The Habs signed defenceman Chris Campoli today who played was with Ottawa and Chicago this past season. Campoli was an unrestricted free agent after Chicago refused his arbitration award and instead signed defencemen Sean O'Donnell, Sami Lepisto, and Steve Montador who will provide them with far more toughness.
Campoli, who turned 27 this summer, is listed at 6 feet and 190 pounds. His most productive offensive season was his rookie year, 2005-2006, when he scored 34 points for the Islanders, but also a -16 which is a career worst. He has only reached 30 points one other time in his career.
The most likely cause of this signing is that Markov's knee injury is worse than expected. Campoli plays left defense, a position that is under filled by the projected Canadiens defense to start the season. Currently, the Habs project to have Spacek and Gill as the other left defencemen, while Subban, Gorges, Yemelin, and Weber play on the right side.
This signing also appears to be a sign that the coaching staff does not have faith that Woywitka could fill a depth role at the NHL level and the some of the other youngsters, like Nash and Beaulieu, require more seasoning in Hamilton and junior.
I am not that happy with the signing because it seems that the only skill that Campoli brings is that he is left handed and can play on the left side. He has never shown to have a lot of offensive upside, nor has he shown the ability to be a strong defender, twice being -16 and never having a +/- greater than zero in a single season. His skill set - strong puck-mover, decent skater - seem to be duplicated in other youngsters, like Diaz and Weber, who are on the bubble. The Habs could have played Gorges on the left side to fill the need for a left d. I would like to have seen those two get a greater chance to prove themselves before the Canadiens reached out and signed Campoli.
Campoli signing on TSN.ca
Showing posts with label Pre-Season. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pre-Season. Show all posts
Monday, 26 September 2011
Thursday, 22 September 2011
Game 2: Their men vs the Habs' boys
Habs fans expectations should have been pretty low when the line-ups for
last night's pre-season game were announced. After all, the Habs were not even
dressing one line that will be expected to play together this season while the
the Sabres had their top three lines and top 4 D dressed for the game.
The result was a 3-1 loss by the Habs capped off by an empty net goal. Not only was the result better than fans could have expected, but the should have been pleasantly surprised by the strong return of Pacioretty, who looked comfortable on the ice, and the play by some of the prospects - Beaulieu and Gallagher in particular - who played far better than could have been anticipated. The biggest disappointment of the game was the play of Engqvist and Palushaj who were playing the second game in two nights.
Beaulieu looks like the real deal
After watching Beaulieu play more than 27 minutes, I hope that most fans have come away with the feeling that he is the real deal and he will be a stud in the future. Sure he seemed raw at times in his own zone, but his skating, vision, and poise with the puck were exceptional for a player playing his first game against competition stronger than major junior.
Three plays really stuck out in my mind that showed glimpses of his future. Early in the game, he made a beautiful long-bomb pass which demonstrated his vision. Second, I believe it was in the second period, when he evaded a forcheck by Brad Boyes while maintaining possession of the puck and he was able to make a nice outlet pass. It was a nice display of poise and confidence where other young defenseman might have turned the puck over or just tried to chip it up the boards. And third, his ability to get back in position after joining the rush showed that he has the speed to play in the NHL one day.
I am not trying to overhype him and say he is ready for the NHL this year but he could challenge for a spot next year with a solid year in junior.
Gallagher: Gionta Jr?
The second youngster who had a strong game was Gallagher. He was strong on the puck, drove the net, and showed glimpses that would make you want to compare him to the Habs diminutive captain, Brian Gionta. One particular sequence of note was during the third when he stickhandled through the Sabres defenseman. Gallagher showed far more drive and determination than some of the other prospects who have a chance to make the Habs roster this year.
Does anybody want the job of thirteenth forward?
The biggest disappointment of the game was the play of Palushaj and Engqvist for the second consecutive game. Both players seemed to lack determination and were invisible on the ice. From the past two games, I don't see a skill set that will translate well to the NHL for either of them. Palushaj seems like Maxwell in that he is not strong or fast enough to be a top 6 or top 9 scoring forward in the NHL. He doesn't have any skills in particular that stand out. While Engqvist seemed behind the play and also laked any elite or NHL skills apart from his size. From the game play so far, Blunden has played the best of the three players battling for the last spot.
The result was a 3-1 loss by the Habs capped off by an empty net goal. Not only was the result better than fans could have expected, but the should have been pleasantly surprised by the strong return of Pacioretty, who looked comfortable on the ice, and the play by some of the prospects - Beaulieu and Gallagher in particular - who played far better than could have been anticipated. The biggest disappointment of the game was the play of Engqvist and Palushaj who were playing the second game in two nights.
Beaulieu looks like the real deal
After watching Beaulieu play more than 27 minutes, I hope that most fans have come away with the feeling that he is the real deal and he will be a stud in the future. Sure he seemed raw at times in his own zone, but his skating, vision, and poise with the puck were exceptional for a player playing his first game against competition stronger than major junior.
Three plays really stuck out in my mind that showed glimpses of his future. Early in the game, he made a beautiful long-bomb pass which demonstrated his vision. Second, I believe it was in the second period, when he evaded a forcheck by Brad Boyes while maintaining possession of the puck and he was able to make a nice outlet pass. It was a nice display of poise and confidence where other young defenseman might have turned the puck over or just tried to chip it up the boards. And third, his ability to get back in position after joining the rush showed that he has the speed to play in the NHL one day.
I am not trying to overhype him and say he is ready for the NHL this year but he could challenge for a spot next year with a solid year in junior.
Gallagher: Gionta Jr?
The second youngster who had a strong game was Gallagher. He was strong on the puck, drove the net, and showed glimpses that would make you want to compare him to the Habs diminutive captain, Brian Gionta. One particular sequence of note was during the third when he stickhandled through the Sabres defenseman. Gallagher showed far more drive and determination than some of the other prospects who have a chance to make the Habs roster this year.
Does anybody want the job of thirteenth forward?
The biggest disappointment of the game was the play of Palushaj and Engqvist for the second consecutive game. Both players seemed to lack determination and were invisible on the ice. From the past two games, I don't see a skill set that will translate well to the NHL for either of them. Palushaj seems like Maxwell in that he is not strong or fast enough to be a top 6 or top 9 scoring forward in the NHL. He doesn't have any skills in particular that stand out. While Engqvist seemed behind the play and also laked any elite or NHL skills apart from his size. From the game play so far, Blunden has played the best of the three players battling for the last spot.
Thoughts from the first pre-season game
Two nights ago, I eagerly sat down to watch the first pre-season
game of the season. My expectations for the game were not a quality hockey
game, but more a chance to observe some of the Canadiens offseason acquisitions
for the first time. The players I was eager to observe were Cole, Yemelin,
Diaz, and the players who would be battling for the thirteenth forward spot
(Engqvist, Palushaj, and Blunden).
As expected, Hab fans were not treated to a quality hockey game
but we did get some glimpses of hope.
Cole was a great aquisition by Gauthier
From what we saw in the first game, Cole is exactly what this team
was missing last year - a big, strong, fast winger who drives to the net and is
not afraid to hit. Cole was strong on the puck and will compliment Pleks and
Cammalleri well throughout the season. An added benefit of the Cole signing is
that Kostitsyn will be freed to play against the other teams third lines. And
as we saw from the game against Dallas, he seemed to thrive as the go-to-guy on
the line. Maybe we will see his emergence as a more consistend offensive threat
this season.
Yemelin has more tools than I expected
I was expecting Yemelin to be a physical force on D. However, I
was surprised by his skating, his vision, and his ability to carry the puck. My
initial expectation is still that he will be a 6-7 defenceman early in the
season but I am now more confident that he will be a key part of the defence by
the end of the season.
Diaz = Weber
As for Diaz, he didn't impress too much and seemed like a very
similar player to Weber - same size, same skill set, and same style game. It
seems like he will be Hamilton bound this season.
Battle for the thirteenth forward spot
I will go into more detail on this subject in my next post because
both Engqvist and Palushaj played the following game.
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