Angelo Esposito & Veilleux :
Week of the 25 of June
Manny K says : Yes it's a conditioning stint ... but Angelo is an exciting player to watch, the first thing that makes my day on this kid is his speed, he looks like a tap dancers on some of these drills : Stops and gears up like a Porsche out there, and like a Porsche he knows how to get the rubber from point A to point B flawlessly. Anyone who had doubts on his vision and creativity should be biting down on their lips, Angelo was clearly the best guy on the ice throughout camp and in my opinion won't look out of place in full camp untill .!.!.!
Untill the drills got a bit physical, and this is when I started worrying : Put the puck in the corner and Angelo is one of those guys standing behind the battle, get in the action, get in the moshpit !!! this is the NHL ! Yeah .. Angelo is a Porsche ... but when the road gets bumpy he isn't a Cayenne ... he's still a 911.
Keven Veilleux is a different puppy altogether, not as fast on his skates as Esposito, can definitly pass and be at the right place at the right time, he's a big guy with great vision, loved his communication on the ice, but I guess I expect a big guy to be physical and he isn't that guy, I think he doesn't realize it yet, and he'll need to learn to be a tough customer to survive in this league, he'll need to learn how to hurry up back to his zone as well, if Esposito is a 911, Veilleux is more like Sabre Dainius Zubrus, whatever car Zubrus is lol !
In my judgment we'll have plenty of space for Espo in the lineup this year, put him on a line with Roberts and he'll have the guys to fetch it out of the corner for him, can't wait to see him in camp ! Veilleux needs to improve on his NHL'ness if you know what I mean but is definitly going to be a dangerous forward !
What Roen Weiss thunks :
We all knew what the knock on Espo was, sometimes .. well. .. sometimes he doesn't show up, he didn't have a great year without Radu ( as he admitted in my interview with him pre-draft )
and to be quite frank sometimes he forgot you have 5 players on the ice you can pass it to .
Nevertheless Manny has confirmed what we all knew about him ... but then again the Pens end up with 2 skilled guys who don't fancy roughing it up ...
On the other hands the Habs shored up on excellent and flexible 2 way talent, who funny enough might end up being the worst nightmare guys like Veilleux and Esposito to face.
Here is what central scouting has to say about Mcdonagh :
Central Scouting Report: A skilled
offensive defenseman with the skill to rush
the puck... has good first step quickness and makes quick
accurate passes in the defensive zone... has a good shot from the
point... strong along the boards as well as one-on-one in the
corners... has the ability to dominate a game, but needs to play to
his level every night... his offensive style sometimes leads to risky
decisions.
Notice what I highlighted ... and what Manny said about Espo
Now look at Pacioretty !
This is what the Flyers Chris Pryor had to say about him prior to the draft :
“Max Pacioretty is a good-sized kid, who works extremely hard. He’s plays up and down the ice and has a little edge to him. He moves really well and has decent hands.”
– Director of Hockey Operations Chris Pryor
What was the knock on Veilleux ? the way Manny put it, is especially telling about Keven's intensity.
Michel Bergeron had a comment on 110 % following the Habs draft :
'' Pittsburgh a dévalisé le Canadien ''
The way I see it, we avoided a Proto-Ribeiro-Chouinard draft, the future will prove us wrong or right.
But as far as I'm concerned, Timmins gets an A
All the way !
