Laval Rocket: Belleville Senators at Laval Rocket 7:00 pm

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

That back check/hustle to win the race clean and easy and then a smart pass to get the puck out... f***in' masterful by Reinbacher

 

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

That back check/hustle to win the race clean and easy and then a smart pass to get the puck out... f***in' masterful by Reinbacher

That’s his game all day long. Having that on the Habs would be so huge for our success. It’s why I fell for him pre-draft. He was exactly what we needed.

 

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

Great defensive work by Roy. Blocked a shot and then battled to get the puck out after a long shift in their end.

Guys I had a f***in' mini panic attack.

I swear it looked like that sens player stuck his leg out and caught Reinbacher who went down, but he was fine, so some PTSD is all it is to me

 

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

f***

 

[jrom]

We do.....

Who are those Simoneau-like players ? Gally used to be like that and you can still see it from time to time but not sure who you have in mind.

 

[montreal]

Farrell Assist 3:50
Reinbacher/Engstrom Assist 4:12
Mailloux Assist 4:56
Davidson Goal/Xhekaj Assist 5:20

 

[Rapala]

I really like his skating ability aswell.

This guy will be a very good D-man for Habs!!

The only thing we needed to be worried about in his case was the effect on his mobility.
I was already somewhat reassured just watching him rehab on the ice but I have to say it's a relief to see it live in real time. I think most of us were sold on his game to begin with.

 

[ChesterNimitz]

Farrell Assist 3:50
Reinbacher/Engstrom Assist 4:12
Mailloux Assist 4:56
Davidson Goal/Xhekaj Assist 5:20

It was a rather unremarkable game as Laval played well enough to beat to beat a tired Belleville team. The Rocket, who were still missing a host of talented players due to call up and injury, relied on a strong power play and a structured game to win 4-1.

Here is my very brief assessment of the play of our prospects.

Davidson, had his best game in a while and was probably the best Laval forward in the game.. After a slow first period, Davidson showed good outside speed, a tenacious forecheck, physicality, a nose for the net and his excellent shot. This kid will be a good replacement for the quickly fading Gallagher and, being bigger and having a better shot, will most probably be an upgrade over the aging warhorse.

Florian Xhekaj continued his strong, confident play and, similarly to Davidson, got stronger as the game went on. Xhekaj, who flashed his surprising speed on several occasions when transporting the puck , was a force on the forecheck, was physical and made a number of excellent, high end passes that led to scoring chances and Davidson's goal. You can see the growing confidence in Xhekaj's game as he has now become, as a rookie, a prime player on a Laval team that is pushing to win their division. If his growth trajectory as a player (i.e. he gets stronger and quicker) continues, this kid's a certain NHLer.

It was a relatively quiet game for Farrell as he wasn't as noticeable as he has been over the past 5 or so weeks. But Farrell had his moments where showed off his superior speed both on the offence and backcheck, quick release, vision and playmaking abilities. His pass that led to Laval's first goal provided another excellent example of Farrell's playmaking. I would suggest that that Farrell's play making is only second on the Rocket to Roy's.

Roy was another of the Laval forwards who had a relatively quiet game. He had his moments where he displayed his superior vision and hand skills but those displays were far too infrequent. I am starting to believe that what we see in Roy is what we will get: a gifted offensive forward who will always leave fans disappointed as to his lack on intensity, consistently and tempo. With Demidov, Tuch, Beck, Hage, Kapanen, Tuch, Davidson, Xhekaj and Heinemann coming or already here, the window of opportunity for Roy is closing and closing fast.

Kidney played limited minutes as center on Laval's fourth line. His two linemates were career ECHL players so any assessment of Kidney's performance must take those two factors into consideration. Nevertheless Kidney showed good speed when transporting the puck on a number of rushes and he made several clever passes in the offensive zone. I've said it before, this kid has more talent than many here accord him.

Reinbacher had an excellent game. He was again paired with Engstrom and they were clearly Laval's best defence pairing. Reinbacher was very efficient in the defensive zone, made all the right reads, saw the ice ice well, was strong on the puck, played physical and made a number of excellent stretch passes and plays in the offensive including setting up a goal on the poer play. While Reinbacher is a strong skater, he is not a fluid skater like Petry in his prime. But he has enough mobility to consistently evade the first forechecker, transport the puck and play effective defence. This kid is clearly starting to show his pedigree as being the 5 OA pick in his draft class.

Engstrom had a mercurial game, looking great one play and less than great on another play. The great included Engstrom showing superior mobility both with and without the puck, excellent vision and good defensive positioning. The less than good, is that Engstrom committed a number of give-a-ways. For him to be an effective NHL defenceman Engstrom is going to have to learn when to pick his spots to make those high risk plays. This kid is definitely talented, but there are still holes in his game.

Trudeau, like Engstrom had an uneven game. He wasn't as noticeable (whether for good or bad reasons) this game. Trudeau flashed his good speed, made a number of excellent plays in the offensive zone, displayed his ability to support the offence and showed his physicality in all areas of the ice. He also committed a number of turnovers that led to scoring chances against, including the only goal Belleville scored with seconds remaining in the game. As with Engstrom, Trudeau has to bring a higher degree of dependability to his game for him to be seen as an NHL defenceman.

Mailloux had a fair game: nothing great nor terribly bad. Mailloux was effective in the offensive zone making numerous good passes on the power play, stepped up and made a couple of timely pinches in the neutral zone, displayed his all-world stretch passing ability and was largely effective in the defensive zone. But Mailloux continues to demonstrate a lack of skating ability that would allow him to consistently avoid the forecheck. And this is at the AHL level.

 

[1909]

It was a rather unremarkable game as Laval played well enough to beat to beat a tired Belleville team. The Rocket, who were still missing a host of talented players due to call up and injury, relied on a strong power play and a structured game to win 4-1.

Here is my very brief assessment of the play of our prospects.

Davidson, had his best game in a while and was probably the best Laval forward in the game.. After a slow first period, Davidson showed good outside speed, a tenacious forecheck, physicality, a nose for the net and his excellent shot. This kid will be a good replacement for the quickly fading Gallagher and, being bigger and having a better shot, will most probably be an upgrade over the aging warhorse.

Florian Xhekaj continued his strong, confident play and, similarly to Davidson, got stronger as the game went on. Xhekaj, who flashed his surprising speed on several occasions when transporting the puck , was a force on the forecheck, was physical and made a number of excellent, high end passes that led to scoring chances and Davidson's goal. You can see the growing confidence in Xhekaj's game as he has now become, as a rookie, a prime player on a Laval team that is pushing to win their division. If his growth trajectory as a player (i.e. he gets stronger and quicker) continues, this kid's a certain NHLer.

It was a relatively quiet game for Farrell as he wasn't as noticeable as he has been over the past 5 or so weeks. But Farrell had his moments where showed off his superior speed both on the offence and backcheck, quick release, vision and playmaking abilities. His pass that led to Laval's first goal provided another excellent example of Farrell's playmaking. I would suggest that that Farrell's play making is only second on the Rocket to Roy's.

Roy was another of the Laval forwards who had a relatively quiet game. He had his moments where he displayed his superior vision and hand skills but those displays were far too infrequent. I am starting to believe that what we see in Roy is what we will get: a gifted offensive forward who will always leave fans disappointed as to his lack on intensity, consistently and tempo. With Demidov, Tuch, Beck, Hage, Kapanen, Tuch, Davidson, Xhekaj and Heinemann coming or already here, the window of opportunity for Roy is closing and closing fast.

Kidney played limited minutes as center on Laval's fourth line. His two linemates were career ECHL players so any assessment of Kidney's performance must take those two factors into consideration. Nevertheless Kidney showed good speed when transporting the puck on a number of rushes and he made several clever passes in the offensive zone. I've said it before, this kid has more talent than many here accord him.

Reinbacher had an excellent game. He was again paired with Engstrom and they were clearly Laval's best defence pairing. Reinbacher was very efficient in the defensive zone, made all the right reads, saw the ice ice well, was strong on the puck, played physical and made a number of excellent stretch passes and plays in the offensive including setting up a goal on the poer play. While Reinbacher is a strong skater, he is not a fluid skater like Petry in his prime. But he has enough mobility to consistently evade the first forechecker, transport the puck and play effective defence. This kid is clearly starting to show his pedigree as being the 5 OA pick in his draft class.

Engstrom had a mercurial game, looking great one play and less than great on another play. The great included Engstrom showing superior mobility both with and without the puck, excellent vision and good defensive positioning. The less than good, is that Engstrom committed a number of give-a-ways. For him to be an effective NHL defenceman Engstrom is going to have to learn when to pick his spots to make those high risk plays. This kid is definitely talented, but there are still holes in his game.

Trudeau, like Engstrom had an uneven game. He wasn't as noticeable (whether for good or bad reasons) this game. Trudeau flashed his good speed, made a number of excellent plays in the offensive zone, displayed his ability to support the offence and showed his physicality in all areas of the ice. He also committed a number of turnovers that led to scoring chances against, including the only goal Belleville scored with seconds remaining in the game. As with Engstrom, Trudeau has to bring a higher degree of dependability to his game for him to be seen as an NHL defenceman.

Mailloux had a fair game: nothing great nor terribly bad. Mailloux was effective in the offensive zone making numerous good passes on the power play, stepped up and made a couple of timely pinches in the neutral zone, displayed his all-world stretch passing ability and was largely effective in the defensive zone. But Mailloux continues to demonstrate a lack of skating ability that would allow him to consistently avoid the forecheck. And this is at the AHL level.

Thanks for the review. Do you think Davidson and Xhekaj could be in a Habs jersey in a one or two seasons, and become reliable 4th line players ?

 

[ChesterNimitz]

Thanks for the review. Do you think Davidson and Xhekaj could be in a Habs jersey in a one or two seasons, and become reliable 4th line players ?

The short answer is yes. But I would suggest that both have the potential to become something more that 4th line players. I see Davidson as the putative replacement for Gallagher as he has all the same competitive traits but is bigger, stronger, more physical and possesses a much better shot than Gallagher. In Xhekaj, we have a player who could play a Nick Paul style of game, only with greater physicality. Those types of players are not fourth liners.

While both are good prospects, as of today, I think Davidson has a better chance of becoming an impactful NHL player than Florian. That being said, I think Florian has a much higher ceiling. It all comes down to skating. Currently, once Florian gets going, he has a higher top end speed than Davidson. But hockey isn't played on a race track. It's a contest that occurs repeatedly within a 12 to 15 foot area where quickness, agility, edge work and balance are at a premium. In that smaller, but essential, contested area, Davidson currently has an edge. In my many reports on Laval games I have often noted that Florian needs to get quicker to be something more than the next McCarron at the NHL level.

I have followed Xhekaj closely since he was drafted and quickly realized that this kid had much more hockey skills than what his family name conjures. He ran Branford's power play last year; should have been on Team Canada if Hockey Canada officials didn't have their heads in the ground and is now one of the favourites to win rookie of the year in the AHL. Can he make the NHL? And if he does, will he be able to replicate his success in the OHL and AHL? In this writer's opinion, if Xhekaj can gain that extra step of quickness you will have a player, similarly to Davidson, who is much more than a 4th line player.