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2021-22 Laval General Discussion Thread


dlbalr

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12 hours ago, DON said:

Should they try and get Caufield some AHL games after allowed to play again?

 

I imagine that will be the plan pending any more injuries.  He already seemed to be on his way towards being sent back until he and Armia went into COVID protocol.

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1 hour ago, dlbalr said:

 

I imagine that will be the plan pending any more injuries.  He already seemed to be on his way towards being sent back until he and Armia went into COVID protocol.

Again, kinda wondering how new mgmt will treat prospects, will it be much different than what we have seen since 2012-13?

 

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1 hour ago, DON said:

Again, kinda wondering how new mgmt will treat prospects, will it be much different than what we have seen since 2012-13?

Some prospects (such as Ylonen) have been getting appropriate seasoning in Laval, but the top prospects have been thrown directly into the (dumpster) fire in Montreal, such as Caufield, Suzuki, Kotkaniemi and Mete. Of those four, only one prospered quickly.

 

I would hope for a different approach for prospects such as Harris and Guhle. But how they will handle the Caufield situation is a big question mark, as he's already spent about half a season in the NHL.

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I don't know that those prospects are all the same. 


KK went straight from being drafted to NHL

Suzuki was drafted, spent two years in the OHL, then went to the NHL. 

Caufield spent two years in college. 

Mete has one season in the OHL after being drafted. 

 

Just cause its not Laval, doesn't meant there isn't a year of development there.... 

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Quite true. But, for Mete for example, jumping straight from the OHL to the NHL is a huge change for young D-man.

 

Anyway, I, too, will be interested to see the approach Hughes will take on this.

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2 hours ago, tomh009 said:

Quite true. But, for Mete for example, jumping straight from the OHL to the NHL is a huge change for young D-man.

 

Anyway, I, too, will be interested to see the approach Hughes will take on this.

 

Oh for sure, its a jump. 

 

I just think there is

 

Route A - straight from drafted to NHL at 18 (Galchenyuk and KK)

Route B - play a couple years in juniors/NCAA post draft, then NHL (Gallagher, Suzuki, Caufield, Pacioretty, Price)

Route C - college/juniors, plus a year or two in AHL (Poehling, Evans, Subban, etc)

 

*on route B, gallagher had a few AHL games in 2012 lockout, Caufield, Price, and Pacioretty all started in NHL but then still needed AHL time.

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Fair enough, yes. But too often there has been urgency to get the top prospects into the Habs lineup, pushing them toward Route A, or an abbreviated B.

 

I am cautiously optimistic that there will be somewhat less pressure in the future. Maybe. 🙂

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11 hours ago, Commandant said:

I don't know that those prospects are all the same. 


KK went straight from being drafted to NHL

Suzuki was drafted, spent two years in the OHL, then went to the NHL. 

Caufield spent two years in college. 

Mete has one season in the OHL after being drafted. 

 

Just cause its not Laval, doesn't meant there isn't a year of development there.... 

he issue I see is that once he plays a certain number of NHL games, Laval is not going to be an option. Rather have him there earlier, rather than later in a desperate salvage situation. He needs to play in a offensive role, and needs

to play more minutes. He also needs to play with confidence and swagger. None of that is happening right now.

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5 hours ago, hab29RETIRED said:

he issue I see is that once he plays a certain number of NHL games, Laval is not going to be an option.

 

We're a long way from that point.  He can play another 88 NHL games before he's eligible for waivers (it'd be the earlier of that threshold or the start of the 23-24 season).

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Glad Teasdale is ready to return.  He was a useful player for Laval last season and I'm curious to see how much this second knee injury already affected his skating.  That's the biggest red flag I have for him as a prospect but if he didn't lose a step, he may still have some lower-end NHL upside.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I am happy to see Niku in Laval. I hope he stays there all season

 

 

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1 hour ago, alfredoh2009 said:

I am happy to see Niku in Laval. I hope he stays there all season

 

I'll be surprised if he's still there by the end of the month.  As soon as Montreal moves some of their defencemen, he'll probably among the first recalls.  This is just to get him some game action so he'll be ready to play when that time comes.

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1 hour ago, dlbalr said:

 

I'll be surprised if he's still there by the end of the month.  As soon as Montreal moves some of their defencemen, he'll probably among the first recalls.  This is just to get him some game action so he'll be ready to play when that time comes.

wouldn't  it be better to leave Niku in Laval and to claim Cholowski from waivers instead to finish the season here? Niku is equivalent "Belpedio"/"Ouellet" at this point, but may still get better playing lots of minutes in the NHL

 

 

 

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42 minutes ago, alfredoh2009 said:

wouldn't  it be better to leave Niku in Laval and to claim Cholowski from waivers instead to finish the season here? Niku is equivalent "Belpedio"/"Ouellet" at this point, but may still get better playing lots of minutes in the NHL

Niku hasn't been that bad, I think. Yes, he's an offensive guy and makes defensive mistakes, but same goes for Wideman (and Petry, for that matter). He's +2 and 59% HDCF (Wideman is -8 and 53% HDCF, Petry is -8 and 44%) in spite of having relatively more D-zone starts than Wideman. Not a top-pairing D-man, for sure, but definitely better than Belpedio. And can contribute on PP.

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1 hour ago, tomh009 said:

Niku hasn't been that bad, I think. Yes, he's an offensive guy and makes defensive mistakes, but same goes for Wideman (and Petry, for that matter). He's +2 and 59% HDCF (Wideman is -8 and 53% HDCF, Petry is -8 and 44%) in spite of having relatively more D-zone starts than Wideman. Not a top-pairing D-man, for sure, but definitely better than Belpedio. And can contribute on PP.

 

Agreed, I haven't minded Niku at all.  Its more than him and Wideman are essentially the same player. 

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2 minutes ago, Commandant said:

Agreed, I haven't minded Niku at all.  Its more than him and Wideman are essentially the same player. 

Pretty much, yes. Now, Niku is six years younger and fewer than 70 NHL games, so he might yet improve somewhat (Wideman is 31 and 300+ games) but he's never going to turn into a Josi, Makar or Heiskanen.

 

We'll have to wait and see which one of them (if either one) figures in Hughes's rebuild plan. Unlikely to be both. But the PP is far better with one of these two guys on the blue line.

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1 hour ago, Commandant said:

I could see them moving Wideman for a late draft pick.

So we wouldnt have to pay someone to take him?

 

I guess KHL/AHL similar level of comp., for him anyways.

Last AHL year 9g 22a in 53gms

In KHL 9g 32a in 59gms.

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5 hours ago, Commandant said:

 I think wed get a 6th at least 

That would be great to see, i didnt think would get anything, or that he may be in the top 4 on the Habs after the deadline.

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news from Laval

 

 

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Brook is ready to play, but Rocket has a bottleneck of defensemen. With Dea also back and Drouin & Dvorak about to return to the NHL roster Habs are getting closer and closer to having to make a trade...

 

 

 

 

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Baddock, Belpedio and Dea maybe the best candidates to be traded: on NHL/AHL contracts, but unlikely to have actual NHL upside. Now need to find a team who will give us a goalie in return!

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