Prospect Info: Josh Brook Part 3

[angusyoung]

From the few clips that I've seen, he looks better and not as timid,willing to mix it up some.

 

[montreal]

I just checked on the AHL site and Brook is 2nd in the AHL in even strength points (behind Connor Mackey who has 14) with 12 in 22 games

If we assume he plays 16-20 even strength minute per game as one of the teams most played dman (maybe I'm wrong and he plays less)

for most of the season he was on the 3rd pairing, Leskinen Schueneman was the 1st pair, Fluery was on the 2nd pair with Olofsson and later Bisson. He plays on the PK but until recently he rarely got PP time, then they started splitting him and Fleury on the 2nd unit. So Fleury would be on the 2nd PP unit then the next time there was a penalty, Brook was take Fleury's spot. The last game was the first time he was on the top PP unit.

From the few clips that I've seen, he looks better and not as timid,willing to mix it up some.

yes, you can really see the confidence he has going. If he keeps this up, works hard in the off-season to add mass and strength, especially lower body then I fully expect at some point next year he will see games with the Habs.

 

[ahmedou]

 

[De Montreal]

Is he a winger now?

 

[JuicyHam]

Is he a winger now?

He's whatever he wants to be at this point

 

[26Mats]

for most of the season he was on the 3rd pairing, Leskinen Schueneman was the 1st pair, Fluery was on the 2nd pair with Olofsson and later Bisson. He plays on the PK but until recently he rarely got PP time, then they started splitting him and Fleury on the 2nd unit. So Fleury would be on the 2nd PP unit then the next time there was a penalty, Brook was take Fleury's spot. The last game was the first time he was on the top PP unit.



yes, you can really see the confidence he has going. If he keeps this up, works hard in the off-season to add mass and strength, especially lower body then I fully expect at some point next year he will see games with the Habs.

The best part is, he still has a full year if development time before he has to go through waivers.

I'm looking forward to seeing him in 2022 at camp.

Will be interesting to see if Cale Fleury is ready in camp this fall. Or will he join Mete and Juulsen in being post for nothing to waivers.

 

[iamtalbot]

From those that watch the rocket games regularly does brook look like a guy that is ready to play 3rd pair right D next year?

 

[montreal]

Is he a winger now?

no I don't see it but then again with the way the Habs develop prospects maybe they will.

The best part is, he still has a full year if development time before he has to go through waivers.

I'm looking forward to seeing him in 2022 at camp.

Will be interesting to see if Cale Fleury is ready in camp this fall. Or will he join Mete and Juulsen in being post for nothing to waivers.

I would be surprised if Fleury is ready for top 6, I think he would clear but we'll see how the roster shakes out and how he looks at camp.

Would be great if he got one more year in Laval, he's played only 95 games in the AHL, he really could use 1 more. That said if you just want him as a 7th D that can fill in here and there, he could do that job as he's got the physical tools of size, skating, mobility, speed, strength. I just worry about the IQ and his defensive game.

Brook should be tough competition for Fleury as Fleury has looked better defensively this year after looking terrible last year once finally sent down (another terrible decision in regards to development under MB, shocking) But the offense hasn't been there at all. On the other hand Brook's offensive game has grown by leaps and bounds as you can see he was feeling it as the season went on despite not getting much PP time at all. He's a playmaker and puck rusher, I think we all know a team that could use those qualities but I want to see him get stronger, add mass. Plus I worry about the IQ with him as well in the defensive zone, not as much as I do with Fleury but Fleury is bigger/stronger so we'll see what Brook does in the off-season, how much stronger does he get, etc..

 

[montreal]

From those that watch the rocket games regularly does brook look like a guy that is ready to play 3rd pair right D next year?

as of today I don't think it would be a good idea as we don't want to rush him. But let's see how his off-season goes, how he looks at camp. With him not needing waivers they don't need to create a spot for him, but if he can steal one at camp then that's a good sign.

I would expect him to see games in the NHL at some point next year, but spending half the season or so in Laval where he's on the top RD and PP where he should have been all year imo but for some reason Bouchard was giving Schueneman and Leskinen top PP mins instead and then Brook and Fleury would play every other PP on the 2nd pairing which is kind of odd in it's own right as you don't see that too often.

 

[26Mats]

no I don't see it but then again with the way the Habs develop prospects maybe they will.



I would be surprised if Fleury is ready for top 6, I think he would clear but we'll see how the roster shakes out and how he looks at camp.

Would be great if he got one more year in Laval, he's played only 95 games in the AHL, he really could use 1 more. That said if you just want him as a 7th D that can fill in here and there, he could do that job as he's got the physical tools of size, skating, mobility, speed, strength. I just worry about the IQ and his defensive game.

Brook should be tough competition for Fleury as Fleury has looked better defensively this year after looking terrible last year once finally sent down (another terrible decision in regards to development under MB, shocking) But the offense hasn't been there at all. On the other hand Brook's offensive game has grown by leaps and bounds as you can see he was feeling it as the season went on despite not getting much PP time at all. He's a playmaker and puck rusher, I think we all know a team that could use those qualities but I want to see him get stronger, add mass. Plus I worry about the IQ with him as well in the defensive zone, not as much as I do with Fleury but Fleury is bigger/stronger so we'll see what Brook does in the off-season, how much stronger does he get, etc..

All we need is good defensive play onnthe bottom pair. The physical aspect is not as important as defensive IQ and puck skills - as Merrill et al have shown us.

We'll see where he's at in September.

 

[Tyson]

From those that watch the rocket games regularly does brook look like a guy that is ready to play 3rd pair right D next year?

I think he is vastly improved from last season but he has a ways to go before being NHL ready. He looks at best as a future bottom pairing D.

 

[montreal]

 

[Tyson]

Does Josh Brook have top 4 upside?
He has 100 AHL games under his belt...had 15 points in 33 AHL games and was a plus 9.

Now that Weber, Fleury, Juulsen all gone there is a great opportunity for him to seize.
We need him to pan out

 

[LastWordArmy]

Does Josh Brook have top 4 upside?
He has 100 AHL games under his belt...had 15 points in 33 AHL games and was a plus 9.

Now that Weber, Fleury, Juulsen all gone there is a great opportunity for him to seize.
We need him to pan out

I think he has top 4 upside, I've always been higher on Brook than most.

That said, I think he starts the year in the AHL. He needs time still.

 

[Pompeius Magnus]

I think he has top 4 upside, I've always been higher on Brook than most.

That said, I think he starts the year in the AHL. He needs time still.

The spike in production he had in 20-21 is promising , he was a lot more consistent defensively than in his rookie season on top of that . He was almost injury free too, for the first time in quite a few years. If he can keep that up he'll get himself in line for at least a few call ups with the big team in 21-22.

 

[LastWordArmy]

The spike in production he had in 20-21 is promising , he was a lot more consistent defensively than in his rookie season on top of that . He was almost injury free too, for the first time in quite a few years. If he can keep that up he'll get himself in line for at least a few call ups with the big team in 21-22.

Callups? Sure.

I think covid and the short AHL season is why i think he at least starts the year in Laval. If things go well again, best case scenario is winning an NHL job in the second half.

 

[salbutera]

Trade bait

 

[Treb]

Trade bait

That would mean the next potential RHD would be 3-4 years away.

 

[salbutera]

That would mean the next potential RHD would be 3-4 years away.

That timing aligns w Savard & DeAngelo signings & ending of Petry’s contract...

 

[Treb]

That timing aligns w Savard & DeAngelo signings & ending of Petry’s contract...

Two of those have not happened yet if at all.

 

[LastWordArmy]

That timing aligns w Savard & DeAngelo signings & ending of Petry’s contract...

Assuming you sign those players... you are also hoping that the signings work...they play well and spend their entire contract in Montreal... and there are no long term injuries.

 

[ChesterNimitz]

Yeah Brook should be getting at least a few cups of coffee. Too bad both these guys have the D question marks it seems. Really hope both can take big strides in their overall games. Especially the D side of things.

I'm starting to be a bit more skeptical of both but I'm certainly not writing either of them off. But they really need to take their respective games to another level this year imo. Fingers crossed. We could really use both these guys.

I believe Brook has now replaced Juulsen as our most over rated prospect. I'm afraid he has journeyman written all over him.

 

[Schwang]

If he just lifts the puck on his backhand in game 1 he would have 5 pts in the first 2 preseason game. I know some weren't happy that I ranked him as our best prospect in my year end ranking but this kid is so much fun to watch. Not Caufield level fun but he's up there as he makes things happen in the offensive zone.



Brook cooled off this past season with just 3 pts in the final 13 games, before that he was on a roll with 12 pts in 20 games and that's with very limited PP time most of the time. Not saying he could have kept up his .6 ppg at the time, which over 76 is 45 pts, but he was easily among their 2 best D imo.

It's very hard to gauge by last season really. He was skating well and his play in his own end looked better, but like I've stated before, the competition was generally horrible. It needs to be taken with a grain of salt. Near the end of the season, he also played forward for a few games. The last 7 games or so also saw many injuries and a few key call ups, so Laval dropped quite a few too that they normally would've won.

 

[Leon Lucius Black]

I believe Brook has now replaced Juulsen as our most over rated prospect. I'm afraid he has journeyman written all over him.

Brook has become one of our more underrated prospects. He had lots of hype a year or two after he got drafted, now he rarely gets talked about since most the talk is about other D prospects like Norlinder, Harris and Guhle.

Brook is still just 22 and showed improvements last year, with his skating and puck movement I won't be surprised if he spends a solid amount of time in the NHL this year assuming we don't add another D.

 

[WinterLion]

I believe Brook has now replaced Juulsen as our most over rated prospect. I'm afraid he has journeyman written all over him.

Yes that is definitely the most likely scenario at this point. Still it's hard to write him off because he made so much progress last year as the year went on. It was a steep curve and he has done that before... but alas ... I wouldn't bet against your statement.