Here are my observations about the game again focusing only on our true prospects.
Beck again played a strong game displaying his skating ability, playmaking skills, offensive vision and physical play. He made the plays that led to the Kidney and Davidson goals. These passes were precise and hard and with a little a bit more finish from his teammates, Beck could have had 2 or 3 more assists. Beck sees the ice exceedingly well and usually finds the open man. His overall skating ability is easily noticeable as he has both speed and quickness. His proficiency on face-offs is dropping and I am concerned about Beck's stamina. While not a huge concern, Beck has evidenced a drop off in his level of play towards the end of his shifts that is quite, at least to this writer, noticeable. While not a Gallagher level problem, its an issue that I noticed while following him in the OHL. Nevertheless, Beck is a certain NHLer who Laval uses in all high leverage situations.
I think Davidson had his best game so far this season. He showed his NHL level shot on several occasions including taking a one-timer from the point on the power play that Dawes still hasn't seen or moved on and snapping in Beck's great pass from about 20 feet out on a bang-bang play. Davidson plays every shift like it's his last, playing physical and showing far more mobility than what I saw from him in the WHL. Davidson is going to force Hughes' hands because he's on the verge of making the NHL and if he gains that all illusive half step in quickness this kid will play in the NHL and play well. Davidson gets better and better every time I watch him.
While not his best game, Roy's hand skills and offensive anticipation stood out. Roy has the unteachable skill of finding the soft spots in the offensive zone and making himself available to teammates to take a pass. Beck and Roy worked together well and Beck found Roy for a grade A scoring chance right in the slot. Roy also showed flashes of speed that showed that if he applies himself he can get around the ice well enough to play in the NHL. But he has to do it consistently or his chances to play at the next level will evaporate.
The player/prospect that continues to surprise me the most is Riley Kidney. This kid continues to show levels of mobility, skill and grit that were only a distant hope/idea last year. Kidney can skate and compete well at the AHL level. He makes subtle passes in all three zones of the ice that are surprisingly effective for such a young and largely unheralded player. The goal Kidney scored tonight truly displayed his skills and potential. There were three elements in his goal that provide an idea of Kidney's skill and growth: 1) his ability to receive and control Beck's pass at full speed while being closely checked; 2) his ability to outmuscle and beat the opposing defenceman wide and create a clear path to the net; and 3) his finishing skills to beat the goaltender. Kidney is moving up the Canadiens' depth chart and if his development continues, he, like Davidson, will be realistic options to make the Canadiens in the next couple of year. The one part of Kidney's game that needs cleaning up is his on-ice discipline. He takes way too many penalties (another 2 tonight) resulting from either the careless use of his stick or holding. Fortunately, this is a shortfall that can be coached away.
Tuch and his center Florian Xhekaj both had modest games. Tuch continues to show his NHL level skating and physical play but squandered one of Beck's many passes that set up teammates right in the slot. While Tuch will never be a gifted scorer, he has to be more proficient when set up with a grade A level scoring chance. Tuch did deliver a number of heavy hits and was particularly effective on the forecheck as he pressured and harassed Utica defencemen all game long. Similarly, Xhekaj had his ups and downs in the game. The ups included displaying his surprising straight forward speed which he used particularly effectively on the forecheck. Other 'ups' were his ability to make subtle passes that allowed easy exits from Laval's defensive zone and the coaching staff's growing reliance on this young player as shown by their use of Xhekaj on penalty killing and having him on the ice during the last minute of play in a close, intense game. The 'downs' included his weakness on face-offs, his general lack of quickness and making high risk plays when there were better options available. While Tuch has NHL written all over him, Florian is still a work in progress.
Farrell continued to disappoint. While he showed off occasional bursts of quickness which caused some pressure on the forecheck and created a couple of lesser scoring chances, Farrell was largely invisible tonight. Unless he picks up his game its unlikely he is in the team's long term plans. There are and will be, better options.
On defence, both Engstrom and Trudeau had less than stellar games. Engstrom displayed his above average mobility and walked the line effectively while working the point on the power play. But Engstrom was also guilty of making several high risk plays that could have proved disastrous if Utica had been able to capitalize on them. I get the feeling that Engstrom is skating at 3/4 speed as he awaits his inevitable call up. Trudeau showed off glimpses of his high-end skating ability but like Engstrom, Trudeau made a number of ill-timed, high risk plays that resulted in turnovers. Trudeau needs to clean up his game or he won't get a sniff of the NHL this year. Or next year.
