Pierre Groulx No Longer Habs Goaltending Coach

The news broke at 3:25 Eastern time on the Montreal Canadiens website that goaltending coach Pierre Groulx would no longer be behind the Habs bench. His contract is up, but there was an option for an extra year, which Bergevin decided not to use. It will be interesting to see who will be his replacement, and what the reaction will be considering that it has been said that Groulx and Price shared a good relationship. At the end of the day, it's all business, and Bergevin has to do what is best for his team.

So... About The Draft: Myles Bell

In the past two entries, we evaluated potential 1st round picks for the Habs. There are more potential 1st round picks that I will get around to posting about. However, right now, we will take a look at one of the players that should be of interest in the 2nd round. After all, the Canadiens do have three 2nd round picks. Without further ado, the player in question is Kelowna Rockets' defenseman Myles Bell.

Right now, one might be asking "Why a defenseman when we have good wealth on that front?". My answer to that is separated has two parts to it:

1. You never have too much wealth;
2. This defenseman played as a forward this past season, and had great success.

Before I get in to speaking about his play, let's take a look at his stats:

2010-11   Regina      66gp     14g   31a    45pts      86pims  -14

2011-12   Kelowna   54gp     15g   26a    41pts      55pims  -18

2012-13   Kelowna   69gp     38g   55a    93pts      68pims +46

Pretty impressive stats this past season if I do say so myself. As aforementioned, he played as a forward for the first time this past season, and he had tremendous success. His two seasons before that, in which he played as a defenseman, were quite impressive as well if we disregard the +/- category. This player in particular has an intriguing story. He was the Assistant Captain for Regina in the 2010-2011 season and was eligible for the draft. He played in the top prospects game that year and was ranked 37th in North America mid-season, and dropped to #39. He had a reckless driving accident at the end of the season, in which he broke his leg, and the passenger passed away. This event probably played a big role in him not being drafted that year, considering that he had a good season, was ranked at a decent number, and there was a lot of praise for this kid at 17 years old. His Regina coach at the time highlighted the numerous good aspects to his game such as: offensive abilities, vision, passing, shooting, physicality, powerplay, penalty kill. One thing that should also be noted: this kid won the WHL hardest shot contest that year, shooting at 98 mph... Quite impressive for a 17 year old, no? For the 2011-2012 season, he was ranked 47th in North America after a good season. He missed a month of action and due to injury, and still almost caught up to his point-total from the previous season. Once more, he was not selected.

Nevertheless, that was then, and this is now. Myles has proven his hockey skills time and time again. This is another player who has good size, standing at 6'0 tall and weighing in at 212 lbs. He uses his size, he has a very powerful shot, he is versatile, and he can play forward and defense. This player can be a great asset for the Habs. The Central Scouting system have him ranked at #46 in North America, which is a major leap from his midterm ranking (#87). I believe Bergevin and his team should take interest in this forward/defenseman if his is available at the 36th or 55th overall pick. Who knows, maybe he can even be picked up in the 3rd round.

So... About The Draft: Kerby Rychel

So, in the last entry, we covered Anthony Mantha: a strong power forward with a great shot, who has made his way up to #10 in the North American rookies according the the NHL Central Scouting final rankings. This time, we will take a look at #17 in North American: Kerby Rychel.

The Ontarian plays for the Windsor Spitfires, and had a good season as far as points go, with 87 points in 68 games (40g, 47a, 94 pims). Point-wise, he also had a great season in 2011-2012 with 40 goals and 33 assists in 68 games. He has a sniper's shot, that is quick, powerful, and precise. He has decent size standing at 6'0 tall and weighing in at 200 lbs. He is known to be gritty, and even drop the gloves every now and then. He is assessed to have impressive top end speed, but his acceleration needs some work.  He is said to be defensively inconsistent, as he has a tendency to stop moving on the backcheck in certain games, which is a part of the reason he had a +/- of -21 this past season. However, there are games where he is very solid defensively. Therefore, firstly, he will need to work on is his defensive zone coverage (possibly fully buying into a system could help this issue). Secondly, working on his strides in order to improve that acceleration and take advantage of that good top end speed would improve the quality of this player substantially. If he can work on those two aspects of his game, he could be a very good top 25 pick.

Kerby will most likely need an extra year in the juniors, but after that extra year, he could be an excellent second liner with a dangerous shot and a gritty playing style. Who knows, he could even find himself in a first line role. Either way, this youngster can be a very intriguing choice, and is a possibility for Marc Bergevin and Trevor Timmins.

So... About The Draft: Anthony Mantha

The NHL entry draft is on June 30th. The Habs currently hold the 25th overall pick. Who are the options? Honestly, there are so many possible picks, and this draft year is filled with talented youngsters. I will try to cover as many as I can. First up: Anthony Mantha!

This one seems to be standing out more and more recently. Born on September 16th 1994, he was ineligible for the 2012 due to the cutoff date being September 15th. That may be a good thing for him. Let me elaborate using some stats:

2011-2012 Season: 63gp, 22g, 29a, 51pts, +/- of -11, and 39 pims.
2012-2013 Season: 67gp, 50g, 39a, 89pts, +/- of +21, and 71 pims.

Decent improvement if I do say so myself. The points are great and all, but what impresses me is the +/- category. He improved that facet drastically, leading me to believe he is better defensively than he was last year, which is great for him. That is sure to increase his value. He's got a big frame at 6'4 201 lbs. We have all seen cases where players have size, but do not use it, however that is not the case with Mantha. He uses his large frame in his gritty style, without necessarily relying on it; He is versatile in that he also possesses a great shot. The combination of size and skill led him to being the top goal-scorer in the QMJHL this past season with the Val d'Or Foreurs. He has shown tremendous skill this past season, and that has given NHL Central Scouting reason to rank him as #10 of the North American prospects.

On an interesting side note, Mantha's grandfather won stanley cups with Montreal between 1957 and 1960. Either way, anything can happen in the draft, but I'm expecting this kid to go Top 15. With the Habs having the 25th pick, it is hard seeing Mantha get picked by Bergevin and Timmins, but once again: anything is possible. After all, Montreal picked up Sebastian Collberg with the 33rd overall pick, a guy who was ranked #3 in Europe by NHL Central Scouting, and was expected to go to top 15.

Tim Bozon Signs!

The Montreal Canadiens have signed Kamloops Blazers' left winger Tim Bozon to a 3-year entry level contract. The 19-year old was drafted in the 3rd Round (64th overall) in the 2012 draft by the Canadiens and put up great stats this season with the Blazers, scoring 91 points in 69 games (36 Goals, 55 Assists) and a +/- of +37 during the regular season. In the playoffs, in his 8 games played, he scored 6 pts (4 goals, 2 assists).

Though Bozon is already a decent player and will eventually be an NHL player, it is to my belief that he will spend the next season in Hamilton honing his skills. He already has good speed and a great shot, making him a dangerous offensive player, but he will need to work on the defensive aspect of his game, especially if we consider the current Habs roster. However, anything can happen, and it will be exciting to see what happens at the development camp!