Claude Julien's approach to training camp was one deeply rooted in execution and speed, Guy Carbonneau didn't give his camps a real rhythm until you hit the exhibition schedule and Jacques Martin on his side seems to put an emphasis on '' On-Ice '' scenarios and strengths.
Needless to say I haven't seen guys skate so fast this early on in a long long while.
The rookie conditioning camps were a bit of a bore overall, with youngsters Avitsin and Leblanc the real focus for Habs brass. Leblanc was coming off a great season in the US Collegiate system and an electric start to his career in the QJMHL, arriving in camp you could quickly see that although a few of his gauges indicated NHL ready when it came to work habits, hockey Smarts and grit, his speed and overall strength are far from NHL ready.
Avtsin was another thing altogether. Big, fast, strong on the puck with almost Kovalevian flashes of greatness at times, but if you expect this kid to back-check on a regular basis, you haven't sold the idea to him yet, which is definitely something that Jacques Martin will be pitching to the Hamilton staff once Avtsin starts skating at Copps Coliseum.
Other youngsters like Subban, Pacioretty, Palushaj, Weber and Schultz have been participating with a more evaluative mindset, you could feel they were observing roster-spot rivals, mainly gauging and comparing their summer conditioning and readiness to others.
Once real camp started conditioning was the main talk on the press-bench.
Lapierre is faster, actually, they all look faster ! Plekanec's already stellar speed was complimented by improved action on the backcheck with wider and stabler strides, a trend I've seen with a few players this year. Summer training puts an emphasis on reinforcing the groin, hamstring and a few other areas when it comes to skating but skating coaches have also taught players to adapt their skating to enhance natural fluidity which puts players less often in a vulnerable position.
'' These are pro-Athletes, they've been strengthening their bodies all their lives. There has been an evolution in training over the last ten years and it's easier for us to detect weaknesses in ligaments and muscles and not only correct the issue, but also act on a more preventative basis by correcting and minimizing stress in their motions. ''
My Evaluations so far ( Will add more as camp continues ) :
David Desharnais :
I won't bore you with the obvious size discrepancy we've all noticed when Desharnais skates to the bench and happens to stop right next to Ryan O'byrne, we get it, he's small, the issue here is how small, the answer, you've got it ... VERY small. at 5'6 ( generously on skates ) Desharnais's speed is so important to his game that once a shift over-extends or a few hits happen to complicate his shift you're sitting there wondering if this guy really has a fighting chance on a Habs team already littered with forwards on the petite size.
+ : Speed, skillset and mindset
- : Durability over a grinding NHL season ?
PK Subban :
So how do you call him ? Subbanator, Subbie, Subbs, Subbomb ? PK Subban inaugurated rookie camp with enough grit, speed and confidence to make you believe that ... well ... that he shouldn't be in rookie camp. As the physical evaluations went on, PK once again dominated the result sheet under Andrei Kostitsyn's uncomfortable stare ( That's right PK beat Andrei at the vertical straight line jump among other things ) PK still has his shortfalls when it comes to choosing his moments to join the rush and when to hover around the blue line. PK is listed at 5'11' on the Press kit, but some websites have him at 6'0, which is the same height as Jaroslav Spacek. He looked a fair bit smaller than Spacek from where I stood but then again, Is Spacek really 6'0 or 6'1 ... I should have walked around with a measuring tape ...
+ : Speed, Offensive instincts and solid grit
- : Defensive decision making, hate saying it but needs to be a bit less selfish with the puck
Louis Leblanc :
Louis Leblanc is one of those guys that the coach spends very little time repeating stuff to ex :
Muller : Hard ahead, skate around the net, take the puck, rush, deke shoot, GO
Leblanc : ( Woooosh, he's gone does the drill effortlessly ... )
Muller : Hard ahead, skate around the net, take the puck, rush, deke shoot, GO
Pacioretty : Around the net ? ( pointing with his stick )
Muller : GO !!!! GO !!!! GO !!!!
Louis is fast and one of those guys that just doesn't stop working, he's a player who will own whatever part of the ice he's working in, give him the front of the net, he's not going to budge, give him the corner, sorry guy, the puck is his. One of my main worry when watching this kid ( and he's still very much physically a kid ) respond to the fanbase and media-circles around him. The pressure is high and very much palpable. In one episode, Leblanc was talking to me about his summer training regimen right after a relatively quiet and relaxed 15 minute Pacioretty interview, it was made clear to me from the start I had exactly 3 minutes to do this before he'd be whisked away to his next appointment. Leblanc felt a bit overwhelmed, let's hope this doesn't take Latendressian proportions ... Who am I kidding, you all know it will ...
+ : Relentless grit, skills, mindset and on-ice leadership qualities
- : Size makes you wonder how Louis spent his summer, in 1 year since his draft year, he doesn't look that different weight-wise.
Gabriel Dumont :
Gabriel Dumont has been a revelation for me this training camp, at 5'9 and a tad over 180 pounds Dumont is one of those guys who will pick and chose the way he uses his speed and make it count. There is nothing about Dumont that spells quit, he won't stop to see what's happening around him, as far as he's concerned, he is what is happening out there and that makes him a player impossible to hate. Unfortunately like allot of the diminutive forwards this camp, you tend to clump them in the same category of small guys with speed that can't really match up against big defenceman on the forecheck and big forwards on the backcheck.
+ : Pure scoring forward, fearless grit, an uncanny nose for the finishing move that takes 0.0001 second to make.
- : You can already imagine Zdeno Chara's mouth watering at seeing this guy going for the puck near the boards
Andreas Engqvist :
I wonder sometimes what the discussion was in Gainey / Gauthier's office when the name Andreas Engqvist came up.
Gauthier : Tell me about Engqvist.
Scout : Well he's not much of a scorer, I mean ... he's not really fast, he's big though.
Gauthier : Ok so can he speak french ?
Scout : A few words, but ....
Gauthier : BRING HIM TO ME !
Ok, I'm probably tired, but yes, I heard him say '' HOHOHO UN PEU '' which qualifies as being bilingual right ? right ... No seriously Engqvist is one of those rare guys who'll make you look for the Q key on your keyboard when talking about a hockey player, but all grammatical follies aside, it is true, Engqvist is big, very big and to my amazement pretty good on skates, good enough to make you look twice, he will battle where the battle happens and won't back down from physical play, one of those players who has allot of fun making small offensive players miserable. he's got defensive hockey sense and knows how to use it to drive you mad. A Jacques Martin type of player.
+ : Hockey brains, Size and Execution
- : Not the most motivated offensive guy you'll meet, one of those '' good without the puck '' guys. has skills though, but kind of Andreas Dackell like ...
Hope you enjoyed the read ... I'm off !
