William Shoukri joined the podcast to evaluate the prospects from development camp. The two-part discussion started with the European prospects where we go through most of the prospects with some quotes from the media scrum that was offered by the team.
We speak about Filip Eriksson’s hesitation with his shot, and if that is a lingering effect of his season with Växjö and then a little bit different role with Djurgården, along with the fact that he hasn’t been on ice since the end of April.
The next prospect is Aatos Koivu who had his first chance to wear the Canadiens jersey, and while his first day was difficult he shone in the two-way game on the second day.
Next was Bogdan Konyushkov and his look at camp, what makes him an intriguing prospect, and how he can translate his skills into an NHL role down the road.
Then Arseni Radkov gets his time in the limelight as he stood out for all the right reasons in camp.
Lastly a few words on Rasmus Bergqvist before Will was forced to give his three stars on the European side of development camp (not the best prospects, but rather the ones that shone during these two days).
Will’s three stars on the EU side of development camp as follows:
* Radkov
** Koivu
*** Eriksson
The next episode follows the same pattern as we discuss Little John Mooney’s projection and skill set.
We move on to Hayden Paupanekis who has a lot of skills but someone who doesn’t play “big.”
Next up was Tyler Thorpe who had a lot of negative concerns with regard to his skating during his draft year. This year though those concerns should be put to rest; what a difference a year can make.
After the commercial break, Michael Hage gets his share of the spotlight. Having put on 10 pounds since season’s end might have hampered his look a bit as it takes time to get used to his ‘new’ body. He didn’t go to the dressing room on day two but looked to be in some discomfort and seemed to go for some sort of therapy after the scrimmage.
Lastly we move on to Owen Protz. While he looked great in the neutral zone, he was consistently beaten when asked to hold the blue line, something that the coaches in Laval will undoubtedly work on once he makes the move to pro hockey.
Will gives his three stars for the NA side;
* Thorpe
** Mooney
*** Hage
HM – Mathew Wang
Make sure to follow William Shoukri on Twitter for more prospect updates here.
