A Day as Pierre Gauthier: Hamilton Bulldogs Edition

Given the last two days have been active ones for the Hamilton Bulldogs, today's A Day as Pierre Gauthier will take a look at the team he has been building to contend for an American Hockey League title in 2011-12.

Let's begin with a few assumptions:

1) Lars Eller is healthy enough to be in the Canadiens line-up opening night.

2) Pierre Gauthier does not sign or trade for any additional players.

But of these statements may be unlikely, but hey, A Day as Pierre Gauthier is fantasy at best anyway.

If these facts are true, we're assuming the 13 forwards in Montreal are: Cammalleri, Plekanec, Cole, Pacioretty, Gomez, Gionta, Eller, Desharnais, Kostitsyn, Moen, White, Darche, and Engqvist.

The 7 defensemen would be: Markov, Gorges, Gill, Subban, Spacek, Weber, and Yemelin.

Since I am playing Gauthier, those are my decisions, and I won't let you argue with them! What does this mean for the opening night roster in Hamilton? Something like the following:

Brock Trotter - Louis Leblanc - Aaron Palushaj

Brian Wilsie - Olivier Fortier - Alexander Avtsin

Andrew Conboy - Gabriel Dumont - Mike Blunden

Ian Schultz - Joonas Nattinen - Alain Berger

Alex Henry - Mathieu Carle

Brendon Nash - Raphael Diaz

Frederic St. Denis - Joe Stejskal

Nathan Lawson

Peter Delmas

Spares and/or sent to ECHL: Phillipe Lefebvre, Hunter Bishop, Dany Masse, Robert Mayer

The team is quite young and inexperienced, particularly down the middle. Hopefully Louis Leblanc and Joonas Nattinen will adapt quickly to play at the American Hockey League level, or the team may be in trouble. However, there is also a lot of upside with proven AHL scorers like Trotter, Palushaj, and Wilsie, a strong top 4 on defense, and a starting goalie that should be amongst the league's best. To get to know some of these guys a little better, let's break it down line by line:

Trotter - Leblanc - Palushaj

The Canadiens first round pick in 2009, there will be a lot of pressure on Leblanc to impress this season, his first at the pro level. To make things tougher, he may miss part (or all) of training camp as he rehabs from off-season surgery. Thus, the Bulldogs would be best to put him in a situation to succeed and where his skill game will be most evident, between two proven AHL top performers. Palushaj scored 57 points in 68 games last year, while in Trotter's previous AHL season (09-10), he scored an impressive 77 points in 75 games. Both Palushaj and Trotter have had quick cups of coffee with the Canadiens, so they will also be good mentors for Leblanc in adjusting to life at the professional level.

Wilsie - Fortier - Avtsin

Once David Desharnais had been called up to Montreal, and then Dustin Boyd missed a few games with an injury, the Bulldogs surprised some by putting their trust in Fortier as the main offensive pivot to center skilled wingers. While Fortier's own numbers were nothing to brag about, he performed admirably in winning face-offs and shutting down opponents, allowing his linemates to focus fully on putting pucks in the net. He'll have a similar role this year, in this case between grizzled veteran Wilsie and offensively gifted youngster Avtsin. The coming season will be a make-or-break year for Avtsin who showed flashes at times but didn't get to play much in his rookie season as one of the American League's youngest players (also his first year in North America). It is time to let him off the leash and see if those glimpses can be come consistent contributions, and playing with a guy like Wilsie should help create room for him while Fortier covers any of his defensive liabilities.

Conboy - Dumont - Blunden

Conboy is an intriguing Habs prospect due to his size and toughness, combined with reasonable offensive potential. He showed progress in his development over the course of last season, and may even be ready for a little time in Montreal at some point this year if needed. The main knock on center Gabriel Dumont is his size, but in spite of his height of 5'9", he can agitate and even drop the gloves. Giving him tough, 6'3" and 6'4" wingers, then, will form a line that is difficult to play against and can chip in its fair share of goals as well with all three maturing as AHL vets.

Schultz - Nattinen - Berger

It is unclear what to expect out of this mix of a fourth line, but all three players are big, physical bodies. Nattinen and Berger are both AHL rookies with some questions to be answered (Berger's skating, Nattinen's no goals in 4 pro seasons in Finland despite producing on the World Junior scene), while Schultz may technically be a 2nd year player, but appeared in only 45 games with the 'Dogs last year and in a limited role. With three other forwards (Lefebvre, Bishop, Masse) under contract, there will be pressure on these guys to perform, but as the three with the most NHL potential of the remaining attackers, I'm hoping they get the ice time.

Henry - Carle

Should be one of the top pairings in the league with a big, tough, physical defensive blueliner and a premiere (at this level) puck mover. A little-known fact about Bulldogs captain Alex Henry is that he was once the captain of the Minnesota Wild back when the team used to shift around the honour on a near-monthly basis. If the forward group might be young and inexperienced, they can turn to solid vets like these two to lead the way. That is assuming that Carle does re-sign with Montreal as opposed to trying his luck overseas. But given his luck with injuries, he'd be best not to press it too far.

Nash - Diaz

I've been a big Brendon Nash fan since first seeing him at Montreal's training camp a year ago. He showed he's still a little green in his brief call-up last season, but he has a solid frame at 6'3", 205 lbs., and has a flair for offensive puck-carrying somewhat in the mold of P.K. Subban. If he can improve his play in his own end, he'll be a real keeper. Diaz, on the other hand, is a wildcard signing this summer. What he can do beyond take the title of most Spanish-sounding Habs player away from Scott Gomez remains to be seen, but it can't be a bad thing that he has played in the Swiss-A league since the 03-04 season with gradually improving numbers. Both of these guys are getting closer to their prime as d-men (Nash is 24, Diaz 25) so they should be candidates for call-ups this season.

St. Denis - Stejskal

At least for his play at the AHL level, St. Denis appears to have been a nice find for the organization, and the team should hope he'll stick around (currently an RFA). Stejskal had some ups and downs in joining the Bulldogs for a few games after his final college season last year. The physical edge he brings should pair nicely with St. Denis's soft but effective two-way play. Still, given that no other d-men are with the team, there is a need to add 1-2 blueliners to ensure depth in case of injuries in either Montreal or Hamilton. Whoever is brought in via signing or trade may bump Stejskal to the press box or East Coast League unless he works hard over the summer and impresses in training camp. It is important for Habs fans to note that, YES, Gauthier does still need to make another move or 2 for the Bulldogs. And if it should happen as soon as tomorrow, this does NOT mean he's been ignoring the NHL roster all week. He and his team can work on both rosters simultaneously because, well, that's their job!

Lawson / Delmas

While it should be expected that AHL veteran Nathan Lawson gets most of the starts for the Bulldogs given he's a proven capable AHL star, Delmas remains the most interesting goaltending prospect in the Habs' pipeline. That, of course, partially because he's the only real goaltending prospect the team has rights to. Still Delmas had a strong 2010-11 ECHL campaign, and was sharp when called upon for 2 Hamilton games last year. This will be a big year for him, the first of a newly minted three year agreement, as should he falter, it will become crucial for the organization to look at some college free agents, such as Chris Rawlings and Aaron Dell who attended the first half of the club's development camps this summer, though the former most recently attended a Canucks camp as well.

On the whole, with some added defensive depth, this team has a shot at making a deep run. Given the youth and inexperience at forward, their chances are difficult to handicap, but regardless of the team's performance, there are a lot of interesting names to watch develop over the course of the season.

My expectation is that a fully healthy Louis Leblanc will perform well enough to erase all doubts placed on him due to a somewhat disappointing year with the Montreal Junior. In addition to Engqvist, I expect Palushaj, Nash, and Diaz to see time in Montreal depending on trades and injuries, with a chance of Conboy, Wilsie, or Blunden being called up for extra grit in a fourth line role.

Canadiens Sign Nathan Lawson to 1-Year Deal

As mentioned earlier today, the Habs needed to find a starter for the Hamilton Bulldogs. Well they've done that now in 27-year old goaltender Nathan Lawson, signed to a 1-year, 2-way contract. The contract will pay him $550,000 if he plays in the NHL, and $105,000 in the AHL.

http://canadiens.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=568595&cmpid=rss-News

Lawson finished 2nd in the American Hockey League in save percentage in both the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons, before seeing 10 games of NHL action with the New York Islanders last year during a time of injury problems. He should have few problems filling the void left by Curtis Sanford and Drew MacIntyre, though it is unclear whether the latter left for Buffalo by his own will, or if the Canadiens were not interested in retaining him.

Player Spotlight: Alain Berger

As most Habs fans were gearing up for what they hoped to be a lengthy playoff run, the Canadiens made a move that went mostly unnoticed because it wouldn't affect their chances of a deep drive in the 2011 playoffs.

On April 8, 2011, general manager Pierre Gauthier announced the signing of an unheralded forward from the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League, Alain Berger. But who is this man of mystery? After last week's player spotlight on Alexei Yemelin garnered a strong response, today we look at one of three (and the only forward) Swiss-born youngsters in the Canadiens organization.

Berger, 20, was born in Burgsdorf, Switzerland, and bounced around Swiss A and B leagues for a few years before making the decision to continue his junior hockey in Canada. Despite going undrafted, Berger put up seasons of 33 and 52 points in the OHL, earning him a 3 year deal with Montreal. He would go on to record 5 goals and 8 points in 10 post-season games this year.

Habs fans got a first look at Berger at the early June development camp, where he clearly stood out due to his size and physical maturity. Whereas size is a weakness for his countryman Yannick Weber, it may be Berger's biggest strength, standing 6'4" and weighing in at 209 lbs. Thus, though his offensive numbers aren't blowing anyone out of the water, he is showing good progress, and as a bigger guy, may take more time to reach his full potential, as the Canadiens are hoping.

The biggest concern with Berger is his skating, as the rest of his game is quite well rounded. He plays a gritty, two-way game, charging the net, screening goalies, and even dropping the gloves when necessary, as witnessed in the 142 penalties he's amassed the last two seasons. He's described as a hard-worker, which is important as he will need to put in the time and effort if he is to improve his footspeed. The Habs brass likely sees in Berger the player they thought they were getting from St. Louis in Ian Schultz, whose development at the pro level took a little detour with a lack of playing time in Hamilton this past season. In any case, it never hurts to have a few extra big bodies around the organization. Ask the Detroit Red Wings if they find it redundant having Tomas Holmstrom, Johan Franzen, AND Todd Bertuzzi.

Don't take that as a hype machine, because the Habs would be very lucky if either Schultz or Berger ever produces anywhere close to the output of those guys, but the point remains that they play the same brand of hockey. The majority of his goals were scored on the powerplay, and those mainly from right in front of the net - the type of player Montreal lacks at the NHL level right now. And having a player of that style means it will be very interesting to watch Berger's adjustment and development in the AHL in 2011-12.

Given that tomorrow is the NHL's Entry Draft, it is also important to note that Berger was a teammate of highly rated prospect Boone Jenner in Oshawa. Jenner would appear to be a good fit for the Canadiens, and it is certain that they would have seen plenty of him while scouting Berger, so look for him as a strong possibility as the Habs' pick in the first round. If he is available and they should pass on him, however, we'll know for certain that he was well evaluated and it was on good information that they opted for somebody else.