant at Hamilton, and there will be an *evalutation* after around 20 games... which means he will maybe have a chance to be back in the big team~ :)

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Kostitsyn's time in Montreal has just about run out. This is his third year in a row that he has failed to impress at training camp, and two years in Hamilton hasn't shown alot either. Lets face it, he was just beaten out of a position by a guy who was drafted 2 years and 1 whole draft round later. Latendresse has never played anything higher than Jr. Kostitsyn is a seasoned veteran in the AHL. This is not good for Andrei Kostitsyn. He better rack up big numbers in Hamilton, or he'll be sent packing for some other organizations failed project. Same goes for Perezhogin.

I'm of the opininon that keeping Latendresse is a mistake. He may get some powerplay time, but he's never going to get off the 3rd or 4th line with Samsonov, Kovalev, Ryder, Higgins and Perezhogin ahead of him on the depth chart. I think his relatively poor skating will be exposed at the NHL level as well as a lack of defensive awarness. If Carbonneau means what he says and he won't be sent down, then this kid will languish in the pressbox, or be sent out night after night, getting his spirit and confidence crushed at the NHL level. I hope this doesn't happen.

I also believe the money they gave him was way too much. Why would he get the maximum? Is he really worth what Ovechkin and Crosby are worth? I believe he overspent just like he did with Theodore, Koivu, Kovalev, Begin etc. Surely Latendresse was in no position to ask for the maximum amount in an entry level contract. This is especially going to hurt if he stays the whole year, struggles and Montreal wasted a year towards his UFA and he improves significantly over the next 3 to 5 years, which he probably will.

Now with all these doubts, I seriously hope this kid proves me wrong and goes and Kicks Ass And Takes Names. Heres to you Mr. Latendresse, the pressure of the Media, Montreal Fans, province of Quebec and the forum for you to perform is going to be unreal. I hope your ready. Cheers!!!

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Kostitsyn's time in Montreal has just about run out. This is his third year in a row that he has failed to impress at training camp, and two years in Hamilton hasn't shown alot either. Lets face it, he was just beaten out of a position by a guy who was drafted 2 years and 1 whole draft round later. Latendresse has never played anything higher than Jr. Kostitsyn is a seasoned veteran in the AHL.

Chill...

Kosty only has 2 season in the AHL, the first one barely counting since he was playing on the 3rd line and focusing more on adapting to the N-American environment than anything. That's hardly "seasoned".

Kosty's barely 21. You NEVER give up on 21 yrs old kids. Higgins and Plekanec had to wait until they were both 22 before making the team. So did Carbonneau eons ago.

Giving up on kids before they even hit 23 yrs old is the kind of mistake that sinks organizations.

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Kosty only has 2 season in the AHL, the first one barely counting since he was playing on the 3rd line and focusing more on adapting to the N-American environment than anything. That's hardly "seasoned".

.

And he was beat out of a job at the NHL level by a guy who has never played in NHL, or AHL and is only 19.

Mind you I'm sure Gainey and Carbonneau were under extraordinary pressure by higher up and outside forces to get Latendresse on this team.

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Only a moron would give up on a 21 year old with as much natural talenty as Kostitsyn. His struggles thus far may have to do with his poor english, and thus communication skills, and the fact that he was largely a one man show in his junior days, and hasn't learned to get open and play well with out the puck. Trust me, this guy is going to be a hell of a winger in a few years. If his buddy Grabovsky (sorry bout the spelling) gets healthy and they play a while in Hamilton together, I think they will light it up. He's a 21 year old kid, he'll be the first callup this year. He may excell this year, maybe in 2 or 3. Gainey will wait as long as he has to.

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Only a moron would give up on a 21 year old with as much natural talenty as Kostitsyn. His struggles thus far may have to do with his poor english, and thus communication skills, and the fact that he was largely a one man show in his junior days, and hasn't learned to get open and play well with out the puck. Trust me, this guy is going to be a hell of a winger in a few years. If his buddy Grabovsky (sorry bout the spelling) gets healthy and they play a while in Hamilton together, I think they will light it up. He's a 21 year old kid, he'll be the first callup this year. He may excell this year, maybe in 2 or 3. Gainey will wait as long as he has to.

Only a moron would say that he's struggling after 3 years in North America because of language or communication issues. Its funny how Tomas Plekanec or Alexander Perezhogin haven't had the same problems.

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Only a moron would say that he's struggling after 3 years in North America because of language or communication issues. Its funny how Tomas Plekanec or Alexander Perezhogin haven't had the same problems.

Perezoigen didn't exactly light the league on fire last year, Kostitsyn would have done just as well, so you really can't use that. Plekanec is a more rounded player, better defensivly, but without the same offensive upside. If I'm not mistaken, he spent 3 full years in AHL. And hey, sorry about the moron comment, not trying to start anything nasty with you.

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LMAO man, you really have something against the kid, don't you?

Cripes, Kost was brought to Hamilton as a 19 y.o. which is quite unusual, but is allowed for EUROS...

That year, he had less than 10 mins icetime b/c that Dogs team was a championship team. They were leading the AHL... Go put a rookie on Colorado or Detroit lineups from 2-3 years ago and see how much icetime he gets...

That was more a year of adaptation, etc. Then last season, total opposite, the team is emptied, Kost continues his learning experience, but has no one to feed him the puck... so no breakout stats there either.

At this TC he did IMPRESS goddammit!! he impressed, he stayed up to the last minute, he is among the team leader in points, was getting noticed, etc etc...

Problem is, there is a frikkin POWER FORWARD who did the same thing as him...

how many power forward(s) do we have? : zero ZERO big fat ZERO

how many middle sized fast creative forwards do we have? Kovalev, Saku, Sammy, Ryder, Plekanec, Perezhogin, etc etc... can name the whole goddamn team

GET A GRIP MAN!

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And he was beat out of a job at the NHL level by a guy who has never played in NHL, or AHL and is only 19.

Mind you I'm sure Gainey and Carbonneau were under extraordinary pressure by higher up and outside forces to get Latendresse on this team.

Your arguement is a fallacy. Because player X made the NHL at a younger age than player Y, it doesn't equate that player Y is worth less than player X, or just worthless on his own.

There's no correlation between the age a player makes the NHL and his worth. Lecavalier and Richards were drafted the same year, from the same junior club, by the same NHL team. Lecavalier made the jump two years before Richards. Yet Richards is the one has the best PPG average and Conn-Smythe trophy. Or how about Ribeiro getting drafted the same year but making the Habs about 2-3 years before Ryder? I guess the Habs should have give up on Ryder when he was 21 and toiling in the ECHL then, right?

Latendresse is just a special talent who is a more well rounded player because he can play physical or offensive, which fits the Habs current needs better. It implies nothing about Kosty's worth or future in Montreal since Kosty is a completely different type of player and still in full development. One injury to Samsonov or Higgins, one call-up and you might see Kosty being the one to rack up all the points on a top line.

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im not particularly concerned about Kostitsyn. He was beat out by a phenom who fit the need more than he. Its not that Kostitsyn had a bad camp, its just he wasnt what the team was lacking at this time. Much the same as Price.

He doubled his point output in his second year at AHL and has begun to sniff time in the NHL.. definitely not worried yet.

That being sadi, I am glad that Latendresse made the team and I think he will make us better this year.

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LMAO man, you really have something against the kid, don't you?

Cripes, Kost was brought to Hamilton as a 19 y.o. which is quite unusual, but is allowed for EUROS...

That year, he had less than 10 mins icetime b/c that Dogs team was a championship team. They were leading the AHL... Go put a rookie on Colorado or Detroit lineups from 2-3 years ago and see how much icetime he gets...

That was more a year of adaptation, etc. Then last season, total opposite, the team is emptied, Kost continues his learning experience, but has no one to feed him the puck... so no breakout stats there either.

At this TC he did IMPRESS goddammit!! he impressed, he stayed up to the last minute, he is among the team leader in points, was getting noticed, etc etc...

Problem is, there is a frikkin POWER FORWARD who did the same thing as him...

how many power forward(s) do we have? : zero ZERO big fat ZERO

how many middle sized fast creative forwards do we have? Kovalev, Saku, Sammy, Ryder, Plekanec, Perezhogin, etc etc... can name the whole goddamn team

GET A GRIP MAN!

I won't even bother posting my what I wanted to write. Read the post above me.

BTW, for what concerns his language, people learn at a different rate. Don't blame the freakin' guy if his English isn't great. Learning a language is hard enough already.

Just a little note, ONCE AGAIN, Carey Price was THE BEST rookie at camp. He outplayed and outperformed ALL other goalies at camp.

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I have nothing against ether kid. I love both of them as I love all the Canadiens, with the exception of Mike Ribeiro, I just not a fan...as a Montreal Canadien fan or a hockey fan....he disgusts me, but thats for another post.

I am happy that Latendresse made the team. But he played better last year and never made the team? Why did he make it this year? I believe its because of the pressure put on Gainey and Carbonneau to have him the team by others. I don't believe that his skating and defense are up to par to be on this club and I think its going to be exposed. Then the world is going to come crashing down on this kid becuase so much was expected and not delivered in his first year. Look at the posts on this forum. People predicting he'll score 20 goals...50 points. Thas incredible. The kid is good, but let him develop properly. I hope I am wrong and he scored bunches of goals and wins the calder, but right now the odds are stacked against him.

As for Kostitsyn I think this was his year. This guy WAS SUPPOSE to be a top 5 pick in 2003. The ONLY reason he dropped to 10th was concerns about epilepsy which have so far been unfounded. Look at the other guys drafted before him and even immediatley after him. Fleury is starting in Pittsburgh, Staal, Zherdev and Horton are playing well. Vanek came into his own in Buffalo last year. Michalek played well last year and is primed for a big year this year. Dion Phaneuf doesn't need an explanation. Ryan Suter and Braydon Coburn are playing top 4 defensman on their teams and they are defensman, who take longer to develop. Jeff Carter, Brent Seabrook and and Dustin Brown were drafted after and were all regulars last year. Hugh Jessiman has so far been a bust in NEw York. Steve Bernier looks like another San Jose gem and Robert Nilson is playing regularly on Long Island.

Yet Andrei Kostitsyn can't make a spot on the Habs. Now maybe this speaks to their depth, doubtfully, but this guy was suppose to be a top 5 pick and is struggling to make the NHL. And for the record I was saying that his communication isn't a problem....somebody else was saying it was. With Kovalev, Samsonov and Markov on the team this isn't a problem.

Yes I am dissapointed in Kostitsyn. I thought for sure this would be his year. He would get a fair shot. With the new rules in the NHL and his skill level he would dominate, but it hasn't happened. He just doesn't seem to have what it takes. He needs to dominate in Hamilton to maintain his status as a top prospect in this organization.

Trust me there is nothing I want more. I stalked up on Andrei Kostitsyn Young Guns rookie cards (15 of them) in anticipation of a break out season. I though for sure this was his year, and maybe it will be, but so far he hasn't lived up to billing of a top 5 pick who slipped to 10th because of health concerns

im not particularly concerned about Kostitsyn. He was beat out by a phenom who fit the need more than he. Its not that Kostitsyn had a bad camp, its just he wasnt what the team was lacking at this time. Much the same as Price.

He doubled his point output in his second year at AHL and has begun to sniff time in the NHL.. definitely not worried yet.

That being sadi, I am glad that Latendresse made the team and I think he will make us better this year.

This kid is not a phenom yet. That should be reserved for kids like Ovechkin and Crosby who scored 100pts in their rookie years. Just more undeserved pressure that this kid doesn't need right now.

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him.

Yes I am dissapointed in Kostitsyn. I thought for sure this would be his year. He would get a fair shot. With the new rules in the NHL and his skill level he would dominate, but it hasn't happened. He just doesn't seem to have what it takes. He needs to dominate in Hamilton to maintain his status as a top prospect in this organization.

Trust me there is nothing I want more. I stalked up on Andrei Kostitsyn Young Guns rookie cards (15 of them) in anticipation of a break out season. I though for sure this was his year, and maybe it will be, but so far he hasn't lived up to billing of a top 5 pick who slipped to 10th because of health concerns

don't lose faith Kaos.

like you said, he was supposed to make the club if it wasn'T of latendresse. he really impressed me during the last few games. he looks like he brought his game to another level even if he needs some grooming. when AK46 learns to use is big frame, he'll be a stud in this league for many years to come.

he'LL play in hamilton for a couple of months and will be recalled to stay. I really think that this will be is breakout year.

I mean the guy was that good and I'm sure he didn't undrestand a word his coach said. wait till he understands the language..he'll be lethal.

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i understand your concern Kaos, but I think a lot of this can be about different ways teams bring up their prospects. Firstly, its normal that the NA kids are coming up a bit quicker, in that they are more used to the game. Secondly, some kids have been thrown into the fire.

This is certainly the case with a kid like Fleury. I definitely think he is a fantastic talent, but he made the Pens because of 1) thinness at goal and 2) trying to excite the fans. Granted that he plays behind a rather porous defense, but the kid has yet to beak .900 in the NHL.

Zherdev is probably the best comparison insofar that he is an eastern european forward. His ability to make the team certainly was assisted by lack of depth. He is a career -24 over 2 yrs, which would be absolutely unacceptable in mtl. Only Sheldon Souray (which makes one tremble a bit) got close to his -13 last year. Sundstrom was the lowest winger at -6 and it got him benched. It is also worth noting that Zherdev came over to the US a year before Kostitsyn did.

Vanek, the other euro forward on your list, has been playing the US since 1999. He also was a -11 (on a relatively defensively responsible team), and managed all of 2 goals in the sabres' playoff attempt.

Now I know +/- is a somewhat unreliable barometer of a player's performance, but it is worth noting.

Michalek, (6th pick in 2003) seems to be a pretty good performing euro forward (sharks).

Obviously in retrospect, one would have picked, let us say, Jeff Carter at 10th, but I think that is too much monday-morning quarterbacking.

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Obviously in retrospect, one would have picked, let us say, Jeff Carter at 10th, but I think that is too much monday-morning quarterbacking.

I would disagree there as well. Instead of Carter I would take Brent Seabrook. Considering Montreal's problems on defense....but like you said...Monday-morning quarterbacking

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Basically as others have said above, I think #### will be fine he just does not fit as well at this time as a banger like Lats.

Look at the big picture -- Habs are small again this year, and so Lats is the logical choice for this team and now Grabs/#### can play a ton of minutes together in Hamilton, remember the Dogs were not an option for Lats due his being U20. There are callups also, it's all good.

Also yeah everyone it's preseason can we stop now with the "moron" stuff, please? because otherwise you will get warned and later won't get any ice cream. Keep it fun and friendly.

*thinks to himself - oh no maybe our lone female member, the great and very dedicated bebehabs will object to my childish/'sexist'? nicknames for our Dogs first line prospects*

-- bebe can you indulge me?

Go Habs Go!

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#### will be fine

Grabs/#### can play a ton of minutes together in Hamilton

really pushing for that nickname, eh?

I gotta say, its at least more creative than most player nicks nowadays.

I shudder to think what one might say about a sweet move Kostitsyn pulls off.... sugar... ugh, nevermind.

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