2023 Development Camp

[GHT120]

No goal, but nice set-up

And Logan shows his offensive skills

Roy cool & calm on his shootout attempt

 

[DON]

1 minute ago, IN THE HEARTS OF MEN said:

I disagree... hes had alot of people on his new podcast including big guns like Gorton Hughes and countless contributors... to dismiss his personal opinion outright completely would be wrong as well

Why not?

If you have listened to him much, he seems same as most Hab fanatics with Rose-coloured glasses on or be very fickle.

Definitely seems to lack objectivity, credibility or dlbalr's rational-like take on most things habs related.

 

4 minutes ago, IN THE HEARTS OF MEN said:

The fact he and McCagg both saying Mailloux is most NhL ready at development camp should be considered.

Does not mean any are NHL-ready, or should be suited up for opening day in Montreal.

Dont know McCagg's track record or what he does.

 

6 minutes ago, IN THE HEARTS OF MEN said:

Is there someone else who you would consider more NHL ready and actually seen them at camp?

Not to be a total a-hole and just my opinion; but, who the hell knows, most havent played at pro-hockey speed/physicality and any play at development camp is pretty meaningless, unless are an invite i suppose. 

 

Anyways, hope they are correct and that Mailloux will be a valuable Hab down the road, he has some promising traits and right-handed d-man is a plus, given lack of them in the system. 

Reinbacher

Mailloux/Barron

Kovacovic 

Right-side future looking better.

 

 

[GHT120]

Reports are that Tuch has had a very good development camp ... hopefully it translates into a good senior season with Boston University (with Lane Hutson et al.) and force the habs to make a decision next spring.

[IN THE HEARTS OF MEN]

To be clear.  I'm not saying anything, but there is a lot of good info coming out of that podcast with all its contributors... including Tony and his opinion (which is just his opinion). TSN 690 is no different. 

[Neech]

 

I watched only a bit of this 4 on 4 scrimmage, and boy is Hutson a wizard with the puck. He'd be a future MVP candidate if the NHL was always 4 on 4 (along with Cole).

[DON]

1 hour ago, GHT120 said:

Reports are that Tuch has had a very good development camp ... hopefully it translates into a good senior season with Boston University (with Lane Hutson et al.) and force the habs to make a decision next spring.

I have pretty low expectations for Tuch, would be a huge surprise if he ever made it to the NHL, but i was wrong about 6th rounder Pezzetta when he was with Sudbury and Xhekaj as well, so what do i know.

 

17 minutes ago, IN THE HEARTS OF MEN said:

To be clear.  I'm not saying anything, but there is a lot of good info coming out of that podcast with all its contributors... including Tony and his opinion (which is just his opinion). TSN 690 is no different. 

Dont disagree.

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

It's hard not to get a little excited about the Habs future on defense. 

[DON]

Why is Mesar playing AHL and not another year in the OHL?

Hope they arnt trying to fasttrack him, simply because he was a 1st round pick.

Similar, i hope Reinbacher is back in Europe and not in Laval.

They way they handled Guhle-Caufield-Matheson-Slafkovski injuries/ice-time-usage last year, gives me low confidence in Habs mgmt development plan or lack of, thats for sure.

 

They spout off good talk, might be about it, so far anyways.

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

8 minutes ago, DON said:

Why is Mesar playing AHL and not another year in the OHL?

 

 

Just speculating but maybe they are not crazy about the coaching staff in Kitchener. Perhaps if he was playing under someone like Dale Hunter they would think a little differently. 

[GHT120]

1 hour ago, DON said:

Why is Mesar playing AHL and not another year in the OHL?

Hope they arnt trying to fasttrack him, simply because he was a 1st round pick.

Similar, i hope Reinbacher is back in Europe and not in Laval.

They way they handled Guhle-Caufield-Matheson-Slafkovski injuries/ice-time-usage last year, gives me low confidence in Habs mgmt development plan or lack of, thats for sure.

 

They spout off good talk, might be about it, so far anyways.

 

I believe I read that the Habs had told Mesar last year that it would be one season in the OHL, perhaps to avoid him returning to Europe where he could have made a bit more than an OHL stipend ... if so, they are just keeping their word ... given the number of youngsters in Laval, if he refuses to go back to junior I suppose he could even be loaned to Trois Rivieres or even to a European league, which might change his tune about the OHL ... if the concern is his playing in Kitchner, I suppose they could contact the Kitchner GM and let him know that Mesar will only return to the OHL if he is traded to one of whatever teams the Habs prefer ... a trade to the Saginaw Spirit would guarantee a Memorial Cup appearance (they host), although 10 of his teammates last season were younger than Filip so they may be well positioned for success this season.

[dlbalr]

6 hours ago, DON said:

Does not mean any are NHL-ready, or should be suited up for opening day in Montreal.

Dont know McCagg's track record or what he does.

 

He briefly worked as a scout for Montreal about a decade ago and now runs Recrutes, a prospect site with a bit of a Montreal focus.  (He also registered an account here a while back but doesn't post.)

 

4 hours ago, DON said:

Why is Mesar playing AHL and not another year in the OHL?

 

As GHT notes above, that was the deal they worked out with him.  It's also not as if playing professionally is an issue for Mesar, he spent two years playing in the pros back home.

[IN THE HEARTS OF MEN]

Engstrom played well today... Hutson is unbelievable. He shouldn't be at development camp. He's too good

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

2 hours ago, IN THE HEARTS OF MEN said:

Engstrom played well today... Hutson is unbelievable. He shouldn't be at development camp. He's too good

 

Good to hear about Hutson, he seems to be progressing well, maybe that's an understatement. 

[DON]

Lots of good stuff at scrimmages;

https://www.habseyesontheprize.com/montreal-canadiens-development-camp-highlights-lane-hutson-david-reinbacher-adam-engstrom-joshua-roy/

 

I bet Hutson's lil brother dosent fall due to size in the draft. His play seemed similar (better?) to Lane at u-18s.

 

The 19-year-old said his hockey IQ and vision on the ice comes from instincts and also from watching a lot of hockey with his father, Rob, and two brothers — Quinn, 21, and Cole, 17. Hutson and his older brother (a 5-foot-11 right-winger) were teammates last season at Boston University, while Cole (a 5-foot-8 defenceman) had 4-21-25 totals in 32 games with the U.S. National Development team and is a top prospect for next year’s NHL Draft.

https://montrealgazette.com/sports/hockey/nhl/hockey-inside-out/stu-cowan-canadiens-prospect-lane-hutson-is-a-lot-of-fun-to-watch

[GHT120]

In particular, I found the clip with Adam Nicholas (Director of Hockey Development) very interesting ... starts around 16:00

 

 

 

[DON]

If can get through all the stupid ads, here is interview with Nicolas (i cant view the twitter one)

https://www.tvasports.ca/2023/07/04/le-cerveau-du-developpement-du-ch-a-la-recherche-de-la-formule-secrete-du-qi-hockey

[Sir_Boagalott]

18 hours ago, DON said:

Lots of good stuff at scrimmages;

https://www.habseyesontheprize.com/montreal-canadiens-development-camp-highlights-lane-hutson-david-reinbacher-adam-engstrom-joshua-roy/

 

I bet Hutson's lil brother dosent fall due to size in the draft. His play seemed similar (better?) to Lane at u-18s.

 

The 19-year-old said his hockey IQ and vision on the ice comes from instincts and also from watching a lot of hockey with his father, Rob, and two brothers — Quinn, 21, and Cole, 17. Hutson and his older brother (a 5-foot-11 right-winger) were teammates last season at Boston University, while Cole (a 5-foot-8 defenceman) had 4-21-25 totals in 32 games with the U.S. National Development team and is a top prospect for next year’s NHL Draft.

https://montrealgazette.com/sports/hockey/nhl/hockey-inside-out/stu-cowan-canadiens-prospect-lane-hutson-is-a-lot-of-fun-to-watch

 

Insanely, Lane has another brother too.  The very youngest brother is Lars and he's 14 and putting up better #'s than Cole and Lane did in that age group.  Lane doesn't like to say it but he already admits that Cole is better than he is and in the future Cole will be saying the same about Lars.  

 

It would be nutbar if the Habs can get the younger brothers and it might be a remote possibility.  However, by the time Lars is draft eligible he will probably be 1st or 2nd over all (top 5 anyway) so the Habs would need to win the Draft Lottery to pick him.  

[DON]

2024 draft crystal ballin;

 

https://theathletic.com/4579669/2023/07/05/nhl-mock-draft-2024-macklin-celebrini/

3. Montreal Canadiens: Ivan Demidov, RW, SKA-MHL

16. Seattle Kraken: Cole Hutson, LHD, U.S. NTDP-USHL

Cole Hutson has a lot of similarities to his older brother, Lane, the Montreal draftee. He’s a very skilled and intelligent defenseman who can make a ton of plays and run a power play at a high level. He’s quite undersized though, and while he skates well, he doesn’t have amazing feet for his size.

[DON]

https://theathletic.com/4667006/2023/07/05/canadiens-prospects-david-reinbacher-development/

 

"This is not a ground-breaking method, but the way Nicholas uses it has a serious impact on the players.

“It was pretty cool,” Hutson said. “What Adam does is pretty special, he takes it to another level. I thought he couldn’t take it to another level, and then he did. I was pretty shocked. The video of the last play that happened 30 seconds ago was already on the big screen. It was pretty cool.” "

[GHT120]

1 hour ago, DON said:

https://theathletic.com/4667006/2023/07/05/canadiens-prospects-david-reinbacher-development/

 

"This is not a ground-breaking method, but the way Nicholas uses it has a serious impact on the players.

“It was pretty cool,” Hutson said. “What Adam does is pretty special, he takes it to another level. I thought he couldn’t take it to another level, and then he did. I was pretty shocked. The video of the last play that happened 30 seconds ago was already on the big screen. It was pretty cool.” "

 

Apparently Habs prospects frequently get Nicholas et al's feedback/analysis on videos from their recent games, often via video conference so it is face-to-face.

[Dalhabs]

I dont think we are drafting top10 next year.

[DON]

38 minutes ago, Dalhabs said:

I dont think we are drafting top10 next year.

I heard Vegas odds put Habs at 30th...but so preliminary probably not worth quoting.

But, i agree with you and Habs will be somewhat closer to a playoff spot than that.

Possibly could see; Hutson, Tuch, Mesar, Reinbacher, Beck, Heineman, Mailloux, Engstrom, etc...in a Hab jersey towards end of season or ...if Habs make playoffs and Laval dosent.

[hab29RETIRED]

2 hours ago, Dalhabs said:

I dont think we are drafting top10 next year.

I think we’ll be close. Between 6 and 12.

[DON]

2 hours ago, hab29RETIRED said:

I think we’ll be close. Between 6 and 12.

They simply cant have as many injuries, so with Matheson-Guhle healthy in Oct , with Harris-Kovavevic pairing is promising, the goalies should have bit easier time.

And likley middling offense, so not counting on playoffs, but this crew could be entertaining.

[GHT120]

28 minutes ago, DON said:

They simply cant have as many injuries, so with Matheson-Guhle healthy in Oct , with Harris-Kovavevic pairing is promising, the goalies should have bit easier time.

And likley middling offense, so not counting on playoffs, but this crew could be entertaining.

So much depends on whether or not Montembeault truly had a breakout season in 22/23 ... some believe yes, some believe no ... we won't know until well into the season which side is right.