Solidly productive players like him with NHL bloodlines, who just seem to maybe lack motivation and/or maturity, never make bad camp invites, imo. You never know, not getting reselected despite the year he had (was as much of a catalyst throughout the season as anyone else on that line, imo) might make him motivated to beat what seems to be more of an opinion/personality bias than an impact/performance one.
I'm sure they've seen a lot of him while scouting Bozon. Hopefully he attends. Hopefully they give Josh Nicholls a tryout too. Deitz and Thrower's teammate.
On of the biggest surprise non-drafts of this year, imo. Not a prolific player, like his father was, but he has the size and strength (wait till he learns how to better use them as he gets older ), motivation, fundamentals and hockey sense, and other intangibles that come with the understanding of the sacrifices it takes at this level that is undoubtedly shared father->son. I bet he turns into the kind of 3rd pairing defenseman everyone tries to find at the trade deadline each year. One team is gonna get lucky, and I suspect some will wonder what they were thinking... as they try to find that affordable yet ideal 3rd pairing defenseman at the trade deadline year after year, trying to build towards a playoff run.
Fine with the invite. I thought it was strange he slipped so low and wasn't even offered a contract just a year after being drafted...figured there must be something more than meets the eye and some of the posts here seem to bear that out. Hope he accepts and starts putting it all together with us.
This exactly the kind of closed minded attitude that can keep a team from uncovering gems. Not to say he is a gem but with all of our 'player development' guys, it is certainly worth trying to get a talented player back on track.
He has a serious attitude problem?? It would be interesting to know how you drew that conclusion.
The Canadiens arent closed minded because they offered him a chance.
I came to the conclusion that he is an ungrateful player who thinks very highly of himself as the rest of the League does not by his saying "we'll see". A player with a good attitude and without an overinflated sense of self would have said that he is "thankful for the opportunity" or something like that.
Who knows, maybe we have another Rene Bourque or even a Mike Ribeiro in development. Especially now since he has his own thread on HFBoards.
I was hoping he is 6'3" rather than the standard 5'10". Sigh
If he were 6'3'' he'd either -
A. Suck beyond belief or be a complete headcase and thus go undrafted
B. Get drafted if he had any worth because tall players with talent are extremely valuable commodities
Never expect undrafted players to be big and talented. The most stupid reason not to draft someone is because they are small, hence why the best undraftees are often undersized.
I was impressed by his puck possession. He seems to have some offensive tools and he looks like he never gives up on a play.. But I also have to ask myself. Why so little interest by other teams? He is a little on the "shorter" side, but still.. Maybe it is attitude..
We should also invite Anton Slepyshev. Undersized, but very skilled winger.
As well as Iafrate should also be invited, completely agree.
Quite confident that if Slepyshev had any interest in playing in North America, he'd have been drafted.
As for Ranford, I'd lay off his quote in the article. Maybe he didn't quite say the right thing, but with his numbers, I'm sure he'll get multiple invites. Don't blame him for thinking Montreal isn't the best fit. There's a huge logjam on the wings in Hamilton, and a team need is for size, not a 5'10" winger, so he may not see an opportunity for himself here.
), motivation, fundamentals and hockey sense, and other intangibles that come with the understanding of the sacrifices it takes at this level that is undoubtedly shared father->son. I bet he turns into the kind of 3rd pairing defenseman everyone tries to find at the trade deadline each year. One team is gonna get lucky, and I suspect some will wonder what they were thinking... as they try to find that affordable yet ideal 3rd pairing defenseman at the trade deadline year after year, trying to build towards a playoff run.
