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Laval Rocket: Laval Rocket vs Hartford Wolf Pack, Fri. Jan. 31st, 7 PM | RDS

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MarkovsKnee said:
Good game by Laval. That was a full 60. They worked hard & played with energy.

Primeau was solid.
Xhekaj had a terrific game.
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Florian was one of the best players in the game and the coaches rewarded him with a lot of ice time. Xhekaj played the style of game that will get him to the NHL: hard hitting; strong straight away skating speed; good net presence; a quick, active stick; and being responsible defensively. If this kid could gain a step of quickness, he’ll be a player for Montreal. And a good one.
 
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ChesterNimitz said:
Florian was one of the best players in the game and the coaches rewarded him with a lot of ice time. Xhekaj played the style of game that will get him to the NHL; hard hitting; strong straight away skating speed( good net presence; a quick, active stick; and responsible defensively. If this kid could gain a step of quickness he’ll be a player for Montreal. And a good one.
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I hope you are right because the younger Xhekaj keeps getting better and better.
 
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Tyson said:
Primeau is 8-0

When will NHL GM's come calling?
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The gap between the NHL and the AHL is significant. Primeau is a steady, if not a good AHL goalie. He’s a marginal goalie at the NHL level. Let’s hope some other team is seduced by Primeau’s current glowing statistics and is more impressed with his potential than some (most) of us. Our goaltending future is Fowler not anyone else in our system. At any level.
 
Tyson said:
Very young and very raw but the way he is progressing i see a future 4th line Center with size and nastiness.
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I think Florian’s ‘nastiness’ is overstated and his skill level understated. People forget or don’t know that Xhekaj largely ran Brantford’s effective power play from the right point/ half boards. The first time I saw him play in the OHL I realized that this was no nepotistic/ throw away draft pick. I even opined ( and received some mock rebukes) that he should be on Team Canada’s radar for the upcoming WJC. It’s hard for some to resist the prevailing consensus. Very hard.

Whether Florian can make and succeed at the NHL level will come down to one factor: can he gain the necessary quickness to play effectively against players who are faster and as strong as he is right now. But that is the projection based question that affects the potential of all players toiling in leagues outside of the NHL.
 
I didn't watch the first, so maybe I missed it, but Mailloux usually has a brain fart in at least once a period and I only noticed his one play at the top of the blueline in the 3rd.

A player like him won't remove the brain facts, but he's been reducing them and honestly compared to last year he's reduced them significantly.

He might be turning into a player and have a legitimate shot to start with the Habs next season.
 
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Another good, yet pointless game by Mesar (especially on Beck's goal). In his case, the scoresheet does not reflect his play, yet again.

The 4th line was great. Davidson is continuing to make his case for a callup.

Vets played a very good game (Hayes, Hof, Dauphin, RHP). ABB has some offensive skills, but he makes futile risky plays all the time.
 
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Tyson said:
I hope you are right because the younger Xhekaj keeps getting better and better.
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Its interesting to note that many posters are talking about Xhekaj’s physicality and the goal he scored as a result of his strong net presence.

To this writer, his single most important and instructive play was the penalty Xhejak drew beating a Hartford defenceman wide off a rush. This is the skating ability that I immediately noticed when I started to follow Xhekaj’s play in Brantford. As I watched most of his games I realized that this 6’3” -6’4” player possessed good straight away speed and enough hockey skills to play on and run an OHL power play. This was no thug. Again, as it mostly happens, the prevailing consensus was wrong.

The question now is can Xhekaj succeed at the AHL level? Then ultimately, at the NHL level? Does he have the skating (quickness) to be effective playing against superior opposition. If the answer is yes, then we have a player who will be an important contributor for the next decade. If not, we’ll have to keep drafting.
 
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We get to go again at 3:00 PM
I always find these short turnaround games interesting. I like to see who can find some jump and who can't.
 
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