A look at the draftees

[beckham]

Well, the Prince Albert coach didn't think too much of Chipchura's play of late either. He was scratched from their game on Friday, but came back with a 3 point performance tonight. He hasn't been performing to expectations.

I don't think he has the intensity necessary. Lacks that extra "mental" gear to be exceptional.

[Edited on 2004/11/10 by beckham]

[montreal]

Originally posted by beckham

Well, the Prince Albert coach didn't think too much of Chipchura's play of late either.  He was scratched from their game on Friday, but came back with a 3 point performance tonight. He hasn't been performing to expectations.

I don't think he has the intensity necessary. Lacks that extra "mental" gear to be exceptional.

[Edited on 2004/11/10 by beckham]

I don't know how true it is, but I"ve heard that Chipchura was benched for missing a captains meeting, and the coach wanted to send a message that all players on the team are accountable.

[beckham]

No sign of Emelin on the Russian U20 team at the Four Nations. Habs could get shut out at the World Juniors this year with Chipchura having a rough year.

[puck7x]

Originally posted by beckham

No sign of Emelin on the Russian U20 team at the Four Nations. Habs could get shut out at the World Juniors this year with Chipchura having a rough year.

Chris Heino-Lindberg should be the Swedish starting goaltender for the tourney, at least thats what I heard awhile ago....

[beckham]

Not a whiff for Wyman in 6 games so far. Crap, he was supposed to be a scorer. Things are not looking great so far for the 2003 picks. I'm really worried about Chipchura because his strength was supposed to be his leadership qualities, but he is showing none of that in P.A. this year. Quite the opposite, he isn't even wearing the "A" any longer, and looks like a candidate to be traded from the team.

[montreal]

Originally posted by beckham

No sign of Emelin on the Russian U20 team at the Four Nations. Habs could get shut out at the World Juniors this year with Chipchura having a rough year.

Russia is using several different defensemen for the U-20 team. Teams don't want to continue to loan players out for every tournament from what I understand. Yemelin just got back from the Five Nations U-20 tournament in september I believe. He missed the start of the season, and has since slowly be getting ice time with Lada (funny he's been paired with an older Habs pick, Andrei Kruchinin) So to leave for this tournament, might disrupt his rotation in the lineup. Not saying that they even wanted to bring him, but I do know that several different defensemen were used.

Yemelin made a big splash at the U-18's last spring which was only a few months ago. And he was on the top D pairing at the U-20 tournament this year. Doesn't mean he'll make the WJC team though. Belov, Lyamin, Panin, Vorobiev sp?, are likely starters for Russia, but there could be a spot or a reserve spot open. So from what I understand, he has a shot but it seems unlikely he'll make it.

As for other Habs at the wjc's.

Sweden- Heino-Lindberg will likely be the starter. He's having a great season so far, near the top of the league in gaa and save %, he's played in every game for Hammerby so far.

Slovakia- Halak again should be the starter, I assume he's a lock since he was the starter last year, but we'll see soon enough.

Belarus- Will the Habs let Kostitsyn play? I hope they do, but playing in the AHL is better for his development in the long run most likely. Still I'd hope they would let him go to his 5th WJ's, an impressive feat.

Canada- Can Chipchura make the team? I think they will take a long hard look at him, it will be close, but we'll have to see what NHLers are there, cause the 19 year olds that were in the NHL last year, are in the AHL this year, and gm's might want them to stay in the AHL, where they are there to develop.

Russia- Seems like it will be tough for Yemelin to make the roster, and if he makes it, it seems doubtful he'll play much. He does have some good international showings for his country, but he still is young and could make the U-20 team next year.

[beckham]

Mid season break, how are they doing?

Chipchura - Has improved his point per game rate from .75 to 1.15 even though his team scored a lot less this year than they did a year ago. In terms of % of his team's scoring, Kyle has doubled his rate from being in on about 1/4 of his team's goals last season to being in on 1/2 this season. There are only 2 or 3 other CHL players who have been in on half of their team scoring. We'll never know, but I think that Chipchura had a good chance of making the WJC team and scoring about 100 points this year in the WHL except for his injury.

Emelin - Not getting a lot of playing time in the RSL, but was selected to the WJC team as an 18 year old. Hard to gauge his progress, the RSL is a tough league to crack during an NHL lockout, and doesn't figure to get any easier with more NHL players looking for work in the second half.

Wyman - Ouch. Healthy scratch on team that is missing it's best winger. The "inside source" who advised them to pick J.T. won't be getting a team Xmas card this year.

Grabovski - Probably drafted to give Kostitsyn some company in the system, but he has been surprisingly effective in the tough RSL. Still, he is 5-10 and 185 pounds or so.

None of the rest warrant consideration with the exception of Greg Stewart who has more than doubled his offensive production in less than half a season. He has the size and work ethic to be a worthwhile project if he can put up half decent numbers in the OHL.

[beckham]

J.T. Wyman showing some signs of life along with his team. 3 assists in the past 3 games. Hey, it's a start.