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Originally Posted by turnbuckle
We're in the now - did Kostitsyn play better than Lats when he was called up?
Paying his dues in the AHL - are you serious? He'd be one of the least accomplished Hab AHLers ever called up permanenetly. He hasn't even hit the 20-goal mark at the AHL level, and you think he's paid his dues? The one goal he's scored this season is "paying his dues"?
Latendresse brings his all every night and adds a physical element that is tons more effective than a player who floats around 70 per cent of the time, only to look spectacular for a few seconds on occasion before failing to score. Kostitsyn starts scoring goals and he'll be put on a scoring line in Montreal. We don't have time to be screwing around because he's the "Golden Boy", thanks for coming out, but Latendresse is playing harder than him and outproducing him. He also gets it; he knows how to play hockey.
You are aware that Lats had to be kept or sent back to junior right? The Habs didn't want him to go back to old habits in junior hockey, so they made a decision to keep after he wasn't outplayed in training camp by a player two years older and picked 35 spots ahead of him. Again, Latendresse head-to-head outperformed Kostitsyn in September, so he earned his spot. He wasn't great at the start of the season playing little ice time, but neither was Kostitsyn in the minors on the top line playing piles of minutes, inconsistent as usual and not scoring.
Not sure you're aware of this, but the Habs lack a physical presence up front, and Latendresse brings it in spades. The kid is a load, and is already a lot harder to knock off his feet than most Hab forwards.
I don't think you can knock the way the Habs brought him along slowly - to say he hasn't played well since given more ice time, or improved as the season has gone along, would be false.
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That is EXACTLY what I think of Latendresse, thank you!!
