Monday, January 3, 2011

Festerling



Looking at a looming 2004 NHL entry draft, Brett Festerling had a few decisions to make.

After an injury riddled season that had seen him miss 17 games due to a wrist injury, he had a feeling that he could do better than a spot at 153 on the Central Scouting Bureau list.

A WHL GM at the time mentioned :

'' He was one of those leadership guys who made a good team great, he had decent size and grit ''

Inevitably he opted out and decided that he'd have a better chance next year.

The 2005 season saw Festerling put up career highs in points with Vancouver of the WHL, but the 2005 draft came and went and despite a few inquiries from teams, his name wasn't called up.

'' It was a disappointment, we had a few teams looking but no invitations ''

The call eventually came from Brian Burke, after a discussion with Vancouver Giants GM Scott Bonner,   The Ducks decided to have a closer look at Festerling during their 2005 training camp.

Festerling's conditioning and commitment were enough for the Ducks to decide they had an NHL quality prospect on the ice.

After a 2006 season that would see his junior team win the President's cup and a great Memorial cup run,  he would wear the C in 2007 for the Giants before making the jump to the AHL for the Portland Pirates in 2008.

When Beauchemin went down with an injury during the 2008 season, the Ducks didn't have to look too far to find a replacement by Niedermayer's side.

Festerling made his pro debut on the Duck's first pairing. And the hard hitting defenceman quickly made his mark, notably on a hit that some say ended Jeremy Roenick's career.

The Ducks resigned Festerling the following summer to a 2 year contract and with Beauchemin leaving the team started the season with Festerling and Neidermayer paired up again while Boynton and Whitney shared the second pairing, Wisniewski and Brookbank on the third.

He would play 40 games in both 2008 and 2009. with the team seeing over 20 different Defencemen don a Duck Jersey due to injuries and losses to free agency.

A broadcaster would say :

'' He just couldn't secure a spot, these weren't very stable squads, the team was expecting him to be a more fluid player offensively, and they had a few guys looming large on their radar. Anaheim was aiming at a D-Core that could contribute offensively with more regularity ''

Following their 2010 training camp, the Ducks made Festerling go through waivers in a move experts saw as a sign Cam Fowler was NHL ready.

'' Festerling needed to be paired with a guy like Niedermayer to be effective on that team,  when he retired it meant it would be hard to find a pairing he'd fit in, the team's philosophy was to play defence by committee.  ''

Then came the trade.

The media reports from Anaheim around last nights trade.

'' If Montreal is looking to this kid as security in case they lose Gorges to injury long term, it's a good trade for both teams ''

Brett's twin brother Garrett ( not identical ) played for Regina of the WHL, he's currently playing in Europe.

Brett Festerling is an RFA come year end.

So is Josh Gorges.

Could this be a leverage move for the Canadiens ?

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