Claude Giroux

[Rise from the Ashes]

I hear comparisons to Daniel Briere and they seem quite accurate, can someone give me a scouting report and a legitamite projection on him please, perhabs some video clips on him.

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[Pothier]

He's a lot like Brassard IMO. Very fast, precision passing skills, decent shot, great work ethic, amazing vision, and he isn't afraid to get physical. He's just lacking that 'X Factor' that Brassard has that makes Derrick better. I think Briere is a fair compairison.

I think he will go mid first/late first round. Maybe even early second. I'm really hoping the Senators will get him at 29.

Try the Gatineau Olympiques forum, I'm pretty sure there are clips over there.

 

[ChemiseBleuHonnete]

I've seen him a couple of times of times on TV and I was VERY impressed. I really don't see why people think he would be a reach at the habs' pick, he's just that good. In fact, I don't see how Ty Wishart and Nigel Williams would fit better with us. Giroux is a potential impact player and if my memory serves me well, we lack scoring badly.

I won't really make a detailled scouting report because I haven't seen Giroux often enough (but enough to have a good look at what he can bring to us). He's fast, not elite speed but his acceleration, top speed and agility = excellent. He's looking to score first but if he can't get a good scoring chance on his own, he switchs his play into an excellent playmaker. I really like his scoring instinct, he has a real scorer touch. Like I said his playmaking his also excellent. He's very spectacular on the ice, with impressive moves. He plays with lots of drive too. He always try to make things happen on the ice. While Brassard might not be the biggest guy on the ice, Giroux was always giving him a hard time in the playoffs with constant energy and rough stuff (for a smaller offensive forward). I don't know a lot about his defensive game, but the guy is always looking to have the puck. His progression is also very impressive and his playoffs performances are very good, that makes me think the guy has a great work ehtic and the hockey sense to get better as the competition gets harder. He might only be 5 foot 11 and light, but the habs will really regret it if they don't draft him imo.

 

[ChemiseBleuHonnete]

He's a lot like Brassard IMO. Very fast, precision passing skills, decent shot, great work ethic, amazing vision, and he isn't afraid to get physical. He's just lacking that 'X Factor' that Brassard has that makes Derrick better. I think Briere is a fair compairison.

I think he will go mid first/late first round. Maybe even early second. I'm really hoping the Senators will get him at 29.

Try the Gatineau Olympiques forum, I'm pretty sure there are clips over there.

he's got more than a decent shot. While he's not the hardest shooter, and can score and he has a quick release.

 

[jcpenny]

Whats his size?

 

[King'sPawn]

Whats his size?

According to McKeen's... 5'10, 160 lbs.

 

[Pothier]

According to McKeen's... 5'10, 160 lbs.

That may be pushing it.

I'd say he's 5'8/5'9.

 

[jcpenny]

That may be pushing it.

Briere is listed as 5'10 and we all know its not true.

 

[Blind Gardien]

He's a lot like Brassard IMO. Very fast, precision passing skills, decent shot, great work ethic, amazing vision, and he isn't afraid to get physical.

What I'd like to hear from people who have really seen him a lot is some real verification of the perception that he's very fast. I've only seen him a few times on TV, and going off that incomplete observation, I didn't get enough to get a good read. Plus, his testing results at the Top Prospects combine were essentially miserable... he was basically testing with the slug-foots there and his overall score put him 33rd out of 36 skaters.

My impression is that he looks fast, because he does all the headweaving stuff and the jigs and jags with shifty intensity and all, but when all is said and done, does he really skate all that well? Or is it just a perception he creates with his shiftiness plus the expectation that he should be fast given his size and ability to make things happen?

Any more detailed insight would be appreciated, thx.

 

[Rise from the Ashes]

What I'd like to hear from people who have really seen him a lot is some real verification of the perception that he's very fast. I've only seen him a few times on TV, and going off that incomplete observation, I didn't get enough to get a good read. Plus, his testing results at the Top Prospects combine were essentially miserable... he was basically testing with the slug-foots there and his overall score put him 33rd out of 36 skaters.

My impression is that he looks fast, because he does all the headweaving stuff and the jigs and jags with shifty intensity and all, but when all is said and done, does he really skate all that well? Or is it just a perception he creates with his shiftiness plus the expectation that he should be fast given his size and ability to make things happen?

Any more detailed insight would be appreciated, thx.

hmmm quite possible..

 

[Blind Gardien]

hmmm quite possible..

And I guess what I should have added above is another thing which might make him look faster than he is would be that his puck control is so good and doesn't slow him down at all, which isn't something that every player at the junior level has down pat yet either, so when you see a guy moving with it like he does, it again makes him look faster than he is, because a lot of the kids around him lose a bit of speed carrying the puck relative to what he does.

 

[ChemiseBleuHonnete]

What I'd like to hear from people who have really seen him a lot is some real verification of the perception that he's very fast. I've only seen him a few times on TV, and going off that incomplete observation, I didn't get enough to get a good read. Plus, his testing results at the Top Prospects combine were essentially miserable... he was basically testing with the slug-foots there and his overall score put him 33rd out of 36 skaters.

My impression is that he looks fast, because he does all the headweaving stuff and the jigs and jags with shifty intensity and all, but when all is said and done, does he really skate all that well? Or is it just a perception he creates with his shiftiness plus the expectation that he should be fast given his size and ability to make things happen?

Any more detailed insight would be appreciated, thx.

Nah... His speed really allows him to find open spaces and breakaway with the puck.

 

[Habsfan 32]

That may be pushing it.

I'd say he's 5'8/5'9.

I've stood next to him last summer and he's 5'10 for sure.

 

[ChemiseBleuHonnete]

I've stood next to him last summer and he's 5'10 for sure.

CSS lists him as 5 foot 10 1/2, and it says they mesured him officially.

 

[Rookie Chargers]

The Q has him at 5'11, 163. A sure Bruins' pick.

 

[Rise from the Ashes]

The Q has him at 5'11, 163. A sure Bruins' pick.

you said it.

 

[Form and Substance]

And I guess what I should have added above is another thing which might make him look faster than he is would be that his puck control is so good and doesn't slow him down at all, which isn't something that every player at the junior level has down pat yet either, so when you see a guy moving with it like he does, it again makes him look faster than he is, because a lot of the kids around him lose a bit of speed carrying the puck relative to what he does.

I've seen him quite a few times as well, and while I'll admit that he's not lightning fast, his agility and shiftiness more than make up for his average top speed. He can easily outskate bigger guys because he optimizes the efficiency of all the skating techniques in the world and applies them accordingly. Those are his primary assets as a skater in addition properly harnessing his speed. He also possesses really great lateral movements and seems to reach top speed in two or three strides. His puck control is second to none and it doesn't slow him down one bit. All that being said, his straightaway speed still needs a bit of work in order to be considered elite.

 

[Form and Substance]

I've stood next to him last summer and he's 5'10 for sure.

I played against him when I was younger, he was always a small guy but he did grow a lot in 2002 or 2003, to the point where size wasn't that much of an issue. I remember him being around 5'8 in the 2002-2003 year, which is above average at 14-15 years of age. He should be close to 5'11 now.

 

[Pothier]

I've stood next to him last summer and he's 5'10 for sure.

Alright, that solves that.

He doesn't look 5'10 when he's playing IMO.

 

[Duff88]

I'm also really high on him. The descriptions given so far pretty much sums him up; what I find the most amazing is how he has developped through the year. Remember that he was only a try-out in Gatineau and he winds out as their top scorer! He also looked better and better through the year.

IMO the sky is the limit for his NHL potential.

 

[Rise from the Ashes]

I'm also really high on him. The descriptions given so far pretty much sums him up; what I find the most amazing is how he has developped through the year. Remember that he was only a try-out in Gatineau and he winds out as their top scorer! He also looked better and better through the year.

IMO the sky is the limit for his NHL potential.

Id trade some of the habs dead wood for a 2nd round pick and then trade that with a little more for a late 1st to grab Giroux as well as a good defenceman with the 16th.

 

[Jeffrey]

I'm also really high on him. The descriptions given so far pretty much sums him up; what I find the most amazing is how he has developped through the year. Remember that he was only a try-out in Gatineau and he winds out as their top scorer! He also looked better and better through the year.

IMO the sky is the limit for his NHL potential.

that looks a lot like bergeron in 2003 ...

 

[QcS]

2 words to describe what we saw this year in Gatineau:

GREAT vision.

He'll sometimes make passes that no one thought were possible.

 

[Fozz]

And I guess what I should have added above is another thing which might make him look faster than he is would be that his puck control is so good and doesn't slow him down at all, which isn't something that every player at the junior level has down pat yet either, so when you see a guy moving with it like he does, it again makes him look faster than he is, because a lot of the kids around him lose a bit of speed carrying the puck relative to what he does.

I've seen him play in person quite a few times this years and I don't see him as a fast skater. However, there are a few things that help a lot in that regard. First, he's really smart and has great anticipation for where the play will develop. Therefore, he finds himself involved in plays even without elite skating skills. That also allows him to find holes to sneek into for scoring chances. Second, he works hard and keeps moving. Being fast is great but if the guy is coasting most of the game, what's the point? Third, he doesn't slow down while carrying the puck like a lot of players do. Finally, he does have good mobility/agility/shiftyness and can change direction easily.

I also agree with Leph... He does make some beautiful passes.

 

[Duff88]

I'd resume his skating by saying that although he doesn't have great top speed, he compensates with excellent agility and he never stops skating out there so he still looks like a small rocket out there.