Habs Future for the Week of December 27th

The Three Stars of the Week:

1. C Louis Leblanc earns top honours on his week with an impressive performance in the Under-20 World Junior Hockey Championships for Team Canada, Leblanc scored three goals and added two assists over four games. Leblanc’s first goal came shorthanded against the Czech Republic, converting on a Brayden Schenn pass to swing the momentum firmly towards Canada in what became a lopsided 7-1 victory, Leblanc would add an assist later in the game. Leblanc scored another goal and assist in the 10-1 rout of Norway, was held pointless against Sweden but then secured a critical 3^rd goal to give Canada breathing room against Switzerland in the Quarter-Final Elimination Game. Leblanc is tied for 2^nd overall in the WJC Tournament with a +7 and has only been on the ice for one goal against in 5 games. It should be noted that Leblanc has not played on the same line for more than 2 games in a row, yet is 4^th in team scoring despite his shifting assignments.

2. C David Desharnais briefly became the sole points and assists leader of the AHL before being called up to Montreal, adding four more assists to his scoring totals on the week, including three assists in what was Hamilton’s sole victory on their week against the Lake Erie Monsters, assisting on all three goals scored, his other assist came in an eventual 5-3 loss to the Chicago Wolves. Before his being called to Montreal, he was pacing to have an 80-assist season, which would shatter the current record in Hamilton of 52 assists for single-season performance.

3. C Joonas Nattinen earns attention this week with two goals, which were both the opening goal for in two consecutive victories for Team Finland over Switzerland and Germany in the Under-20 World Junior Hockey Championships. Nattinen brought strong experience from playing in two previous World Junior tournaments and a measure of physical play over his four games, dealing out many hits and was a stalwart in the faceoff circle for Finland, easily being the best man on the team winning 61% of his draws. The Finnish team sorely missed Nattinen after an accidental collision at center ice with a Russian player had Nattinen go to the locker room for treatment. The Russian team would then score two goals to tie the game, than win in overtime as the Finnish team lost their faceoff specialist and one of their best centers while trying to defend their 3-1 lead. Nattinen's performance is impressive considering he missed a bit over two months of his playing season dealing with an achilles tendon injury.

Worthy Mentions: D Brendon Nash added three assists to become the overall scoring leader among defencemen in Hamilton. C Ben Maxwell had 2G and 7A since returning from injury in a 7-game point streak that finally ended on Saturday. D Jarred Tinordi has become a bit more aggressive in the OHL lately, he had fights in 2 consecutive games. RW Danny Kristo had his best game of the year, with a goal and 2 assists for his North Dakota NCAA team in a 5-0 win. G Karri Ramo had another win to continue to lead all KHL goaltenders in wins with 22 on his season.

Question Marks: RW Alexander Avtsin has now been scratched in five consecutive games with Hamilton. G Robert Mayer continues to struggle in nets in Hamilton with a GAA over 3 and more losses than wins on his season. RW Aaron Palushaj was scratched for three games and has failed to score in any of his last 4 games. RW Brendan Gallagher has not scored a goal in his last 8 games, his longest goals drought of the season. D Mathieu Carle remains on injured reserve in Hamilton. The Montreal organization as a whole, has no strong LW prospects developing outside the main team.

Selected to play in the IIHF Under-20 World Junior Hockey Championships:

C Louis Leblanc – Team Canada

Tournament Stats

5GP

3G

3A

+7

2 PIM

C Joonas Nattinen – Team Finland

Tournament Stats

5GP

3G

0A

+2

2 PIM

Complete Statistics for the week of December 27th:

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 13 members of the Hamilton Bulldogs that can be considered NHL-viable prospects, three of which, David Desharnais, Max Pacioretty and Yannick Weber have been called up to Montreal. The Hamilton Bulldogs have a record of 20-11-1-4 on their season with 45 points, are 1^st in the North Division, 5^th overall in the Western Conference and 7^th overall in the League

RW Alexander Avtsin: 19 years old, 6'3", 199 pounds, RH shot.

Season Stats	22GP	4G	4A	-2	6 PIM
Weekly Stats	0GP	0G	0A	0	0 PIM
Complete Stats	22GP	4G	4A	-2	6 PIM

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

Season Stats	27GP	8G	4A	+5	38 PIM
Weekly Stats	3GP	0G	0A	-2	6 PIM
Complete Stats	30GP	8G	4A	+3	44 PI

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

Alternate Captain

Season Stats	33GP	10G	31A	+13	20 PIM
Weekly Stats	2GP	0G	4A	+1	4 PIM
Complete Stats	35GP	10G	35A	+14	24 PIM

C Gabriel Dumont: 19 years old, 5'10", 180 pounds, RH shot.

Season Stats	28GP	2G	7A	-1	21 PIM
Weekly Stats	3GP	0G	0A	-2	9 PIM
Complete Stats	31GP	2G	7A	-3	30 PIM

C Andreas Engqvist: 22 years old, 6'4", 191 pounds, RH shot.

Season Stats	33GP	4G	6A	+2	10 PIM
Weekly Stats	2GP	0G	0A	-1	0 PIM
Complete Stats	35GP	4G	6A	+1	10 PIM

C Ben Maxwell: 22 years old, 6'1", 191 pounds, LH shot.
Alternate Captain

Season Stats	24GP	5G	15A	0	18 PIM
Weekly Stats	3GP	1G	2A	0	4 PIM
Complete Stats	27GP	6G	17A	0	22 PIM

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

Season Stats:	13GP	6-5-1-1	3.08GAA	.886%
Weekly Stats:	3GP	1-2-0-0	3.00GAA	.896%
Complete Stats:	16GP	7-7-1-1	3.08GAA	.888%

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

Season Stats	32GP	2G	12A	+12	33 PIM
Weekly Stats	3GP	0G	3A	-3	2 PIM
Complete Stats	35GP	2G	15A	+9	35 PIM

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

Season Stats	25GP	5G	16A	+5	10 PIM
Weekly Stats	2GP	0G	0A	0	0 PIM
Complete Stats	27GP	5G	16A	+5	10 PIM

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

Alternate Captain

Season Stats:	19GP	2G	5A	-4	38 PIM
Weekly Stats:	3GP	0G	0A	0	7 PIM
Complete Stats:	22GP	2G	5A	-4	45 PIM

Injured:

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

Season Stats

28GP

6G

6A

+10

18 PIM

Called up to play for Montreal

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

Season Stats

27GP

17G

15A

+4

20 PI

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

Season Stats

15GP

8G

4A

-5

10 PIM

The Juniors Report: The Canadiens currently feature prospects playing in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and the Western Hockey League (WHL).

QMJHL:

C Louis Leblanc: 19 years old, 6'1", 184 pounds, RH shot.
Junior Club: Montreal Juniors - Alternate Captain. (27W, 5L, 4 OTL, 3 SOL)

Season Stats	24GP	13G	16A	+14	40 PIM
Weekly Stats	0GP	0G	0A	0	0 PIM
Complete Stats	24GP	13G	16A	+14	40 PIM

LW Phillippe Lefebvre: 19 years old, 6', 200 pounds, LH shot.

Junior Club: Montreal Juniors (27W, 5L, 4OTL, 3 SOL)

Season Stats	34GP	15G	16A	+24	28 PIM
Weekly Stats	2GP	1G	1A	0	0 PIM
Complete Stats	36GP	16G	17A	+24	28 PIM

C Michael Bournival: 18 years old, 6’, 190 pounds, LH shot.

Junior Club: Shawinigan Cataractes – Team Captain (22W, 12L, 2OTL, 1 SOL)

Season Stats	31GP	15G	24A	+3	18 PIM
Weekly Stats	2GP	1G	1A	0	0 PIM
Complete Stats	33GP	16G	25A	+3	18 PIM

D Morgan Ellis: 18 years old, 6'2", 196 pounds, RH shot.
Junior Club: Cape Breton Screaming Eagles - Team Captain (12W, 25L, 1 OTL, 2 SOL)

Season Stats	36GP	7G	14A	-19	40 PIM
Weekly Stats	1GP	0G	1A	0	0 PIM
Complete Stats	37GP	7G	15A	-19	40 PIM

OHL:

D Jarred Tinordi: 18 years old, 6'7", 212 pounds, LH shot.
Junior Club: London Knights (18W, 14L, 2 OTL, 1 SOL)

Season Stats	28GP	0G	4A	-7	51 PIM
Weekly Stats	3GP	0G	0A	+1	16 PIM
Complete Stats	31GP	0G	4A	-6	67 PI

WHL:

RW Brendan Gallagher: 18 years old, 5'8", 170 pounds, RH shot.
Junior Club: Vancouver Giants (18W, 17L, 1 OTL, 4 SOL)

Season Stats	34GP	25G	20A	+14	68 PIM
Weekly Stats	5GP	0G	3A	-2	4 PIM
Complete Stats	39GP	25G	23A	+12	72 PIM

US College Hockey (NCAA) Report: The Canadiens have drafted a number of college players in recent years, these are generally ‘project players’ who need extra time to develop.

D Mac Bennett: 6', 180 pounds, LH shot.
NCAA Team: University of Michigan Wolverines (12W, 5L, 4T)

Season Stats	11GP	0G	3A	+4	15 PIM
Weekly Stats	1GP	0G	0A	0	0 PIM
Complete Stats	12GP	0G	3A	+4	15 PIM

RW Danny Kristo: 5'11”, 188 pounds, RH shot.
NCAA Team: University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux (14W, 5L, 2T)

Season Stats	20GP	1G	7A	-3	8 PIM
Weekly Stats	1GP	1G	2A	+2	0 PIM
Complete Stats	21GP	2G	9A	-1	8 PIM

C Dustin Walsh, 6’3”, 190 pounds, LH shot.

NCAA Team: Dartmouth College Big Green (7W, 4L, 2T)

Season Stats	11GP	4G	3A	+1	2 PIM
Weekly Stats	2GP	1G	0A	0	0 PIM
Complete Stats	13GP	5G	3A	+1	2 PIM

Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) Report:
MHL- The league under the KHL, Maxim Trunev has been going between both leagues this season.

D Alexei Yemelin: 24 years old, 6'1", 221 pounds, LH shot.
KHL Club: Ak Bars Kazan (25W, 8L, 2 OTL, 4 SOL)

Season Stats	36GP	7G	8A	+9	91 PIM
Weekly Stats	1GP	0G	0A	+1	0 PIM
Complete Stats	37GP	7G	9A	+10	91 PIM

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

KHL Club: Avangard Omsk (26W, 9L, 1 OTL, 2 SOL)

Season Stats:	31GP	21-6-2-1	1.97GAA	.927%
Weekly Stats:	1GP	1-0-0-0	2.00GAA	.947%
Complete Stats:	32GP	22-6-2-1	1.97GAA	.927%

RW Maxim Trunev: 20 years old, 5'11", 189 pounds, RH shot.
KHL Club: Severstal Cherepovets (20W, 15L, 4 OTL, O SOL)

KHL Stats:

Season Stats	23GP	0G	5A	+1	10 PIM
Weekly Stats	1GP	0G	0A	0	0 PIM
Complete Stats	24GP	0G	5A	+1	10 PIM

MHL Stats:

Season Stats	8GP	3G	4A	+7	55 PIM
Weekly Stats	0GP	0G	0A	0	0 PIM
Complete Stats	8GP	3G	4A	+7	55 PIM