Marc Antoine Godin Interviews Alexei Emelin

After season-after-season of failed attempts, Montreal Canadiens general manager Pierre Gauthier finally persuaded defenseman Alexei Emelin to give North American hockey a shot this year. Unfortunately, he has found himself in the role of 7th defender for the time being, and will thus be a healthy scratch for a 5th consecutive game tonight against the Ottawa Senators.

Whether or not you agree with Jacques Martin's decisions, if you're anything like me, you've been extremely curious to hear how Emelin feels about his time in Montreal thus far. Today, thanks to a great interview by Marc Antoine Godin of La Presse, we have Emelin's answers to some hot button questions. See the interview (in French), conducted through a translator, in its entirety here:

http://www.cyberpresse.ca/sports/hockey/201111/04/01-4464422-emelin-je-dois-prouver-que-jai-ma-place-dans-cette-ligue.php?utm_categorieinterne=trafficdrivers&utm_contenuinterne=cyberpresse_B20_en-manchette_403_section_POS1

Translating some key points, Emelin states that he "has to prove that he has his place in this league." He has no real answer to the question of whether or not he's happy with how he's being used thus far, but points out that his coaches gave him plenty of confidence, trust, and ice time in Russia, though he knew he'd face stiffer competition for time with the Canadiens.

When asked the question everyone wants to know, whether a season of little ice time in Montreal would make him return to the KHL in the off-season, he responded that he's not sure; he's "here now, will continue working hard, and time will tell."

Emelin also adds that the transition to North America hasn't been an issue; that he is comfortable on North American sized rinks. He points to Andrei Kostitsyn as a big help in translating talks with the coaching staff and to Jaroslav Spacek for helping him with positional play on the ice. Finally, he mentions that while he isn't afraid to fight, he needs to be careful of his eye - seriously injured during a scrap in Russia - as further injury could leave serious permanent damage.

I, for one, sincerely hope that Emelin earns a full-time spot on the Montreal back end. He has shown on the international stage that he has huge potential, and he brings a skill set of size and physicality that the team certainly lacks. It would be a shame to lose such a talent before he had a real chance to show what he can bring.

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Player Spotlight: Alexei Yemelin

Every Thursday on Dan's Daily Dose - Your Canadiens, we will provide an in-depth look at a member of the Montreal Canadiens organization. Today we begin with newly signed defenseman Alexei Yemelin.

For anyone that follows the development of young players drafted by the Habs, Alexei Yemelin has been the fabled Russian unicorn year after year. It seemed almost like a ritual that every May or June since he was drafted in the third round in 2004, a story would leak about Gainey or Gauthier trying to get him to sign a contract to leave the Russian league and give North American hockey a try, yet in the end, he always preferred to stay closer to home.

Now at 25 and coming off a career year offensively with Ak-Bars Kazan, Yemelin has finally decided that he feels ready to step in and immediately help shore up the Canadiens group of blueliners. But can he? Let's take a deeper look into the player Yemelin is. To begin, here was an assessment of him back prior to the 2004 entry draft:

The comparison to Darius Kasparitis stuck and wasn't all that far off, with Yemelin quickly becoming known for vicious hits, often on (or over) the line of legality. At 6'2", 220 lbs, he is big enough to win battles in the corner, and proved dependable enough in his own end to represent Russia as a member of the national team in numerous tournaments. On his resume are a gold medal at the U18s, 2 silvers at the WJCs, and more recently, bronze and silver medals form the mens' World Championships where he faced off against many current NHLers.

In today's game, when you play like Kasparitis did, you're bound to spend considerable time in the penalty box, and Yemelin hasn't escaped that, developing a bit of a bad reputation for his temper, resulting in untimely calls against him and even a few suspensions. Back in March 2009, his play led the opposing team to take liberties with him, and Yemelin was seriously injured during a fight after having his head slammed into the ice once he was on the ground, defenseless. Fortunately Yemelin would recover and return unharmed the following season.

On one hand, for a Montreal team which spent a league-high 546 minutes killing penalties last season, adding a player who is prone to temporary lapses in judgment may not seem like a good fit. However, if Yemelin adapts his style to be able to play on the safe side of that borderline, much the way teams like the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers aim to do, he could be the exact piece the Habs starting 6 was missing, providing a hitter the likes of which we haven't seen since Mike Komisarek's earlier years.

And then the unexpected happened. After seasons of 1, 12, 7, 4, 3, and 7 points respectively, Yemelin exploded during the 2010 KHL playoffs, recording 5 goals and 13 points in 22 games. In one post-season, he produced beyond his previous season total high! Momentum carried it over into the 2010-11 regular season, where he finished 11th in the league for scoring amongst d-men, notching 11 goals and 26 points in 52 games. Perhaps he has it in him to develop into a more complete defenseman than many gave him credit for.

While it is unclear if his offensive game will ever translate to the NHL, his shot means that should he earn a spot with the Habs, he will at some point get a look on a second powerplay unit. This will limit unnecessary minutes for players like Josh Gorges and Jaroslav Spacek, who can focus on other aspects of their game, and also presents Yannick Weber with some new competition for ice time.

Whether or not Yemelin starts the year in Montreal may depend largely on what moves Pierre Gauthier has left up his sleeves over the remainder of the off-season. With 7-8 spots available, P.K. Subban, Hal Gill, and Jaroslav Spacek are already signed, while Josh Gorges and Yannick Weber should be returning given their RFA status. This leaves room for 2-3 additional player, which is likely to include Andrei Markov and at least one other UFA blueliner. All of this means competition will be fierce for Yemelin, but he does have a card in his back pocket; much like when the Canadiens signed Mark Streit out of Switzerland, Yemelin has a clause allowing him to return to his native land rather than report to Hamilton. After struggling to sign him for so many years, it is unlikely the team will let him go without taking a long look, so unless they can convince him that a stint in the AHL will be best for his development, he is almost certain to appear on the opening night roster. The question then becomes how big of a role he'll be able to play with the club, and to answer that, we'll have to wait three long months till training camp.

Canadiens Sign RFA Brock Trotter to 1-year Deal

UPDATE 04/07/2011, 9:22 AM EST - The signing has been confirmed by the Canadiens this morning. Contrary to earlier reports, the deal is 1-year, 2-way.
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Rumours online over the past few days had the Montreal Canadiens signing winger Brock Trotter back out of the KHL, and the news was finally confirmed by his KHL team this morning.

http://www.dinamoriga.lv/lv/news/view/trotters-izmeginas-spekus-nhl

Trotter, now 24, was a star for the Hamilton Bulldogs in 2009-10 when he registered 36 goals and 77 points in 75 games. The 5'10" Manitoba native turned some heads when he was called up for 2 games along with David Desharnais and Ryan White during a period of bad inuries for the Habs, and the trio performed admirably in a surprising 3-0 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. A hard loss the following game, however, ended Trotter's shot at the bigs, and he signed with Dynamo Riga for the following season.

Rumour has the deal to be one-way (confirmed later to be two-way, with NHL salary at $550,000, and AHL salary at $105,000), which simply means that Trotter will earn his full NHL salary (likely in the area of $600,000) whether he plays for the Canadiens or Bulldogs. It is most likely that he is seen as a replacement for guys like Nigel Dawes and Dustin Boyd down in Hamilton, both of whom have signed in Russia for next season. Still, Trotter's offensive abilities are evident, and he provides further organizational depth if needed. It will be interesting to see if his former Bulldogs coach Guy Boucher has any interest in acquiring his services off the waiver wire should the Canadiens send him down following training camp.

If Trotter is to make the Habs (and I have no doubt he'll at least be given a look during training camp), he would fit best on a line with some bigger bodies, perhaps Lars Eller and Andrei Kostitsyn. This may put some pressure on a winger like Benoit Pouliot as there is now increase competition for his secondary scoring role. Brock's biggest strengths are his shiftiness and his shot, though his strength and work ethic are at times questionable.