Latendresse benched again

[MentalPowerHouse]

Latendresse is far from having a bad attitude.
With his skill if i was benched like that i would go back to Dummundville.
There's an article in "Le droit" - a french newspaper this morning.
Here's 2 of his quotes translated. (I did my best, that might not sound exactly the same in english)

"It's sad to say but there's nothing i can do or say to the coach. I must think for the team before me. If we win the gold medal, i will be happy."

"When you have the chance to play, you need to take advantage of it. What's boring (Plate ... i cant translate that word cause i cant find a proper word for it), it's that i didnt had alot of chance to show what i can do. Now, i must prepare myself for the next game like if i will play and if the coach give me a shift i will hit everything that move and give everything i got."

ok, those quotes don't sound bad.

Just that the others made him seem like a spoiled kid whos not getting his way. There are a few players who aren't getting alot of playing time and I don't see them whinning about it. Because Latte had a good training camp in Montreal he is supposed to get a free pass or is in some way its his right, rather than privelege, to play? He should be honoured to on the team. So I hope the other quotes were bad translation or something.

 

[LaLaLaprise]

ok, those quotes don't sound bad.

Just that the others made him seem like a spoiled kid whos not getting his way. There are a few players who aren't getting alot of playing time and I don't see them whinning about it. Because Latte had a good training camp in Montreal he is supposed to get a free pass or is in some way its his right, rather than privelege, to play? He should be honoured to on the team. So I hope the other quotes were bad translation or something.

Which quote made him sound like a spoiled brat? He joked with the media guy about being fed and sheltered...he has a good sense of humour of the whole situation.

If he was spoiled he would have left the team. When you see shots of him on the bench he is always smiling and rooting the team on. I remember when OMarra was booted out of the game late in the Norway game I believe Lats was there to high five him and give support.

What more do you want??

 

[baston]

How does that show poor attitude? Is he sooking? He basically said it sucks but that he is still part of the team and he will do anything he can to win.

What would have been better for him to say? Plus you gotta take into account he was speaking english. Sometimes words dont always come out the way you want them if youre speaking a 2nd language.

If anything that interview proves that the kid has charachter and he is swallowing his pride. Something a lot of players wouldnt do.

He said those things in french, I translated the whole thing, so, like I said, it might not be 100% accurate.

Yeah, I don't see how this can show poor attitude ...

"Hey, I'm not playing and I'm losing the chance of a lifetime, but I gotta stay calm and laugh because it's the only thing I can do to help my teamates".



By asking Guillaume to be more intense in practice and by benching him, who knows what the kid could have done. If he had a poor attitude, he could have injured a teamate or do stupid things on the bench. We saw where frustration can lead with Johnson's hit in the third period. Latendresse is accepting everything that is happening to him, and, I am sure that if he is given the opportunity to play again, he'll give everything he got.

If Sutter is such a great coach (and I think he is), he will use Guillaume in the next game. And I can assure you that I wouldn't be on the ice for the other team when it will happen.

 

[Ice]

The World Juniors isn't a tournament meant for develloping players, its to have your country's best compete against the rest of the world's best in a 7 game tournament

That's right but now we have the best according to the views of a narrow-minded, one-dimensional hardliner.

Yet when the team loses, you will be the first to blame Sutter (hell, you're already blaming him for not winning as convincingly as he should), yet its only the players that should get credit for a win?

That's right. Unless you’re the type (and some are) who don't mind be micromanaged by some hardliner you are going to be less motivated under a guy like Sutter. In Red Deer he can eventually build up a team of guys like that but to be so one-dimensional is bad for hockey and it would be especially bad if other coaches started adopting his style.

We aren't forcing the players to play for Team Canada, but you raise an interesting point. perhaps Hockey Canada should put team member's families in gulags until they win gold, now THAT would be a motivational tool.

He's probably not that bad but don't give him any ideas just in case.

Seriously, what did Sutter do to you?

Nothing to me; he's is just so bad for Canadian hockey and for those who embrace individuality and diverseness.

Like giving them first line powerplay time? And if he hates standout players, please try to tell us why Phaneuf and Weber still saw all the time Sutter could give them last year? Or why he chose Stephen Dixon (a Q player) over Boyd and Bolland (the non-Q guys). Its not like he needed the extra experience to win, afterall, "my grandmother could have coached that team to gold". And this year, Luc Bourdon and Kristopher Letang, dear god, not only did he pick Q players, he picked Q DEFENSEMEN!

I'm sure you know the meaning of bias and it has just slipped your mind.

And yes many a Russian coaches have been worse or just as bad as Sutter.

 

[First Line]

Because Latte had a good training camp in Montreal he is supposed to get a free pass or is in some way its his right, rather than privelege, to play?

He had a good camp with team Canada when his teammate Brassard was there. He deserves to be on that team he's just not deserving of his ice time, yet.

 

[baston]

ok, those quotes don't sound bad.

Just that the others made him seem like a spoiled kid whos not getting his way. There are a few players who aren't getting alot of playing time and I don't see them whinning about it. Because Latte had a good training camp in Montreal he is supposed to get a free pass or is in some way its his right, rather than privelege, to play? He should be honoured to on the team. So I hope the other quotes were bad translation or something.

Let's get this straight.

Latendresse isn't whining or anything.

The media keep on asking him because, yes, he is a big star in Montreal. Everybody saw in him the power forward the Habs have been needing forever. And yes, if Perezhogin, Plekanec, Higgins, Hossa, Hainsey weren't there in October and weren't 23, Latendresse would be in Montreal, no doubt about it. He was the best player in the camp, better than Kovalev, better than anyone.

He was crushing everyone on the ice, and the 2 preseason games he had good ice time, he had like, 3 points and another 2 or 3 points game + the winning goal in overtime.

Lecavalier even said after the game vs Tampa that Tortorella had to tell the players to stay on the bench because everybody standing up, wanting to see the kid play.

If probably was only a joke, but it shows how dominant he was. The crowd was shouting "Guy, guy, guy" everytime he was on the ice, just like when Lafleur was playing.

Eh, he even made Radek Bonk and Marcel Hossa look awesome.

So, at 18 years old, he is a big star in Montreal.

My point is that Latendresse must be asked by the french media about 30 times a day : "Do you hate Sutter?" "Are you pissed?" "Do you think you had a chance?" "Should we separate so we can have our own team and you can get some ice time?"

The kid is 18, and he tries to give the good answer every time, but, if he ever let one "I think I didn't have a real chance" slip, you can be sure if will in the newspaper even though he said that he needs to think about the team before himself 259 times.

And yeah, about the "I'm still being fed so it's ok" part, he was joking with the journalist. The guy from RDS probably told him something like "Oh well, at least you got a free trip to Vancouver", so Guillaume made a joke about it.

 

[Sammy*]

One thing I dont get in all this lovin for Latte & all thisa rage for Sutter.
If Latte is sooo frickin good & this is such an outrage, why did he only score 29 in his draft year, & why was he picked so relativly late (#45 overall)?

 

[Ice]

Crosby played alot.

I'm sure you could not find an uninjured leading scorer in the history the tournament who played as little as Crosby in the medal round. Bergeron and Crosby started out playing a lot but when they started running away with the tournament on and off the ice Sutter found ways to put and end to that.

But Sutter certainly could not affect the career of those two so that is not near as bad as his treatment of Lats this year. Lats did not play enough to be judged and certainly did not play enough to be benched permanently. Lats was a men playing with boys in the recent CHL/Russia series and it is appalling that Sutter's is openly humiliating Lats for no other reason than his personal dislike for him.

 

[LaLaLaprise]

One thing I dont get in all this lovin for Latte & all thisa rage for Sutter.
If Latte is sooo frickin good & this is such an outrage, why did he only score 29 in his draft year, & why was he picked so relativly late (#45 overall)?

Draft position has very little to do with it.

Boyd was a 3rd rd pick and hes playing pretty well.

 

[Sammy*]

Draft position has very little to do with it.

Boyd was a 3rd rd pick and hes playing pretty well.

Yeah it does reflect something.Everyone here who is supporting Latte is saying that he is incredibly skilled. Yet even though he is huge (which teams really like), he was drafted 45th overall.Obviously must be glaring weaknesses to his game, otherwise there is no doubt he would have been picked higher.
What are they?

 

[First Line]

One thing I dont get in all this lovin for Latte & all thisa rage for Sutter.
If Latte is sooo frickin good & this is such an outrage, why did he only score 29 in his draft year, & why was he picked so relativly late (#45 overall)?

Are you using this to prove Sutter is a good coach?

 

[montreal]

wow I can't believe this thread is still going on. Canada is winning, who cares how it's done. Latendresse has no one to blame but himself. Is he being treated fairly? Doesn't matter, life is not fair and you have to learn that you need to work hard all the time. Perhaps this will benefit him in the long run cause he will get the same treatment from Julien.

 

[montreal]

Yeah it does reflect something.Everyone here who is supporting Latte is saying that he is incredibly skilled. Yet even though he is huge (which teams really like), he was drafted 45th overall.Obviously must be glaring weaknesses to his game, otherwise there is no doubt he would have been picked higher.
What are they?

He had a major shoulder injury, was below average skater, below average speed, inconsistent at times.

 

[Sammy*]

Are you using this to prove Sutter is a good coach?

Oh, I think its pretty well proven he's a good coach. Just asking a question.
I guess the question posed is a little too difficult to answer?

 

[Sammy*]

He had a major shoulder injury, was below average skater, below average speed, inconsistent at times.

Thanks.

 

[LaLaLaprise]

Yeah it does reflect something.Everyone here who is supporting Latte is saying that he is incredibly skilled. Yet even though he is huge (which teams really like), he was drafted 45th overall.Obviously must be glaring weaknesses to his game, otherwise there is no doubt he would have been picked higher.
What are they?

45th overall is pretty damn high.

Patrice Bergeron was taken 45th overall and he played in the NHL at 18.

 

[Sammy*]

45th overall is pretty damn high.

Patrice Bergeron was taken 45th overall and he played in the NHL at 18.

I think Bergerons production is a huge surprise to everybody obviously. Obviously people perceived Bergeron to have some weaknesses (size I am sure was one of them).
Why is it soo difficult to answer the question?

 

[baston]

One thing I dont get in all this lovin for Latte & all thisa rage for Sutter.
If Latte is sooo frickin good & this is such an outrage, why did he only score 29 in his draft year, & why was he picked so relativly late (#45 overall)?

Simple answer : injury. I think he injured himself in January and missed about 20 games.

If you check IIS' list in January 2005, Latendresse was ranked 9th :
http://www.hockeysfuture.com/article.php?sid=7484

To be fair, you would have to say that he only scored 29 goals and had 49 assists (78 points) in 65 games.

Benoit Pouliot, 4th pick overall, had 29 goals, 36 assists (65 points) in 65 games.

O'Marra (15th overall) had 25 goals, 38 assists (63 points) in 64 games.

Really, I think some people are going too far in the Sutter hating as there are some that are going way too far in the Latendresse hating.

Latendresse had good stats last year in the Q even though he slowed down in the end of the season (after his injury). Add to that the great play he showed in Team Canada's summer camp, the crazy performance he had in the prospects for the Habs tournament and then, the preseason where he forced the Habs to keep him until the last day (and where he was the best player of the team).

You could also add the 22 goals and 19 assists he had this season in 26 games even though he missed the beggining of the season and had to adapt his game from the NHL to the LHJMQ and his 5 goals 1 assist in 2 games in the ADT Canada-Russia Challenge.

 

[LaLaLaprise]

I think Bergerons production is a huge surprise to everybody obviously. Obviously people perceived Bergeron to have some weaknesses (size I am sure was one of them).
Why is it soo difficult to answer the question?

It was already answered. And being drafted 45th overall isnt a bad thing. You make it sound like he was a late rounder.

 

[macleafs]

This thread in Pejorative Slured!!

Everyone has said Latts has been playing not as well as he can, Sutter has tried to get him going by giving him a few shift but he has not step up. The game against the States was the most important game so far and was very close, so I don't understand why people think a player who they agree is not playing well desevres ice time in a close game with so much on the line. If Canada had of pulled away from the States or the other way around i am sure Sutter would have got him some ice time.

 

[baston]

Everyone has said Latts has been playing not as well as he can, Sutter has tried to get him going by giving him a few shift but he has not step up. The game against the States was the most important game so few and was very close, so I don't understand why people think a player who they agree is not playing well desevres ice time in a close game with so much on the line. If Canada had of pulled away from the States or the other way around i am sure Sutter would have got him some ice time.

Sutter needed to give him more ice time in the first 3 games to get him going. He won't find his game back all of a sudden and Canada, with a Latendresse that is playing the way he should, is a much, much, much better team.

 

[Sammy*]

It was already answered. And being drafted 45th overall isnt a bad thing. You make it sound like he was a late rounder.

I didnt mean it to sound like that. Obviously #45 is very good. But it also suggests that with a guy who is that supposedly skilled & that big, hes got some issues.
In any event my question was answered.

 

[KLu]

It's because Latendresse is a french canadians and Sutter hates them... how can you get another conclusion with what is happening right now.

The same thing happened to Mario Lemieux when he was not taken for the WJC even though he was the best junior in the world... the coach (someone called King I think) said that he had to polish his defensive play... what a bunch of dumbasses... that's the exact same reason why Latendresse is not playing.

 

[KStewart113]

Pretty clear to me Latendresse doesn't have what it takes to compete amongst people his own age, let alone the best of the best in the NHL.

actually from what we have it shows he can compete at the NHL level, very well, and was sent back for more conditioning...how would you feel being one of the best in camp then not making the teAM? a huge let down, his confidence is close to zero.

 

[macleafs]

Sutter needed to give him more ice time in the first 3 games to get him going. He won't find his game back all of a sudden and Canada, with a Latendresse that is playing the way he should, is a much, much, much better team.

That is why Sutter kept him on the team, he is a very good player, but right now he is not playing well. Who do you sit hoping he finds his game?