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Post by brec7 on Sept 10, 2010 7:59:29 GMT -4
So begins another season of Eagles hockey, and unlike the last two seasons, going into 2010-11 fans in Cape Breton and around the whole QMJHL are expecting it to be a rough year at Centre 200. HOW rough is under debate.
Many people are predicting the Eagles to miss the playoffs. Others have them pencilled into the last few spots, only because of other teams who seem to have been incredibly mis-managed (see: Rouyn-Noranda). I think I'd classify myself as one of the optimists, and even with that optimist view I still don't see this team anywhere near Mario Durocher's stated (and ridiculous) goal of having home ice in round 1.
I think people might be selling the Eagles short though, if they think they are a lock to win the division. Here's a rundown of the roster, and who I think has the potential to have better than expected seasons.
(I won't go through every player. For example, a guy like Viktor Hertzberg- he's a player fans of other teams recognise as being a legit scoring forward who will likely improve. Taylor MacDougal is another guy who I think is "you see is what you get"- a secondary scorer thrust into a first line role...most players in his shoes produce similar numbers to their 19 year old season.)
As for the rest (I'll do the forwards for now)...
Stephen Horyl- I think he may be very underrated in terms of his abilities, both because of his late entry into the Q and his injury problems. In my opinion, if he's healthy, he can score 35 goals in a season. Key word- IF he's healthy. I don't doubt his talent, but unfortunately this season I think we're bound to see plenty of nights where he's either on the sidelines or clearly not playing at 100%.
Brad Cuzner- Fans outside CB may be surprised to know that he was voted fan's choice last year. Playing out west in midget allowed him to fly under the radar- the Eagles were going off the board to pick him but they defintely got value for where he was picked. They may get even more value.
When evaluating 17 year old players, you can't just look at points alone. Cuzner works hard and had his fair share of chances to score last year. He's a player, to me, who could go either way... either somewhat sputter and put up similar numbers to last year, or have somewhat of an explosion and prove to be a genuine second line player in the Q. I'll predict he surprises people offensively, but falls a bit short of being a true top 6 forward- yet.
Logan Shaw- Everyone knew the Eagles were stretching when they took Logan in round 1 in 2008. The fact that anyone would take him that early would indicate there's SOME offensive upside there, but there wasn't enough progress there last year for most people's liking.
Shaw is bit simliar to Cuzner in terms of ceiling for offense this year- but I personally think his odds of becoming a true second liner this year are longer than Cuzner's, and he's not as an effective player without the puck either. That being said, it's too early to write him off... I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up being somewhat of a poor man's Scott Brannon, breaking out at 19.
Cory MacIntosh- MacIntosh was the pleasant surprise of last year's Eagles squad, battling the odds as an 11th round pick to become a very useful lower end forward who's defensively accountable. He seems to have enough talent and offensive awareness that he should have some upside- however, I think 2nd line is absolute max in terms of potential and that would be much later in his Q career. Odds are that MacIntosh stays an effective, albeit somewhat low scoring 3rd line player this season.
P-A Dion- Dion is someone who likely has high expectations from Mario Durocher this season. While eveyone knows about the insanely high price paid for Jacob Lagace, it shouldn't be hard to believe- he WAS one of the offensive league leaders and usually guys like that cost an arm & a leg.
However, paying Francis Meiuller (and Lapostelle) for Dion seemed ridicuous at the time and even more so now after the second half Dion had here in CB. It's strange- he had very good numbers in Montreal, but in Cape Breton, not only did he not produce, he didn't look like he had ANY hands at all.
Dion is a hard working player, but couldn't find the back of the net here last season. But he obviously he has the tools- 10 goals in 37 games in Montreal is very good production.
He may be the biggest wildcard this year. He will obviously be given every opportunity on a scoring line. Which P-A Dion will show up this year? I honestly have no idea, but based on what I physically saw last year I can't imagine this guy being a scoring presence. We'll see.
Vincent Plouffe - Plouffe is an interesting case study because he's an 18 year old rookie who apparently could have played in the league last year (Durocher wanted him to come up after Christmas but he declined).
Given that, can he play like a second year player and seriously challenge for 2nd line ice time on a rebuilding team? Or will he be like many rookies and be fighting just to stay in the lineup? He looked great in all intrasquad & exhibition, but I'm not sure how those skills will translate into regular season action. I predict he'll be at least a regular for the Eagles this season but I don't know if we'll get any significant offensive contributions.
Felix Bergeron- Bergeron is an 18 year old who might as well be a rookie, as he barely saw the ice last season. I can't say I've seen ANY significant upside from this guy... but yet it wouldn't shock me if he turned out to be a pleasant surprise, just because he's been given so little of a chance, who knows what he'll do with actual icetime. More than likely though I think he'll be just fighting for time in the lineup.
THE ROOKIES- I'll group them all together, I'll include Parker in here since he didn't play that much last year.
I don't think we have any bluechippers in the mix here, except perhaps Jodoin and William Carrier (10 goal seasons a possibility for those guys??), with the latter being only 16. However, if they each play a bit above expectation it will be a huge boost to the team... just look at the rookie core from 04-05, none put up true scorer's numbers but if they all chip in a bit of offense it will ease the pain.
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Post by brec7 on Sept 10, 2010 9:04:01 GMT -4
Now onto the D & goaltending...
MORGAN ELLIS- Anyone who's watched the Eagles over the last 2 years knows that this guy, if he reaches max potential, could be a superstar in this league. Will he reach it, and how high can he go this year?
I believe Ellis will be an elite, likely top 5 dman in this league. At absolute best case scenario he reaches that point this year. But I don't think he's quite at that level yet, and I think he may feel the burden of captaining a rebuliding team. I think some nights he'll look like one of the very best defenseman in the league- and other nights he may struggle to be even a top pair guy. Averaging it out, I think he'll be a legit top pair guy in 10-11, but not necessarily a star. It will be interesting to track the offensive element to his game- I think he'll put up some big numbers (for a defenseman) this year.
Roman Hrabrenka - This is the ultimate wildcard in my mind. I think we know we're not getting much offense from him, based on his stats in a weaker jr. A league last year. I honestly have no idea what to expect from on the defensive end. If he turns out to be a defensive stalwart that could really help bring down the GA.
JS Fournier- Fournier is tough to read because he's going to be seeing his first action as a prominent player on this team. He'll likely be given a chance at top 4 ice time as well. I thought Fournier was quite stable at the end of last season in his role, but a lot of D struggle making the transition to 2nd pair minutes. I could see it going either way. Fournier will also be thrust into more PP duty- I think he's a good 2nd PP option, but may be a bit over his head in the 1st PP time he's very likely to see.
Spencer Metcalfe- Metcalfe is like everyone else on this list- someone who's talent may be stretched. He's fine as a bottom pair guy, but he'll likely be asked to play top 4 minutes and even top pair at times. I think he'll be exposed if he's asked too much, but maybe he'll thrive with the extra ice time.
Stephen Woodworth- The sliver lining in the Olivier Roy trade. His potential around the league may be underrated. That being said, only the very best defensemen really make an impact at age 17, so I think if Woodworth is thrust into top 4 minutes, he may have problems. His max potential for this year, I think, is to excel in a top 4 role, but I don't know if he's ready yet- but he will have a very good Q career. I think Durocher will likely rest his hopes on the above 4 guys, so he should be okay playing 3rd pair minutes.
THE ROOKIES- An interesting mix here with a 16 (Leduc), and two 18's (Engert and Herrett). Like I said above, young dmen rarely make an impact in the Q, although it's a bit different with two of these guys 18. Herrett didn't look like any more than a lower pair dman during his call-ups last season.
Truth be told, I'm not sure if these guys will be as key to success as the rookie forwards because they'll be mostly alternating in and out of the lineup. Engert may be the one to watch here- quite often "rejects" from other leagues succeed in the Q, and he may benefit from having a Western assistant coach. If he thrives he could actually be a legit top 4 dman... but he often didn't always look it in pre-season/exhibition.
As for the goalies...
Alex Veronneau- Of all the Eagles' young goaltenders over the years, there's none I've had as little a read on as this guy. He didn't play much last year, and he wasn't touted as a "steal" or "bust" pick. Quite frankly his play could go either way... but to be honest, I'm less than optimistic given that he's going to be thrown into the fire with a less than experienced defense core in front of him. But the wide range of how he could play will definitely play a factor in how the Eagles fare this year.
Francois Lacerte- Lacerte is another wildcard. I think everyone knows CB is NOT getting a star goaltender. However, how he performs could vary from a guy that's on the verge of being cut, to a a decent but not great starting goaltender. I know next to nothing about Lacerte but I haven't heard good reviews of his play, although apparently his best efforts came last year when he was given the ball for a while in Bathurst. So it's possible that he could be a decent starter if given the chance to be- which is unlikely, as it seems Mario is leaning to a 50/50 split.
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Post by brec7 on Sept 10, 2010 10:57:31 GMT -4
To add a little bit to this theme... I think that the team's 7 year run of over .500 hockey is coming to an end. A few people (although not most) have been weary about predicting the Eagles to finish so low based on the team's history of overachieving in the regular season. This leads me to look back on past Eagles teams' that had low expectations. Before that I should clarify that I personally dispute the term "overachieving". To me, that means that the end result of points in the standings is greater than the combined talent level in the team. While it's unlikely that ANY team can be +500 for THAT long without doing a bit of overachieving, let's remember the following: - During that 7 year run the Eagles did have the benefit of having two expansion teams in the division for 2 years (07-08 was when we started seeing substantial improvement from the Dogs/Devils). Also, as long as an organisation is competent, they'll benefit from playing against incompetent organisations- the Eagles have played all 7 of those seasons in the same division as PEI (although the 03-04 Rocket were obviously a strong club.) - The Eagles more or less always TRIED to ice their best team. The trade of Olivier Roy marks the first time since 2002 that the Eagles have actually traded a proven star player due to something other than the numbers game. All the other teams took their turn as sellers. - The Eagles had a jumpstart to their rebuilding process because of a trade that's illegal by today's Q standards. While Eagles fans may curse the boomerang deal, what they forget is that instead of being bankrupted of talent from their '04 "run", the Eagles actually landed the #1 pick in the Q draft and merely had to return players to Halifax who didn't factor into the team's long term plans anyway. So I think there's been a lot of good luck in this run of 7 years. There's also been good management, which isn't to be confused with overachieving. The team picked up the odd out of region free agent and NCAA bluff which meant they had the opportunity to be better on paper more consistently than other teams. Having said all that... the two years which people usually point to as being "overachievement" in Cape Breton would be 2004-05 and 2007-08 (moreso the latter). In both cases, the team was coming off seasons where they'd attempted to make a run at a championship. The '08 team finished in a tie for 6th among 18 teams, while the '05 squad was tied for 8th in a 16 team circuit. I'll obvious include this year's team in the mix as I compare how the teams looked BEFORE their respective seasons. RETURNING PLAYERSUp front, all 3 teams lack depth in terms of proven Q forwards. However, a fact that went REMARKABLY unnoticed when everyone picked the 07-08 Eagles to finish last is that their top 2 returning forwards (Ouellet & Culligan) had 70 goals in 2006-2007. This year's crop of forwards more closely resembles the 2004-2005 crop, although falling short (think Demers/Dixon vs. Horryl/Hertzberg). Another advantage of the 2004-05 team had on this one is that they had a few older players who'd been buried on the bottom lines in 03-04, and had more of a chance to break through in 04-05. (The obvious example being Kevin Asselin; the surprise example being Vincent Lambert.) On the backend, the 04-05 team is by far the best on paper, bringing back nearly an entire core of guys who had either logged big minutes or who were high draft picks (Pardy, Sawyer, Smith, Zaore, Fontaine). However, I will admit that on paper the returning D crop of the 2007-08 team may be on par than this years- Corcoran and Prokopetz being the only returnees in 07-08. In goal, there's absolutely no question that the 2004-05 team was the most set, returning the league's best goalie from the previous season. The hopes of the 2007-08 & 2010-11 squads both rest on essentially rookies. So... NEWCOMERSUp front, the 04-05 team had by far the most promise up front, having the #1 pick from 2004 and a guy who was considered to be a first rounder by some (Dean Ouellet), as well as a decent 18 year old Euro (Kubus). (Culligan's fine play ended up being a surprise.) Even the depth players came with higher expectations due to the age factor- Whitehead (18) & Richards (19, acquired via trade). Admittedly though, the 2007-08 squad didn't have much strength in the new batch of forwards- no really high picks although there was a stopgap when a 19 year old Joey Haddad was brought in (and we know how that worked out.) This year is somewhat similar, although I suppose Jodoin comes in with somewhat high expectations being a 2nd round pick. On the blueline, even with all the returning players, the 04-05 Eagles didn't take any chances and brought in a 19 year old rookie (David Victor). There was some older blood on the blueline amongst the newcomers in 07-08 with Piskacek, Lamontagne, Mariani- I know the last two may have some people laughing, but Lamontagne actually logged a lot of minutes and played quite well in the first few months of that season. For this year's Eagles, it is possible that Hrabrenka & Metcalfe could equal the contributions of the older 07-08 newcomers. In nets, both the 07-08 & 10-11 teams were unproven. I actually would give the 07-08 the edge though... not because of how Roy turned out, but rather because Marek Benda was an intriguing possibility at the time, so there was the chance either he or Roy could carry the load. This year, I don't think Lacerte really has the potential to be a strong starter. So... in comparing the teams, I think we can conclude the 04-05 team finishing where it did shouldn't have been a surprise, with a large number of returning defensemen, an all-star goalie, and a better than it looked on the surface core of forwards. The 07-08 team is interesting because it looks a better on paper than this year's, but not with as much of a gap as you might think, and was possibly worse on paper from top to bottom than the 04-05 team. I think if you look at how that season played out, the following were likely the reasons for how the 2007-08 team did so well: - Breakout seasons. Above I focussed on returning talent and new players. But the 07-08 group benefited from the explosion of secondary returning players Haddad, MacNeil, Slaney, and Laberge (who turned into Clendenning). Those 4 combined for 100+ goals. Can we expect that from MacDougal, Cuzner, Shaw, and Dion? Seems quite unlikely to me. - Olivier Roy. It's hard to really to properly state how much he meant to the 07-08 team. Could Veronneau do the same this year? He could, but it seems like a season like Roy's in his rookie year (for a goalie NOT taken in the first round) only comes along once in a lifetime. - Team defense. The promising rookie core of Brodeur/Malka/Meuiller/Finn shared the load that season and did so well as a unit. For as much as Pascal has been criticised as a coach, I think even his biggest critics would say he paid well attention to the defensive end of the game- more so than Durocher. However... could Kevin Higo's influence get similar results out of guys like Woodworth, Engert, Leduc, and Herrett? I don't think so, but you never know. - Ouellet & Culligan. Don't underestimate the importance of bringing back top end skill. Perhaps Hertzberg could become a scorer of that magnitude, but that still leaves us lacking. More importantly than that though, Ouellet & Culligan brought in amazing leadership, something that I don't necessarily see from this year's team (nothing against Ellis, but he's not at that level yet.) So in aiming to overachieve... I think the 07-08 team is the model to look at- it is possible that goaltending could be much better than expected, some forwards could break out, and the defense could play well as a group. I don't think all those things will happen to the extent they did in 07-08... but if even half of that happens, this year should be better than expected. But we'd probably much need ALL of that to happen to reach this "home ice" goal. I don't see that happening. Of course, this post doesn't address the possibilities of Lagace/Brodeur returning... but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.
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Post by christopher on Sept 10, 2010 11:12:31 GMT -4
- The Eagles had a jumpstart to their rebuilding process because of a trade that's illegal by today's Q standards. While Eagles fans may curse the boomerang deal, what they forget is that instead of being bankrupted of talent from their '04 "run", the Eagles actually landed the #1 pick in the Q draft and merely had to return players to Halifax who didn't factor into the team's long term plans anyway. Can you expand on this? I wasn't following back then.
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Post by brec7 on Sept 10, 2010 11:18:37 GMT -4
So lastly... Who could we finish ahead of (in the division)? Let's take a look... Bathurst- I personally think the Titan are going to win the division. Not necessarily because they're the best on paper (SJ may have a stronger team), but I like LGM will pull out all the stops to win this year. Also, even if Bathurst unexpectedly crashes to start the year, LGM will keep the course and try to contend (see years like 2000 & 2007 for further reference.) I see very little chance of finishing ahead of Bathurst. Saint John- The Sea Dogs may be bringing back the strongest squad in the division. The only chance CB would have of finishing ahead of these guys is the fact that they too are looking forward to 2012 and may sell at the deadline if they fall a bit below expectations to the start the year (see 08-09... our team, our time ) However, that's a long shot. Moncton- Moncton, to a much lesser extent, is like Saint John... a great team last year bringing back a good core. I personally think Moncton will surprise people this year with guys like the Saulniers playing a bigger role and a good crop of FA's. But, if they're slow getting out of the gate, you know they're willing to sell. Finishing ahead of Moncton is much more likely than Bathurst/SJ... but still really unlikely even if CB overachieves. PEI- PEI is always a wildcard... because they're PEI. They have a decent looking team on paper, and I personally think the slimmed down Ben Duffy could have a breakout year. But... they're PEI. They're the one team who can often find a way to defy logic because of their history/organisation. So while it wouldn't surprise me to see these guys be near the top of the division because of the talent they have, I genuinely would NOT BE SURPRISED if Cape Breton finishes ahead of them. Halifax- If CB can play above expectation, finishing ahead of Halifax is not entirely out of the question (although still unlikely). The teams have a similar makeup in terms of the top lines offensively with Halifax having an edge; Halifax has more upside but is younger in the bottom 2 lines of the lineup. The Moose have a better defense core as well (but not substantially). The teams are close enough that if a few of their rookies falter, a few of CB's are above expectation, and CB's goaltending situation turns out better than Halifax's, the Eagles could finish ahead of the Moose. I have a funny feeling this Eagles team won't finish last in the division, but I can't justify predicting anyone below them.
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Post by brec7 on Sept 10, 2010 11:32:47 GMT -4
- The Eagles had a jumpstart to their rebuilding process because of a trade that's illegal by today's Q standards. While Eagles fans may curse the boomerang deal, what they forget is that instead of being bankrupted of talent from their '04 "run", the Eagles actually landed the #1 pick in the Q draft and merely had to return players to Halifax who didn't factor into the team's long term plans anyway. Can you expand on this? I wasn't following back then. Oh christopher... you've opened quite the can of worms. ;D I'll ~TRY~ to keep this brief. During the 2002-03 season, the Moose were near the top of the league, and the Eagles were, um, not so much. So the Moose came calling to load up for the playoffs, picking up Stuart MacRae (first line forward), Steve Villeneuve (solid 2nd pair dman with some scoring punch) and George Davis (one of the better fighters in the Q at the time.) Usually when a team trades for another team's stars, they'll either trade them young players... OR picks, with trading picks back at the draft. (Think the Olivier Roy trade to Lewiston this year.) CB & Halifax did that... but they took it a very complicated step further. Halifax traded picks/fringe players in exchange for Davis/MacRae/Villeneuve. That was part one of the trade. Part two came at the 2003 Q draft, when MA Bernier, FP Guennette, Alex Picard, and JF Cyr came to CB from Halifax in exchange for those picks. So... at this point, a very normal trade by Q standards. The complications start when part 3 of the trade kicked in at Christmas of 2003, when Villeneuve was traded BACK to Cape Breton as part of the deal. Then, after a disastrous playoff "run" in 2004, CB proceeded to trade Guenette/Picard/Bernier BACK to Halifax for draft picks. (Cyr & Villeneuve were both 20 in 2003-04 and were out of the league.) The trade was dubbed the "boomerang" trade since the 3 Halifax boys only played a year in CB and KNEW they were going to be returning to Halifax the following season. It's been rumoured that Pascal and Marcel Pateneaude (Halifax's GM at the time) made the trade out of frustration with they were being treated by other GM's in the league. No idea if that's true. Here's what is true though.... - The league frowned upon this type of move and made a rule banning it from happening again. Players can now only be traded back to a team after 2 seasons with another team. (A 16 year old player, if traded, can't go back until 19, and a 17 year old player can't return until he's 20.) - Many CB fans resented a perceived lack of effort on the part of Bernier & Guenette (some group Picard into that mix; others forgive him) during their time in CB, which helped re-spark the rivalry during the 2004-05 season, and created many, many, many, many, many, many pissing matches on the message boards ;D - The Eagles ended up getting James Sheppard in the trade because of the whole pick reversal. Halifax finished 2nd last in the league during 2003-04, and in a typical bush league QMJHL move, the league decided MIDWAY through the season to institute a draft lottery, which Halifax won, valuting CB's pick to first. (The lottery was brought in response to the Oceanic's BLATANT tanking of the 2002-03 season in order to get Sidney Crosby.)
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Post by CrazyJoeDavola on Sept 10, 2010 14:07:23 GMT -4
Can you expand on this? I wasn't following back then. Oh christopher... you've opened quite the can of worms. ;D I'll ~TRY~ to keep this brief. During the 2002-03 season, the Moose were near the top of the league, and the Eagles were, um, not so much. So the Moose came calling to load up for the playoffs, picking up Stuart MacRae (first line forward), Steve Villeneuve (solid 2nd pair dman with some scoring punch) and George Davis (one of the better fighters in the Q at the time.) Usually when a team trades for another team's stars, they'll either trade them young players... OR picks, with trading picks back at the draft. (Think the Olivier Roy trade to Lewiston this year.) CB & Halifax did that... but they took it a very complicated step further. Halifax traded picks/fringe players in exchange for Davis/MacRae/Villeneuve. That was part one of the trade. Part two came at the 2003 Q draft, when MA Bernier, FP Guennette, Alex Picard, and JF Cyr came to CB from Halifax in exchange for those picks. So... at this point, a very normal trade by Q standards. The complications start when part 3 of the trade kicked in at Christmas of 2003, when Villeneuve was traded BACK to Cape Breton as part of the deal. Then, after a disastrous playoff "run" in 2004, CB proceeded to trade Guenette/Picard/Bernier BACK to Halifax for draft picks. (Cyr & Villeneuve were both 20 in 2003-04 and were out of the league.) The trade was dubbed the "boomerang" trade since the 3 Halifax boys only played a year in CB and KNEW they were going to be returning to Halifax the following season. It's been rumoured that Pascal and Marcel Pateneaude (Halifax's GM at the time) made the trade out of frustration with they were being treated by other GM's in the league. No idea if that's true. Here's what is true though.... - The league frowned upon this type of move and made a rule banning it from happening again. Players can now only be traded back to a team after 2 seasons with another team. (A 16 year old player, if traded, can't go back until 19, and a 17 year old player can't return until he's 20.) - Many CB fans resented a perceived lack of effort on the part of Bernier & Guenette (some group Picard into that mix; others forgive him) during their time in CB, which helped re-spark the rivalry during the 2004-05 season, and created many, many, many, many, many, many pissing matches on the message boards ;D - The Eagles ended up getting James Sheppard in the trade because of the whole pick reversal. Halifax finished 2nd last in the league during 2003-04, and in a typical bush league QMJHL move, the league decided MIDWAY through the season to institute a draft lottery, which Halifax won, valuting CB's pick to first. (The lottery was brought in response to the Oceanic's BLATANT tanking of the 2002-03 season in order to get Sidney Crosby.) Good post... but you left out the part where the Moose used many of those same players to go to the league finals in 2003 and 2005. Not all was doom and gloom during this period!
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Post by Hat Trick Swayze's on Sept 10, 2010 15:53:45 GMT -4
Francois Lacerte- Lacerte is another wildcard. I think everyone knows CB is NOT getting a star goaltender. However, how he performs could vary from a guy that's on the verge of being cut, to a a decent but not great starting goaltender. I know next to nothing about Lacerte but I haven't heard good reviews of his play, although apparently his best efforts came last year when he was given the ball for a while in Bathurst. So it's possible that he could be a decent starter if given the chance to be- which is unlikely, as it seems Mario is leaning to a 50/50 split.
After his preseason look, I wouldnt be surprised if you see him play more games before Christmas and we can get a pick for him as there a couple teams in need of a tender... I think if he plays the way I seen him in the Preseason and I like his just because hes big if he can steal games I think there is a chance we can get a 4th round or possible even a 3rd for him..... I dunno this might sound foolish but Alex IMO is by far ready right now.
Like I said this might sound silly but just my opinion
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Post by MJNICK44 on Sept 10, 2010 16:10:29 GMT -4
Excellent post Brec. Very enjoyable read. There are alot of what ifs with this team. I also would not be surprised if they didn't finish last in the division, having said that I also wouldn't be surprised if they did finish last. It will be interesting to see what happens.
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Post by brec7 on Sept 11, 2010 0:08:33 GMT -4
Good post... but you left out the part where the Moose used many of those same players to go to the league finals in 2003 and 2005. Not all was doom and gloom during this period! Ah yes... a fact that Mooseheads fans would cite as a means of defending Bernier/Guenette, and a fact that Eagles fans would point out as a means of proving they played like heartless bums when they played in CB (which has been further proven by their lack of success in their pro careers ) After his preseason look, I wouldnt be surprised if you see him play more games before Christmas and we can get a pick for him as there a couple teams in need of a tender... I think if he plays the way I seen him in the Preseason and I like his just because hes big if he can steal games I think there is a chance we can get a 4th round or possible even a 3rd for him..... I dunno this might sound foolish but Alex IMO is by far ready right now. That's probably not the PLAN.... but it's not an entirely impossible scenario. If Mario is SMART, he won't be fooled into going for it this season even if the team vastly overachieves in the first half. I think this "home ice in round 1" goal is very much pie in the sky.... BUT... EVEN IF the team is in the top 8 of the league come Christmas time, I think it's time to sell. So a lot would have to fall in place for us to see Lacerte as a valuable asset to sell- basically I think both he AND Veronneau would have to be playing well. At that point, Mario could feel confident in giving Veronneau the ball and get a decent return for Lacerte to help the rebuild. But all that hinges on both those goalies having very good seasons AND Mario having a willingness to sell- and I'm not 100% sold on any of those things happening, but it's certainly not impossible.
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Post by Deer on Sept 11, 2010 10:44:38 GMT -4
On the Bernier/Guenette topic, I think their utter flops as pro players pretty much puts to bed the debate between Hali and CB fans on what they were made of. Wasn't Bernier a high 2nd round NHL pick? He went nowhere! I'm not sure he even lasted in the East Coast League.
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Post by oilers4ever on Sept 11, 2010 11:00:37 GMT -4
On the Bernier/Guenette topic, I think their utter flops as pro players pretty much puts to bed the debate between Hali and CB fans on what they were made of. Wasn't Bernier a high 2nd round NHL pick? He went nowhere! I'm not sure he even lasted in the East Coast League. Played in France last year, in fact he and Guenette were 1-2 in scoring for Briancon. There are a few others from the QMHJL that played there last year, some of them were considered top end players as well and they also did not have much of a pro career, so just maybe the the flops of the Bernier/Guenette as pro players does not "pretty much puts to bed the debate between Hali and CB fans on what they were made of"
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Post by hal on Sept 11, 2010 11:24:21 GMT -4
The thing I remember most about Bernier was as an 18 year old being invited to the World Junior Camp and promptly being the first forward cut . Then as a 19 year old not being invited back . he could be the Poster Boy for..........." All Skill..............No Will " !
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Post by Deer on Sept 11, 2010 11:25:17 GMT -4
On the Bernier/Guenette topic, I think their utter flops as pro players pretty much puts to bed the debate between Hali and CB fans on what they were made of. Wasn't Bernier a high 2nd round NHL pick? He went nowhere! I'm not sure he even lasted in the East Coast League. Played in France last year, in fact he and Guenette were 1-2 in scoring for Briancon. There are a few others from the QMHJL that played there last year, some of them were considered top end players as well and they also did not have much of a pro career, so just maybe the the flops of the Bernier/Guenette as pro players does not "pretty much puts to bed the debate between Hali and CB fans on what they were made of" Those guys are STILL playing together?! Man, they never leave each others' side..... it's almost cute. ;D I know that many former top-end Q players are playing in obscure European leagues these days, but I doubt many of them were high 2nd round NHL picks like Bernier was. He was touted as a "power forward" because of his size, but in reality the guy could have played without shoulder pads.
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Post by Deer on Sept 11, 2010 11:27:03 GMT -4
The thing I remember most about Bernier was as an 18 year old being invited to the World Junior Camp and promptly being the first forward cut . Then as a 19 year old not being invited back . he could be the Poster Boy for..........." All Skill..............No Will " ! I'm still convinced it was Steve Bernier from Moncton they meant to invite that year, and they just got the two Berniers from the Q mixed up.
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