Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Habs Future for the week of April 11th

The Three Stars of the Week

1. C MichaĆ«l Bournival rises to the top of the field as his hard work forced a Game 7 for his Shawinigan Cataractes in the QMJHL Playoffs against the Quebec Ramparts as he scored two goals and three assists over the week. Bournival helped shape the series comeback on Tuesday night when he scored a goal and assist in an eventual 6-3 win that allowed the Cataractes to take their first win in the series. Bournival went without a point on Wednesday in a loss that saw the team fall behind 3-1 series, but he recovered quickly enough. Friday night saw Shawinigan’s captain assist on a go-ahead goal that eventually allowed the Cataractes an overtime win to bring the series to a 3-2 deficit. Bournival furthered his contributions with an assist and the eventual game-winning goal on Sunday to force a win and a decisive Game 7 contest for the following week. Bournival is tied for the team lead in scoring with five goals and seven assists in eleven games. Aaron Palushaj was drafted by St. Louis in the 2nd round, 44th overall in the 2007 Entry Draft and was acquired in the trade that sent Matt D’Agostini to St. Louis.

2. C Andreas Engqvist has stepped into an important role for the Hamilton Bulldogs as they’ve entered the AHL playoffs. Engqvist spent the season as their key defensive forward but with the team’s scoring depth thin, he’s now had to add offensive contributions in the post-season. Engqvist assisted on the game-winning goal on Thursday night in a 5-2 win over the Oklahoma City Barons and added an assist on one of two insurance goals as the Bulldogs took a 1-0 series lead. When scoring was a little more sparse on Saturday afternoon, Engqvist scored the tying goal in an eventual 2-1 win for the Bulldogs allowing them to take a 2-0 series lead on the road against their 1st-round playoff opponent. Andreas Engqvist was signed as an undrafted free agent in July of 2009 at the Canadiens Summer Development Camp.

3. RW Aaron Palushaj continues to keep up his hard work that has allowed him to stick with the top line of Nigel Dawes and Dustin Boyd on the Hamilton Bulldogs by sticking to being a point per game player in the AHL Playoffs. Palushaj added an insurance goal on Thursday night to ensure the Bulldogs win over the Oklahoma City Barons to take a 1-0 series lead. On Saturday, Palushaj assisted on the game-winning goal in the 2-1 victory for the Hamilton Bulldogs to allow them to take a 2-0 series lead heading to the Barons home ice. Palushaj was officially awarded the Molson Cup for leading the Hamilton Bulldogs in Three Stars selections by the media during the regular season and was also named the Flamboro Downs “Workhorse of the Year” for the hardest-working Bulldogs player over the season. Aaron Palushaj was drafted by St. Louis in the 2nd round, 44th overall in the 2007 Entry Draft and was acquired in the trade that sent Matt D’Agostini to St. Louis.

Worthy Mentions: D Brendon Nash was named Rookie of the Year for the Hamilton Bulldogs by the local press. C Louis Leblanc was eliminated from the QMJHL Playoffs, but finished tied for the goal-scoring lead on his team with 6 goals in 10 games. LW Phillippe Lefebvre was also eliminated from the QMJHL playoffs, but not before tying his playoff scoring record of 5 goals and 3 assists in nine fewer games than his career best in 2008-2009.

Question Marks: RW Alexander Avtsin was scratched for the two opening playoff games by the Hamilton Bulldogs. LW Alain Berger was eliminated from the OHL Playoffs as his team the Oshawa Generals were defeated in five games. G Robert Mayer is unlikely to start a game in the AHL playoffs for Hamilton with Drew Macintyre definitely the starting man for the team.

Complete Statistics for the week of April 11th:
Legend
Skaters:
Games Played, Goals, Assists, +/-, Penalty Minutes
Goalies: Wins, Losses, Overtime Losses, Shootout Losses, Goals Against Average, Save Percentage
Teams: Wins, Losses, Overtime Losses, Shootout Losses, Ties (for NCAA teams only)
Season Stats: Season scoring prior to the past week.

The AHL Report
: The Hamilton Bulldogs have been the AHL affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens since 2002. It is the most common route for developing Montreal Canadiens prospects into full-time members of the organization. There are currently 12 members of the Hamilton Bulldogs that can be considered NHL-viable prospects, four of which, David Desharnais, Max Pacioretty, Yannick Weber and Ryan White have been called up to Montreal. The Hamilton Bulldogs had a regular season record of 44-27-2-7, won their second consecutive North Division Title, finished 3rd overall in the Western Conference and 7th overall in the AHL. The Bulldogs lead the Oklahoma City Barons 2-0 in the Quarter-Finals of the AHL Calder Cup Playoffs.

RW Alexander Avtsin: 20 years old, 6'2", 199 pounds, RH shot.

Season Stats

58GP

5G

15A

+2

22 PIM

Playoff Stats

0GP

0G

0A

0

0 PIM

Weekly Stats

0GP

0G

0A

0

0 PIM

Complete Stats

0GP

0G

0A

0

0 PIM

D Mathieu Carle: 23 years old, 6', 203 pounds, RH shot.

Alternate Captain

Season Stats

70GP

11G

17A

+19

44 PIM

Playoff Stats

0GP

0G

0A

0

0 PIM

Weekly Stats

1GP

0G

0A

0

0 PIM

Complete Stats

1GP

0G

0A

0

0 PIM

LW Andrew Conboy: 22 years old, 6’4”, 192 pounds, LH shot.

Season Stats

64GP

13G

10A

+4

126 PIM

Playoff Stats

0GP

0G

0A

0

0 PIM

Weekly Stats

2GP

0G

0A

-1

2 PIM

Complete Stats

2GP

0G

0A

-1

2 PIM

C Gabriel Dumont: 20 years old, 5'10", 180 pounds, RH shot.

Season Stats

64GP

5G

13A

-5

79 PIM

Playoff Stats

0GP

0G

0A

0

0 PIM

Weekly Stats

2GP

0G

1A

-1

2 PIM

Complete Stats

2GP

0G

1A

-1

2 PIM

C Andreas Engqvist: 23 years old, 6'4", 191 pounds, RH shot.

Season Stats

71GP

9G

15A

+9

18 PIM

Playoff Stats

0GP

0G

0A

0

0 PIM

Weekly Stats

2GP

1G

2A

+1

0 PIM

Complete Stats

2GP

1G

2A

+1

0 PIM

G Robert Mayer: 22 years old, 6'1", 209 pounds, catches left.

Season Stats:

21GP

9-10-1-1

3.06GAA

.890%

D Brendon Nash: 23 years old, 6'3", 218 pounds, LH shot.

Season Stats

75GP

5G

25A

+22

58 PIM

Playoff Stats

0GP

0G

0A

0

0 PIM

Weekly Stats

2GP

0G

1A

0

0 PIM

Complete Stats

2GP

0G

1A

0

0 PIM

RW Aaron Palushaj: 21 years old, 6', 183 pounds, RH shot.

Season Stats

68GP

22G

35A

+22

40 PIM

Playoff Stats

0GP

0G

0A

0

0 PIM

Weekly Stats

2GP

1G

1A

-1

2 PIM

Complete Stats

2GP

1G

1A

-1

2 PIM

Called up to play for Montreal

C David Desharnais: 24 years old, 5'6", 177 pounds, LH shot.

Alternate Captain

Season Stats

35GP

10G

35A

+14

24 PIM

LW Max Pacioretty: 21 years old, 6'2", 210 pounds, LH shot.

Season Stats

27GP

17G

15A

+4

20 PIM

D Yannick Weber: 22 years old, 5'11", 196 pounds, RH shot.

Season Stats

15GP

8G

4A

-5

10 PIM

C Ryan White: 22 years old, 6', 198 pounds, RH shot.

Alternate Captain

Season Stats

33GP

3G

9A

-5

77 PIM

The Juniors Report: The Canadiens currentlyfeature prospects playing in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and the Western Hockey League (WHL). These leagues can be considered the primary conduit towards professional hockey in North America.


QMJHL:

C MichaĆ«l Bournival: 18 years old, 6’, 190 pounds, LH shot.

Junior Club: Shawinigan Cataractes – Team Captain (42W, 23L, 2OTL, 1 SOL) (7-4 Playoff Record)

Season Stats

56GP

28G

36A

+4

28 PIM

Playoff Stats

7GP

3G

4A

-3

4 PIM

Weekly Stats

4GP

2G

3A

+2

2 PIM

Complete Stats

11GP

5G

7A

-1

6 PIM

D Morgan Ellis: 18 years old, 6'2", 196 pounds, RH shot.
Junior Club: Cape Breton Screaming Eagles - Team Captain (18W, 45L, 1 OTL, 4 SOL) (0-4 Playoff Record)

Season Stats

65GP

8G

28A

-27

65 PIM

Playoff Stats

4GP

0G

0A

-4

8 PIM

C Louis Leblanc: 20 years old, 6'1", 184 pounds, RH shot.
Junior Club: Montreal Juniors - Alternate Captain. (46W, 12L, 5 OTL, 5 SOL) (6-4 Playoff Record)

Season Stats

51GP

26G

32A

+21

98 PIM

Playoff Stats

6GP

5G

1A

+4

6 PIM

Weekly Stats

4GP

1G

2A

0

10 PIM

Complete Stats

10GP

6G

3A

+4

16 PIM

LW Phillippe Lefebvre: 20 years old, 6', 200 pounds, LH shot.

Junior Club: Montreal Juniors (46W, 12L, 5OTL, 5 SOL) (6-4 Playoff Record)

Season Stats

60GP

19G

27A

+26

38 PIM

Playoff Stats

6GP

3G

4A

+6

0 PIM

Weekly Stats

4GP

0G

1A

-3

0 PIM

Complete Stats

10GP

3G

5A

+3

0 PIM

OHL:

D Jarred Tinordi: 19 years old, 6'7", 212 pounds, LH shot.
Junior Club: London Knights (34W, 29L, 4 OTL, 1 SOL) (2-4 Playoff Record)

Season Stats

63GP

1G

13A

-8

140 PIM

Playoff Stats

6GP

0G

0A

-1

17 PIM

LW Alain Berger: 20 years old, 6’4”, 208 pounds, RH shot.
Junior Club: Oshawa Generals (39W, 19W, 4 OTL, 6 SOL) (5-5 Playoff record)

Season Stats

65GP

29G

23A

+19

56 PIM

Playoff Stats

7GP

5G

2A

+6

6 PIM

Weekly Stats

3GP

0G

1A

-4

6 PIM

Complete Stats

10GP

5G

3A

+2

12 PIM

WHL:

RW Brendan Gallagher: 18 years old, 5'8", 170 pounds, RH shot.
Junior Club: Vancouver Giants – Alternate Captain (35W, 32L, 1 OTL, 4 SOL) (0-4 Playoff Record)

Season Stats

66GP

44G

47A

+29

108 PIM

Playoff Stats

4GP

2G

0A

0

14 PIM

US College Hockey (NCAA) Report: The Canadiens have drafted a number of college players in recent years, these are generally ‘project players’ who benefit from additional years in lower level hockey to develop their skills.

D Mac Bennett: 19 years old, 6', 180 pounds, LH shot.
NCAA Team: University of Michigan Wolverines (29W, 11L, 4T)

Season Stats

32GP

2G

10A

+12

21 PIM


RW Danny Kristo: 20 years old, 5'11”, 188 pounds, RH shot.
NCAA Team: University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux (32W, 9L, 3T)

Season Stats

34GP

8G

20A

+6

18 PIM

D Greg Pateryn: 21 years old, 6’3”, 222 pounds, RH shot.

NCAA Team: University of Michigan Wolverines (29W, 11L, 4T)

Season Stats

40GP

3G

14A

+15

28 PIM

C Dustin Walsh: 20 years old, 6’3”, 190 pounds, LH shot.

NCAA Team: Dartmouth College Big Green (19W, 12L, 3T)

Season Stats

34GP

10G

10A

+2

8 PIM

Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) Report: The Kontinental Hockey League is the professional hockey league of Russia, many Russian players first play professionally there before joining the NHL. Due to a lack of a transfer agreement between the NHL and the KHL it can be very difficult for NHL clubs to attract their drafted Russian prospects.

G Karri Ramo: 24 years old, 6'3", 207 pounds, catches left.

KHL Club: Avangard Omsk (42W, 9L, 1 OTL, 2 SOL) (7-7 Playoff record)

Season Stats:

44GP

33-6-2-1

1.97GAA

.925%

Playoff Stats

14GP

6-5-2

2.16GAA

.914%

RW Maxim Trunev: 20 years old, 5'11", 189 pounds, RH shot.
KHL Club: Severstal Cherepovets (30W, 20L, 4 OTL, O SOL) (2-4 Playoff record)

Season Stats

39GP

1G

6A

+3

20 PIM

Playoff Stats

6GP

0G

0A

-3

2 PIM

D Alexei Yemelin: 24 years old, 6'1", 221 pounds, LH shot.
KHL Club: Ak Bars Kazan (34W, 12L, 3 OTL, 4 SOL) (5-4 Playoff record)

Season Stats

52GP

11G

15A

+16

117 PIM

Playoff Stats

9GP

0G

0A

0

4 PIM