A Silver Lining

[KoZed]

I've made the count. The Habs used 10 rookies so far this season. 10 HOME GROWN (drafted) rookies, from some who've won a regular spot (Higgins, Plekanec) to some who've just made the jump to the pros (Lapierre). They're all under 22 as well.

By draft year:

2001 7 D Mike Komisarek 25 R Alexander Perezhogin 71 C Tomas Plekanec

2002 14 C Chris Higgins 212 R Jonathan Ferland

2003 10 W Andrei Kostitsyn 61 C Maxim Lapierre

To that list you can add Yann Danis, Ivanans and Coté (free agent). Maybe even Murray, but we traded for him.

I dont know if I'm the only one who remembers the dreaded years where we had a tough time having ONE decent rookie in the lineup, having 10 different (and none of them did horrible) is pretty good.

Add to that others who are close (Lambert, Locke) and the prospects with NHL upside (Yemelin, Grabovsky, Chipchura, Price, Latendresse).

We're just witnessing the beginning of some very exciting years.

[JMMR]

That is indeed a silver lining I hope of these 10 players that have dressed this year, at least 7 or 8 become career NHLers and it would be nice if 1 or 2 become Stars or better yet superstars for the Canadiens.

Gaineys influence will continue to improve this team for every year he is in power and even in the years after he has left our franchise.

[shortcat1]

Very nice article. A welcome addition to our topics. Thank you very much. Keep reminding us of the new horizons facing our team.

[BTH]

I believe Streit is also considered a rookie.

[Athlétique.Canadien]

Excellent post. I feel better now.

And, to make this even better I would like to add the following:

Kyle Chipchura. It's crystal clear he is the REAL DEAL - Hail Captain :hlogo: IP :hlogo: URA

Number 2: Introducing the point leader in the U20 Championship, Div I, Group B pool. - Siarhei Kostitsyn 5-GP 4-goals 5-assists. +6. Those are Evengi Malkin type numbers :hlogo: Maybe he can make CHL rookie of the year

Number 3: Will Alexei :hlogo: Emelin or Luc Bourdon win the number 1 D of the tourney award? 5GP 2G 5A +4 1st place – 2nd place belongs to Bourdon 5GP 1G 5A +4.

Thank you KoZed for the cheer up!

HABS! :hlogo:

Edited January 5, 2006 by ATHLÉTIQUE.CANADIEN

[KoZed]

Yes, it cheers me up too when I look at the kids the Habs have in the system now. Reminds me of the mid 80, 1986 to be more precise. Habs had a good deal of quality prospects at that time and it gave about 7-8 good seasons that started and finished with a Stanley Cup win.

The era is different and lots has changed, but I think we can reasonably expect the current Habs to start a streak of a good seasons and become a Cup contender sooner rather than later.

BUT, some of those prospects will have to become League-wide stars if we're to dream about the Cup. I think the first young Habs on the current roster that could reach that level of performance could be Markov. He's getting better and better with time, and he's still not in his peak (around 30 yrs old for a D-man). Maybe he'll never be a Norris candidate, but he could become one of the top 10 best D's in the league someday soon.

Other than that, Kostitsyn is showing the kind of potential you rarely see. He was nothing short of amazing against Pittsburgh. He was controling the puck and creating things out of nothing with the type of natural skills that looks very much like Kovalev. For a Belarussian kid who turned pro just last season and saw little ice time in Hamilton last season, he's coming along nicely. Sky is the limit for him and once he gets more comfortable and confident in his new environment, he should be a threat for the opposition and a treat for the fans.

Latendresse is a wild card, he's having a rocky year and his entire world got turned upside-down once he got drafted by the Habs and became a public darling. Its an aweful lot to deal with when you're just 18 yrs old. He basically went from total anonymity to total admiration overnight. I think it can help him in the long run. He's getting major doses of maturity and experience right now. He'll proabably understand that he has to give 100% if he wants all the attention and pressure to remain positive.

Then there's Price. I'll be honest, I couldnt swallow that pick at the draft and resented it for a while, but now that its clear that Theodore isn't a franchise goalie and can't carry the Habs on his own back alone, I'm relieved to know we have a highly-touted goalie like Price in the system. And there's always a chance that one of the other guys (Danis, Halak, Heino-Lindberg) pull a Vokoun or a Kipprusoff and come out of nowhere to become a dominant NHL goalie.

Then you got Chipchura, which gives us some heart, grit and good old 2-way hockey. Imagine how it'll feel to watch him and Higgins play together.

Now throw him some other offensively talented players (Perezhogin, Plekanec, Locke), some good support players (Lapierre, Ferland, Murray) and some more wildcards (Lambert, Milroy, Urqhart, Grabovsky) and that all adds up to a lot of options coming down the system's pipeline.

That's the first step of building a contender. Because after that the GM's job is much easier because you can fill some needs from the inside; and what you can't fill from the inside you trade for from a position of strenght. For the Habs, that'll probably mean defensemen. We're very very thin and poor in that department. I can only see Markov, Komisarek, Emelin and Coté being able to play defense for us in years from now, and the latter two are wild cards. Habs could defenitively use a stud prospect at defense.

[shortcat1]

Yes, it cheers me up too when I look at the kids the Habs have in the system now. Reminds me of the mid 80, 1986 to be more precise. Habs had a good deal of quality prospects at that time and it gave about 7-8 good seasons that started and finished with a Stanley Cup win.

The era is different and lots has changed, but I think we can reasonably expect the current Habs to start a streak of a good seasons and become a Cup contender sooner rather than later.

BUT, some of those prospects will have to become League-wide stars if we're to dream about the Cup. I think the first young Habs on the current roster that could reach that level of performance could be Markov. He's getting better and better with time, and he's still not in his peak (around 30 yrs old for a D-man). Maybe he'll never be a Norris candidate, but he could become one of the top 10 best D's in the league someday soon.

Other than that, Kostitsyn is showing the kind of potential you rarely see. He was nothing short of amazing against Pittsburgh. He was controling the puck and creating things out of nothing with the type of natural skills that looks very much like Kovalev. For a Belarussian kid who turned pro just last season and saw little ice time in Hamilton last season, he's coming along nicely. Sky is the limit for him and once he gets more comfortable and confident in his new environment, he should be a threat for the opposition and a treat for the fans.

Latendresse is a wild card, he's having a rocky year and his entire world got turned upside-down once he got drafted by the Habs and became a public darling. Its an aweful lot to deal with when you're just 18 yrs old. He basically went from total anonymity to total admiration overnight. I think it can help him in the long run. He's getting major doses of maturity and experience right now. He'll proabably understand that he has to give 100% if he wants all the attention and pressure to remain positive.

Then there's Price. I'll be honest, I couldnt swallow that pick at the draft and resented it for a while, but now that its clear that Theodore isn't a franchise goalie and can't carry the Habs on his own back alone, I'm relieved to know we have a highly-touted goalie like Price in the system. And there's always a chance that one of the other guys (Danis, Halak, Heino-Lindberg) pull a Vokoun or a Kipprusoff and come out of nowhere to become a dominant NHL goalie.

Then you got Chipchura, which gives us some heart, grit and good old 2-way hockey. Imagine how it'll feel to watch him and Higgins play together.

Now throw him some other offensively talented players (Perezhogin, Plekanec, Locke), some good support players (Lapierre, Ferland, Murray) and some more wildcards (Lambert, Milroy, Urqhart, Grabovsky) and that all adds up to a lot of options coming down the system's pipeline.

That's the first step of building a contender. Because after that the GM's job is much easier because you can fill some needs from the inside; and what you can't fill from the inside you trade for from a position of strenght. For the Habs, that'll probably mean defensemen. We're very very thin and poor in that department. I can only see Markov, Komisarek, Emelin and Coté being able to play defense for us in years from now, and the latter two are wild cards. Habs could defenitively use a stud prospect at defense.

Have you forgotten or did you deliberately omit Ryan O'Byrne? He's doing well this year. Dan Lynn wrote this about him at the end of December: "Ryan O'Byrne might not be a house hold name among Canadiens fans yet but with his play so far this season it won't be long before he joins the Hamilton Bulldogs and gives fans an exciting defensemen to watch. In the mold of Mike Komisarek, O'Byrne is also a huge, mobile, physical defensemen that has shown a great deal of progress in his overall game this season. The 21 year old junior may chose to return to Cornell next season for his final year, but either way it won't be much longer before he's crushing opposing forwards in the AHL." Hockeysfuture.com considers him to be potentially a 3/4 defenseman. Not top end stuff maybe but very valuable nevertheless.

[KoZed]

Have you forgotten or did you deliberately omit Ryan O'Byrne? He's doing well this year. Dan Lynn wrote this about him at the end of December: "Ryan O'Byrne might not be a house hold name among Canadiens fans yet but with his play so far this season it won't be long before he joins the Hamilton Bulldogs and gives fans an exciting defensemen to watch. In the mold of Mike Komisarek, O'Byrne is also a huge, mobile, physical defensemen that has shown a great deal of progress in his overall game this season. The 21 year old junior may chose to return to Cornell next season for his final year, but either way it won't be much longer before he's crushing opposing forwards in the AHL." Hockeysfuture.com considers him to be potentially a 3/4 defenseman. Not top end stuff maybe but very valuable nevertheless.

I left him out but you could throw him in the "wild cards" column. If he keeps developing nice, it'd be a big bonus.

[thehabbit]

way to go KoZed!!! great articles

this is the way i have been viewing the habs since the beginning of the season but kind of got caught up in the fast start and the disappointment that followed. the forward talent coming up in the organization along with the goaltending talent is very impressive, and certainly none of the rookies this season have disappointed.

you are right, what we need is defensemen........thats what free agents and surplus forwards (zed,ribs,dags,sunny) that we can trade are for.

the habs will definitely not win the cup this year but in two years with the right development and additions it is possible for sure.........

i am also coming to the belief that the Price pick belied Gainey's non-confidence in Theo as a franchise and dominant goalie.......and you know what, i think he was right.

singing.........the future's so bright "Ive gotta wear (an ovechkin tinted visor)"

thinking positive aint easy these days but its always better

[PMAC]

Nice Post Kozed... We need a bit of cheer for '06 . Now if they could just beat the Devils

[simonus]

singing.........the future's so bright "Ive gotta wear (an ovechkin tinted visor)"

I like the sentiment man, but that song was written about nuclear holocaust....

[thehabbit]

I like the sentiment man, but that song was written about nuclear holocaust....

i didn't know that, but whats your point though simonus, obviously you get the jist of what i was saying (or singing). have the dirty bomb fearmongers in washington gotten to you too???? no offense though dude

[thehabbit]

I like the sentiment man, but that song was written about nuclear holocaust....

glow habs glow :king:

[hankhab]

I like how Kostitsyn had been playing lately..seen him earlier this season in AHL, he looked lost. Now, he seems to be recapturing the form he displayed in his World Juniour appearances, where he was dominant. Good stuff, looks like he's still got a good chance to develop into a real NHL sniper. Looks like he's going to be playing on a line with Kovalov today, which I'm sure he's excited about. Lets hope Perezoigen gets another chance soon, I've liked what I've seen from him this year, when he's been given a real chance.

[AlbanyHabsMan]

Wow, great post and I could not agree more. BG understands that the kids need time to develop and build confidence. It's a huge leap to play in the NHL...A good farm system is huge for two reasons in that (1) it makes the current roster work harder to keep their jobs and (2) it give BG options down the road via trade...O'Byrne is a couple of years away, but he's a fierce competitor...he's also a highly skilled big, big bodied defenceman that doesn't mind using his size....

[BTH]

The real success of this year's draft will come from our late-round picks not the 2 stars.

[JMMR]

Kosty must be thrilled about his opportunity today. I sure hope he talked to Zhog when they passed each other in the airport and I hope Zhog told him the key to success with Julien.

(Translated Zhog does not speak English)

Kosty - hey Alex sorry I’m taking your spot.

Zhog- that’s ok I am sick of being yelled at and sitting in the middle of the bench next to that weird guy from Switzerland

Kosty- anything I should know about how to stay out of the doghouse.

Zhog- yeah sure, you have to score ever shift or you will be benched, if a vet makes a mistake on your line you may get benched, if you make a mistake you wont see the ice for 2 games even if you get a hat trick.

Kosty- uh oh wow I better work hard good luck with the Bulldogs.

[BTH]

Zhog- that’s ok I am sick of being yelled at and sitting in the middle of the bench next to that weird guy from Switzerland