Chipchura To Hamilton?

[gohabsgo252006]

Someone can correct me if any of this info is wrong,

but i believe that Prince Albert Raiders have missed the playoffs.

Thus Kyle Chipchura's junior career is over.

Can he not sign a "try-out" contract with Hamilton and play there the rest of the season to get some experience.

If he can, this can really give us an idea of how he can do at that level and correspondingly at the NHL level, similar to what the Flyers did with Carter and Richards last season, although they got to play in the playoffs which Chip won't.

IF he can show some good signs, it can perhaps accelerate the plan to have him in the NHL next year. If he struggles we'll know that he needs a full year in Hamilton.

[CerebusClone]

Chipchura can sign a try-out contract with the Bulldogs, and hopefully he will. It would be very interesting to see how he does at the pro-level, and also playing with more skilled players like Kostsitsyn for instance. It think he's the kind of guy who will show consistency at any level; he'll never be a scoring machine, but no matter where he plays, he'll do well and will never look bad.

I also agree with you that playing right away in the AHL might help for him to play with the Canadiens next season, probably not right out of training camp, but later on during the season, like Perry, Getzlaf, Bernier, and other prospects have done this year. Having Carbonneau as coach and Gainey as CM will defenitely help Chipchura graduate quickly; he and Higgins are exactly their kind of player, and will be key players for this organization.

[Komisarek the Cruncher]

In Sunday's La Presse, André Savard commented that the Habs would like to sign him to send him to Hamilton and they have made contacts with his agent.

Hopefully they can have a deal done soon.

[gohabsgo252006]

http://www.rds.ca/citadelles/chroniques/200706.html

He is joining the Dogs, it's now official....not sure if he was signed to the tryout contract or the habs signed him. but that's just a matter of time

[kaos]

Him and Kostitsyn have showed some chemistry in training camp, playing together. I remember the prospects tornament they played pretty well against Florida, Ottawa and Toronto.

Thats good, I'm planning on attending some Bulldogs games early next month so hopefully I can check him out.

[MAK]

anybody knows if we can watch some bulldogs game on tv before the end of the season??

[JMMR]

I know there are no Hamilton games on sportsnet for the rest of the month. After that maybe.

[MAK]

well..maybe in the playoffs..if they make it

[Athlétique.Canadien]

Can :hlogo: ip :hlogo: ura be called up to the Canadiens or is this not allowed? Does he need to sign a pro contract first? Has he signed a pro contract?

[gohabsgo252006]

I don't think he can be called up to the habs, he's only signed a tryout contract with the Bulldogs letting him get some experience, he will likely sign with the Habs in the offseason, which would allow him to make the roster or be sent to hamilton next year.

If he plays well I can see him making the team next year. A player like him, who is solid dfensively has good size and isn't expected to provide too much offense is usually easier to bring up at a young age, then someone who needs to learn to be respossible in his own end.

[montreal]

well..maybe in the playoffs..if they make it

they won't make it, the season is all but over. Any shot they had was thrown out the window in back to back losses to the two teams in front of them. The only way they have a shot is if they win every single game and the marlies forget how to play hockey. Dogs only play 3 games for the rest of March, as they are 10 pts back and the teams in front of them have 3-4 games in hand.

Chipchura can not be called up to the Habs unless he signs a contract with them. I would guess that he did not sign with the Habs, since usually you sign a PTO contract and then sign a contract after the season. They did this with Halak last year.

Chipchura, Lacasse, Stewart, Dulac-Lemelin all need to be signed by June 1st or they reenter the draft. I would expect Chiper and Stewart to be signed before then.

[Trizzak]

I think Chipchura is being groomed for what Bonk's role was supposed to be this year. In that sense, I don't think Gainey expected Chipchura to be ready until after next season when Bonk's contract is up. Since Bonk has been relegated to what is essentially 4th line duty, Chip may have a solid shot for next year.

[MAK]

I don'T lnow much of stewart. is he a defensive foward, enforcer ??

[montreal]

I don'T lnow much of stewart. is he a defensive foward, enforcer ??

4th line energy guy. He plays something like Begin. Works hard, skates fast, takes the body, drops the gloves (not that good of a fighter from what I've seen) he has decent hands, but doesn't really have much offensive skills imo.

He reminds me a bit of Ferland as well, but a better skater and better speed but smaller.

[kaos]

Even if Chipchura comes in next year and performs really well at camp I still think the Habs would send him to Hamilton for a year. It just always seems to be the wya it is with this club. Never wanna rush the youngs guys. Lots of AHL experience, which I think can be deterimental to a players development.

[CoRvInA]

Even if Chipchura comes in next year and performs really well at camp I still think the Habs would send him to Hamilton for a year. It just always seems to be the wya it is with this club. Never wanna rush the youngs guys. Lots of AHL experience, which I think can be deterimental to a players development.

which brings me to the next question we might have enough Youngers "freshblood" to fill the complete Hamilton Roster ourselves lets forget Edmonton soon I hope we need these guys to gell with players that actually might be playing with on a more constant fashion....

We got possibly Latendresse... Chip.. Emelin and perhaps... Mathieu Aubin among others! Hamilton should be looking good next year! I dont think Gainey should wait if we are set on getting the cup at/or before our 100 Aniv.

[gohabsgo252006]

Even if Chipchura comes in next year and performs really well at camp I still think the Habs would send him to Hamilton for a year. It just always seems to be the wya it is with this club. Never wanna rush the youngs guys. Lots of AHL experience, which I think can be deterimental to a players development.

NOrmally I would agree, however Chipchura seems to be a different case.

MOst of the time, those players we think about bringing in right away are offensive players, those guys are usually relatively weak in their own zone. Chipchura is the opposite, he is excellent defensively and if he can show that and show some strength and the ability to physically play at this level, I don't think Carbo will hesitate in bringing him up. If he needs to work on his strength or his defensive game needs refining then he will be sent donw.

the major difference, we're not expecting much offence from him, but solid D.

imo: you can add Kostytsin and Chipchura to the Habs. Now you have

Koivu

Kovalev

Perezhogin

Higgins

Plekanek

Kostytsin

Chipchura

Begin

Maybe even a Lapierre on the 4th line too

on teh roster for sure, add in; the guys who may or may not be back

Zednik

Bulis

Ryder

Ribeiro (Yuck)

Bonk

Murray

and sign some free agents that are more inclined on teh offensive end, or even deal some of the bottom listed players for upgrades, and we have a solid as heck offensive group.

I doub there is room for Latendresse next year, i think he'll have to wait a bit, especially with Kosty coming. If chipchura can make it, I doubt Lats has much of a chance.

[CerebusClone]

which brings me to the next question we might have enough Youngers "freshblood" to fill the complete Hamilton Roster ourselves lets forget Edmonton soon I hope we need these guys to gell with players that actually might be playing with on a more constant fashion....

We got possibly Latendresse... Chip.. Emelin and perhaps... Mathieu Aubin among others! Hamilton should be looking good next year! I dont think Gainey should wait if we are set on getting the cup at/or before our 100 Aniv.

I think Latendresse is too young to play in Hamilton because of the AHL/CHL agreement. It's either Montreal or Drummondville for him. I understand that the CHL doesn't want to lose its best players, but I feel that it would be better for the players' development to be able to play in the AHL right away. The league would be filled with top end junior talent and pro veterans, so all these kids would play at a much higher level. What's the percentage of players in the Q that make it to the NHL? Less than 10%?

But I agree that we cannot sign another agreement with Edmonton or any other team since we have practically enough prospects to make a full roster, and there are always the career AHLer we signed like Lemieux, Sanford, ... It would be great to sign Emelin and Kospikari, and bring them to North America. O'Byrne might decide to sign, but since he's only one year away from graduation and might never make it in the NHL, he will probably decide to get his diploma. It would be interesting to see Korneev with the Bulldogs, but I doubt he'll ever see him.

[kenadian]

When is he expected to play? The Bulldogs played yesterday, March 25th but he wasn't in the lineup

[kaos]

I would imagine he'd be ready to go for their next games Friday and Saturday

[JMMR]

Chipchura played his first game and recorded and assist.

[kaos]

I went to the game last night (April 1st). Chipchura played ok. Didn't play much in the first, as Hamilton was shorthanded quite a bit. He did see a little bit of PK time, and even less PP time.

He played mostly center, and had Milroy on his right and a revolving left winger, JF Jaques, Ivanans till he got booted and another who I forget.

A couple of things stand out.

1) He's physical, you seemed to notice him hitting someone almost every shift. GOod and bad, as sometimes he seemed to get a little out of position by finishing a check. Also he's be known to suffer from injuries, so maybe down the road this style will hurt him. He has no problem with heading into traffic

2) Needs some work on his skating. Just seemed a step behind the play sometimes. But its a big step from Jr to the AHL, and I'm sure over the course of the summer he can work on that, and a year in the AHL will definitly help him.

3) He has great moves with the puck. Looks like a pretty good stick handler, and probably could make moves around guys if he skating was better.

4) Unfortunatley he had pretty much no offensvie chances. Playing with guys like Milroy and Ivanans doesn't exactly lead to alot of offensive situations though.

Didn't see his shot, and i missed the warmups, so I have no idea what his shot is like.

5). He already kinda looks like a leader out there. Seems to have alot of hockey sense. It was only his second game and you coudl see him pointing out assignments to teammates.

6) After ever whistle blow you could see him chatting with Milroy and the coaches. Definitley seems like he wants to learn, and is very coachable.

I'd say he probably has no chance of making the big club next year, although I'd say he'd probably only need a year of AHL experience and would probably be ready for the '07/08 season.

Some other notes from the game.

Locke and Kostitsyn seem to have good chemistry and played really well together.

J.P. COte, doesn't seem to skate very well backwards, and I very much doubt he'll ever see alot of time in Montreal.

Edmonton got an absolute steal with Dany Syvret in the 4th or 5th round. This kid looks great out there. Physical, skates arlright, has good moves witht he puck, and passes well. Montreal should have taken this guy earlier.

Andrei Kostitsyn saw some icetime as a defensman. He played defense on 4-4 a couple of times, as well as played the point on the powerplay. Just thought the 4-4 was weird.

Also Danis seems to be the real deal. He looks like an NHLer playing in the AHL. This kid needs time in MOntreal next year and either Huet or preferable Aebischer needs to go.

If we lose this kid in free agency, or because Bob decides to keep both Aebischer and Huet, it'll be a travesty. This guy is a man among boys in the AHL, and neds NHL minutes next year

[Komisarek the Cruncher]

I went to the game last night (April 1st). Chipchura played ok. Didn't play much in the first, as Hamilton was shorthanded quite a bit. He did see a little bit of PK time, and even less PP time.

He played mostly center, and had Milroy on his right and a revolving left winger, JF Jaques, Ivanans till he got booted and another who I forget.

A couple of things stand out.

1) He's physical, you seemed to notice him hitting someone almost every shift. GOod and bad, as sometimes he seemed to get a little out of position by finishing a check. Also he's be known to suffer from injuries, so maybe down the road this style will hurt him. He has no problem with heading into traffic

2) Needs some work on his skating. Just seemed a step behind the play sometimes. But its a big step from Jr to the AHL, and I'm sure over the course of the summer he can work on that, and a year in the AHL will definitly help him.

3) He has great moves with the puck. Looks like a pretty good stick handler, and probably could make moves around guys if he skating was better.

4) Unfortunatley he had pretty much no offensvie chances. Playing with guys like Milroy and Ivanans doesn't exactly lead to alot of offensive situations though.

Didn't see his shot, and i missed the warmups, so I have no idea what his shot is like.

5). He already kinda looks like a leader out there. Seems to have alot of hockey sense. It was only his second game and you coudl see him pointing out assignments to teammates.

6) After ever whistle blow you could see him chatting with Milroy and the coaches. Definitley seems like he wants to learn, and is very coachable.

I'd say he probably has no chance of making the big club next year, although I'd say he'd probably only need a year of AHL experience and would probably be ready for the '07/08 season.

Some other notes from the game.

Locke and Kostitsyn seem to have good chemistry and played really well together.

J.P. COte, doesn't seem to skate very well backwards, and I very much doubt he'll ever see alot of time in Montreal.

Edmonton got an absolute steal with Dany Syvret in the 4th or 5th round. This kid looks great out there. Physical, skates arlright, has good moves witht he puck, and passes well. Montreal should have taken this guy earlier.

Andrei Kostitsyn saw some icetime as a defensman. He played defense on 4-4 a couple of times, as well as played the point on the powerplay. Just thought the 4-4 was weird.

Also Danis seems to be the real deal. He looks like an NHLer playing in the AHL. This kid needs time in MOntreal next year and either Huet or preferable Aebischer needs to go.

If we lose this kid in free agency, or because Bob decides to keep both Aebischer and Huet, it'll be a travesty. This guy is a man among boys in the AHL, and neds NHL minutes next year

Thanks for the update. I thought it was obvious from the WJC that Chipchura will need at least a year in the AHL before making the NHL. But the kid looks promising as a good big physical defensive 3rd line center that plays with heart and emotion.

As for Danis, I'm sure BG will trade Aebischer for whatever he can get in return to make room for him. BG has to resign Huet with the way he's been playing. He will cost 2M$, so I doubt BG will invest 2M$+ in 2 goalies. Why have a pair of 2M$+ goalies. Besides, keeping Huet and Aebischer would mean losing Danis who would sign a contract with another team as a UFA.

[kaos]

Thanks for the update. I thought it was obvious from the WJC that Chipchura will need at least a year in the AHL before making the NHL. But the kid looks promising as a good big physical defensive 3rd line center that plays with heart and emotion.

As for Danis, I'm sure BG will trade Aebischer for whatever he can get in return to make room for him. BG has to resign Huet with the way he's been playing. He will cost 2M$, so I doubt BG will invest 2M$+ in 2 goalies. Why have a pair of 2M$+ goalies. Besides, keeping Huet and Aebischer would mean losing Danis who would sign a contract with another team as a UFA.

Exactly.

Hopefully Aebischer is history. I can't imagine why BG would keep him and not Danis. Even if they have to give him away, the $2 million in salary savings can be helpfull elsewhere.

As ofr Huet, thats going to be intersting. I really see a 1 yr deal like the ones Ribeiro and Ryder got. Probably for around $1.5 million, maybe $2 million. Just to play a year and see if Huet can compete at this high of a level.

Then he'll get the 3yr deal if he plays well.

[MAK]

As ofr Huet, thats going to be intersting. I really see a 1 yr deal like the ones Ribeiro and Ryder got. Probably for around $1.5 million, maybe $2 million. Just to play a year and see if Huet can compete at this high of a level.

Then he'll get the 3yr deal if he plays well.

huet is a UFA next season..how many UFAs have you see sign for only a year. if montreal goes beyond the 1st round, expect huet to ask around for something like 3years/11.5.