Overall, it was a poor game by Laval as they looked unprepared, played loose undisciplined hockey and largely handled the puck all night like it was a grenade. Again, as I said many times here over the years, one has to be careful to not overreact to the good games or the bad games. Regrettably, and clearly, this was a bad game.
As for our prospects these are my quick observations.
Despite what some have written, I think Beck played mediocrely. While he flashed his speed in spurts, he didn't drive the play consistently. Beck did play physically delivering a number of heavy checks. The worrisome thing is that since he has returned from his call up to the Canadiens, there is a lack of consistency to this fine prospect's game.
Roy had his brief moments but his lack of speed/quickness was apparent tonight. Also, Roy, who usually has excellent vision, made numerous bad decisions (particularly on the power play) where his passes were off the mark or were easily intercepted. I really doubt that Roy has a future on the Canadiens or has any true value on the trade market.
Other than some good board work on the forecheck and an occasional rush, Florian Xhekaj, was largely a non-factor tonight. Those here who have already pencilled in Florian to the Canadiens' 4th line next year may have to re-assess their projections.
Farrell, who had a couple of rushes, including one where he beat an opposing defence wide in the third period and almost scored was largely a non--factor in this game.
I thought Davidson was one of Laval's better forwards as he never took a shift off, drove to the net hard, was physical, had several good scoring chances , was around the puck all night and forechecked with purpose. This kid will make the NHL on his constant motor and high compete level alone.
In my opinion, from the second period on, Tuch was one of Laval's best forwards. Tuch played with speed, physicality, forechecked hard every shift, had a number of scoring chances including a breakaway from center ice. Tuch easily projects a bottom 6 forward at the next level and should push to make the Canadiens next fall unless Hughes trades him in the offseason. I could see a team asking for him in any deal Hughes tries to consummate at the upcoming draft. He is one of Montreal's more marketable assets.
Kapanen continued to flash NHL potential displaying good speed, vision, a physical edge and surprising effectiveness on face-offs. I think Kapanen, like Tuch, will be an asset that other teams will be interested in acquiring in any deal Hughes tries to negotiate this off season.
Other than Engstrom, the other three young Laval defencemen had bad to non-descript games. There is no way to soft peddle it, but Mailloux was horrible. He fumbled the puck all game long, turned over the puck repeatedly (which directly resulted in Rochester's second goal), made poor decisions in all zones of the ice and clearly showed that he is unable to effectively transport the puck at the AHL level. When the team needed a push from the back end trailing by 3 goals, Mailloux, unlike Engstrom, couldn't supply that dynamic skating from the back end. He made one excellent offence play when he jumped into an open area in the offensive zone creating a 2 on 1 with Davidson. But it wasn't as a result of his carrying the puck but anticipating the play and skating into open zone and making himself available for a pass. Sound like a forward?
Engstrom was Laval's most dynamic player in the game. He made two fabulous rushes, one of which directly led to Laval's only goal, walked the offensive blueline on a number of occasions and broke up a couple of 2 on 1's. Of all Laval defencemen, I believe Engstrom's elite skating ability makes him the defenceman with the highest upside. No player on Laval, defenceman or forward, can match Engstrom's ability to skate with the puck. It will be interesting to see how he fares at the Canadiens' camp next fall. If he gets a bit stronger, it would not shock me if he makes the team. Such is the level of this kid's skating.
Both Reinbacher and Trudeau had middling games. They both kept their errors with the puck to a minimum and showed enough mobility to generally escape forecheck pressure and to close the gap in the defensive zone. Trudeau was the more physical of the two. But neither player was able to provide the offensive push that the team desperately needed as they quickly fell behind in the game. That inability says a lot, at least to this writer, as to these players' true potential.
