shortcat1 Posted June 8, 2006 Share Posted June 8, 2006 The last few years, the Canadiens have shared their AHL affiliate with another team. That meant that about a handful of players from the other team shared instruction, development & ice time with the Canadiens prospects. On the one hand, it saved Montreal some money but, on the other hand, it took away some of the focus on the development of their own players. I don't know how much this cost the Canadiens prospects in terms of their development but it can't have helped. Three years agom it was the Edmonton Oilers (that's where we got Claude Julien). Two years ago, it was the Dallas Stars and last year, it was the Oilers again. In the list of potential 'partners', I've included Edmonton because they still don't have an affiliate. Carolina & Colorado presently share a team (the Albany River Rats) and Florida sends some players to the Rochester Americans, the Buffalo Sabers affiliate. All the other teams have their own affiliates though that can quickly change - Dallas has their own team now (the Iowa Stars). The final option, 'none - go it alone ' is my favourite for obvious reasons. For your consideration, here's a page which lists the affiliations: http://www.theahl.com/AHL/nhl_partners.html :king: :hlogo: :king: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBigRedC Posted June 9, 2006 Share Posted June 9, 2006 I would like to see Montreal go it alone. Forget Edmonton, I want to see our prospects get all the ice time. Especially with the goaltending problems. Desluaiers, an Edmonton prospect has seen action with the dogs, and between Halak, Danis and everyone else, we need to own the crease. We do have plenty of prospects, and many of them (Kostistyn) need a permanent home on the 1st line . If need be we can sign some UFAs to fill some holes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted June 9, 2006 Share Posted June 9, 2006 If the Habs sign their top Euros I think they have enough people to ice the whole farm team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetsniper Posted June 9, 2006 Share Posted June 9, 2006 We just signed our deal with Albany a few weeks ago so Colorado is off the market. After that, theres still talk of bringing the Colorado Eagles up from the CHL and into the AHL. That would be ideal, I prefer having a farm team all to myself. I hate this sharing crap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montreal Posted June 10, 2006 Share Posted June 10, 2006 I think the team will share again since we have done so every year. If we don't share a team, don't be surprised if Hamilton comes in last place. The goaltending should be the strong point but after that it gets really questionable. Our defense could be really shaky depending on what happens with Cote if he can make the team or not. Archer, Benoit and Sanford don't leave much to be desired. Forwards a lot will depend on Kostitsyn and if he makes the club. Locke should put up good numbers, Lemieux is a decent forward, Chipchura I expect him to have a big year and Lapierre is strong on the PK but needs to stay out of the box. From other incoming players, Grabovsky, Emelin, Korpikari and O'Byrne are guys that could be added, and if they all were added, then things would be very interesting in Hamilton, but I get the feeling O'Byrne will finish his final year at Cornell and Korpikari will stay in Finland one more year. It's just a guess though. It sounds like Grabovsky is coming, hope Emelin comes with him. It's impossible to say how the team will do cause we don't know what veterans will be added as well, plus there's always some CHL overagers or NCAA FA's. Still if we have our own team, Hamilton should be a very young and inexperienced team again. The good news is that a Danis-Halak combo should be one of the better in the AHL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortcat1 Posted June 10, 2006 Author Share Posted June 10, 2006 I think the team will share again since we have done so every year. If we don't share a team, don't be surprised if Hamilton comes in last place. The goaltending should be the strong point but after that it gets really questionable. Our defense could be really shaky depending on what happens with Cote if he can make the team or not. Archer, Benoit and Sanford don't leave much to be desired. Forwards a lot will depend on Kostitsyn and if he makes the club. Locke should put up good numbers, Lemieux is a decent forward, Chipchura I expect him to have a big year and Lapierre is strong on the PK but needs to stay out of the box. From other incoming players, Grabovsky, Emelin, Korpikari and O'Byrne are guys that could be added, and if they all were added, then things would be very interesting in Hamilton, but I get the feeling O'Byrne will finish his final year at Cornell and Korpikari will stay in Finland one more year. It's just a guess though. It sounds like Grabovsky is coming, hope Emelin comes with him. It's impossible to say how the team will do cause we don't know what veterans will be added as well, plus there's always some CHL overagers or NCAA FA's. Still if we have our own team, Hamilton should be a very young and inexperienced team again. The good news is that a Danis-Halak combo should be one of the better in the AHL. D'agostini might make the Bulldogs in the fall too. Another possibility (longshot) for defense is Sébastien Bisaillon (5th highest points for a defenseman in the Q last year 35g + 36a in 63 games - he outscored Luc Bourdon in a per game basis). He was invited to the Canadiens rookie camp last September. He's no heck defensively yet. Others invited to last year's rookie camp are: Jamie Tardif (RW - Peterborough Petes), Dominic Deblois (RW - Rouyn Noranda Huskies), Aaron Dawson (LD - Peterborough Petes), Nicolas Marcotte (LD - Trois Rivieres Caron & Guay - NAHL). The last one is a big stretch but the first three are possibilities. And. of course, there's always the possibility of Alex Dulac-Lemelin (good defensively). Now, this doesn't mean a powerhouse in the AHL but it could mean a full roster. :king: :hlogo: :king: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superhab Posted June 11, 2006 Share Posted June 11, 2006 To not share the Bulldogs at all with another team is crazy, sure their are more roster spots for our players and Kostitsyn and others will get more time to devolp but which is better for develpment playing on the first line undeserved or fighting for a first line spot and getting a chance to play in the AHL playoffs? Even with the Edmonton Prospects this year the Bulldogs were awful (and iw ould know i have season tickets) If it were to be all habs prospects i wouldn't be surprised to see them be the last place team in the AHL and that hurts your confidence and hurts a prospects develpment. hamilton needs to share or Bob Gainey needs to get some journey men down there to teach our prospects what it takes. Manitoba has Mike Keane, Hamilton has jeff Paul. Who's Jeff Paul? I rest my case Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montreal Posted June 11, 2006 Share Posted June 11, 2006 D'agostini might make the Bulldogs in the fall too. Another possibility (longshot) for defense is Sébastien Bisaillon (5th highest points for a defenseman in the Q last year 35g + 36a in 63 games - he outscored Luc Bourdon in a per game basis). He was invited to the Canadiens rookie camp last September. He's no heck defensively yet. Others invited to last year's rookie camp are: Jamie Tardif (RW - Peterborough Petes), Dominic Deblois (RW - Rouyn Noranda Huskies), Aaron Dawson (LD - Peterborough Petes), Nicolas Marcotte (LD - Trois Rivieres Caron & Guay - NAHL). The last one is a big stretch but the first three are possibilities. And. of course, there's always the possibility of Alex Dulac-Lemelin (good defensively). Now, this doesn't mean a powerhouse in the AHL but it could mean a full roster. :king: :hlogo: :king: Bisaillon is a late birthdate so he has to go through the draft before we could sign him. He had one hell of a year though, I'd be all for adding him to Hamilton if he goes undrafted. But we already have 2 offensive defensemen that are shaky in their own end in Benoit and Sanford. Sanford led the dogs in scoring for defensemen with Benoit right behind him. What the team needs more then skill is experienced players, they got to find better vets than Aitken, Paul, Vandermeer, Ivanans. D'Agostini can play in Hamilton, the ECHL or the OHL. Personally I could see him in Hamilton next year but he will need a strong camp. He has only played in 2 seasons in the OHL, so I wouldn't be shocked if he went back to Guelph or perhaps the ECHL if ice time was hard to come by in Hamilton. So a lot of things can happen with him but he's a player I have really been impressed with how he plays. I wonder how his lack of strength both upper and lower, will effect him against pro players. Aubin is with him and unless he has a bad camp I think he will turn pro. I think D'Agostini plays a better all round game, is faster and works harder but Aubin has a better shot and perhaps more offensive skills. There's Greg Stewart who I could see making the Dogs but I could also see him in the ECHL although what he needs most imo is to find his offensive game, to try and improve his offensive production. He can get points by driving hard to the net and he keeps moving his feet which gives the defense a hard time. Dulac Lemelin I doubt they invite him to camp but if they did he likely would be ECHL bound. He's got slow feet and slow reaction time, I would hate to see him in the AHL next year, although he could handle the physical aspect, he's strong and can drop em too. Of the other invites I know they liked Tardiff, so he would make a good pickup imo. Don't know if any of the others get an invite. I know some are saying they hope Melanson's son gets another invite after the big year he had. One former invite they might consider for Hamilton is Steeve Villeneuve who had a strong season with Long Beach this year, led the team in scoring for defensemen. Plus there are a few guys I suspect they will invite to the development/rookie camp. Gabe Gauither from Denver University would be a good place to start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortcat1 Posted June 11, 2006 Author Share Posted June 11, 2006 (edited) Bisaillon is a late birthdate so he has to go through the draft before we could sign him. He had one hell of a year though, I'd be all for adding him to Hamilton if he goes undrafted. Of the other invites I know they liked Tardiff, so he would make a good pickup imo. Don't know if any of the others get an invite. I know some are saying they hope Melanson's son gets another invite after the big year he had. One former invite they might consider for Hamilton is Steeve Villeneuve who had a strong season with Long Beach this year, led the team in scoring for defensemen. Plus there are a few guys I suspect they will invite to the development/rookie camp. Gabe Gauither from Denver University would be a good place to start. Bissaillon was eligible for last year's draft. He was a projected to be a fifth round or later draft pick. He was also "a year older than Letang and Bourdon" - birthdate 1986-12-08. I don't expect that he'll get drafted this year - though 'overagers' do get drafted. In any case, I'm looking forward to see what happens between now & next season. With the advent of the web, habsworld, etc, at least I can get my daily fix. :king: :hlogo: :king: Edited June 11, 2006 by shortcat1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montreal Posted June 11, 2006 Share Posted June 11, 2006 Bissaillon was eligible for last year's draft. He was a projected to be a fifth round or later draft pick. He was also "a year older than Letang and Bourdon" - birthdate 1986-12-08. I don't expect that he'll get drafted this year - though 'overagers' do get drafted. In any case, I'm looking forward to see what happens between now & next season. With the advent of the web, habsworld, etc, at least I can get my daily fix. :king: :hlogo: :king: Bissaillon is in the same boat as Aubin and D'Agostini were last year. I wouldn't mind if they drafted him later on, he can play in either Hamilton, Long Beach or back with Val-d'Or. There's also an article out on D'Agostini. It's a pay article from the Guelph Mercury, here's the only quote I could get for free. "Coach and general manager Dave Barr said it appears [Matt D'Agostini] will be signing a contract with the National Hockey League's Montreal Canadiens and Barr doesn't expect D'Agostini to play an over-age year with the Storm." So D'Ago could be Hamilton bound or ECHL if he can't get good minutes. I expect Aubin to join him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaos Posted June 12, 2006 Share Posted June 12, 2006 I thought Gainey said the Habs were going to go it alone this year with no partner this year? Didn't I hear that somewhere Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortcat1 Posted June 12, 2006 Author Share Posted June 12, 2006 I thought Gainey said the Habs were going to go it alone this year with no partner this year? Didn't I hear that somewhere I've heard nothing anywhere. So far as I can see it, the status quo will likely rule. Edmonton doesn't seem to be pencilled in to partner with Montreal for the next coming season but, then again, I haven't heard/read that they've been stroked out also. I'd like to see the Canadiens go it alone but I expect that it'll be another Canadiens/Oilers filled team. :king: :hlogo: :king: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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