I finally got a chance to see Montoya play

And Wes O'Neil and TJ Hencik.. I got the game tape of Notre Dame vs's Michigan off Tivo on friday night as the game was on Fox Sports Michigan. I have no idea what people see in Wes O'Neil. Hell, I think I would have drafted Wes Anderson (or even Wes Craven) ahead of O'Neil, but GM's love height. O'Neil is a log. NHL? Ha... ND was totally overmatched by Michigan though so maybe O'Neil just couldn't elevate his game to the level of his competition. Take 3 inches off his height and a lot of NHL scouts don't give him a 2nd look.
Now, for Mr. Montoya, all I can say is I think he's nearly NHL ready. He had to be the BEST goalie in the draft last year, I refuse to believe there was one better. Montoya has great size in net, great composure, great technical skills, is a smart goalie who has a quick glove hand. He reminded me of a bit bigger Marty Turco although I didn't see Al handle the puck much. Really quick legs. I was really impressed by him (and by Hencik, or however you spell it) on Friday. Then again, he wasn't tested much. When he was he showed mad skills. Rangers have a legitimate top notch NHL goalie prospect on their hands, I really don't care what anyone else says. I hate Sather as a GM but boy he did well to grab this stud at number 5. Not a wasted pick in the least, IMO. He's NHL bound. Again, I cannot see how ANY goalie from last year's draft could have shown more. Montoya seems nearly NHL ready.

 

Tambellini?

Hensick is one of my favorite players from this draft. He has tons of skill, but will his size keep him from the next level? That is the real question.

 

yeah i didnt' see montoya have to make many big stops...but he seemed to move well, getting into position quickly, saw some pucks through screens, etc.

wes o'niell...dunno, i didn't really see him play *bad* per say, but he did make some real bad passes occasionally and get burned to the outside a few times, resulting in him taking down his man (which should have been a penalty). he tried a few nice rushes that looked good but didn't get anywhere...dunno, wasn't real impressed with him but i didn't come away with the feeling he was crap either

 

I felt the same way about O'Neill. I thought he was okay. Notre Dame as a whole on the hand looked awful. Michigan ran roughshod over them, and Brown was a sieve in goal. Kyle Woodlief, where are you know!

 

IMO, Hensick is one of those smallish players that just might be a an above average player at the NHL level. Not only does he have a ton of skill, but he's a great skater and has a ton of energy. I'm really anxious to see how he does at the WJC's, especially if he's on a line with Schremp and Earl.

 

As for Montoya, aside from a couple puck handling blunders I thought he looked great. Great reflexes, always cut down the angle, and dictated the play coming out of his zone. He looks like a Turco clone to me.

 

(wets himself)

 

I don't know if I should :lol , , or try to get you !

 

Don't mind me, I'm just looking forward to watching Earl on TSN, December 26th @ 2:00 PM.

I hope he makes the god damn team!

 

I'm just joking. I hope Earl makes the team as well. He deserves it with the year he's having.

 

He did have a few nice rushes and even set up down low on one pp, he was on the ice for the goal ND scored Friday.

I did not see the Saturday game but what was written above I saw in the Friday game also. O'Neill ill is having a good season, Notre Dame had a very bad weekend and looked overmatched in all three zones against a better team.

The weekend before Montoya was pulled for poor play.

 

If he doesn't make the team, I'm holding you accountable.

 

What does that amount to, a year's worth of ridicule over at the Politics board? :lol

 

You'll see... you'll all see.

All 3 of you's Jack Johnson worshippers.

 

No, he wasn't pulled for poor play. With the team already down 5-1 to Minnesota, Berenson started Noah Ruden in net for the 3rd period simply because the team was playing like crap and not giving Montoya any support. I think if Montoya was playing that bad, he would have been pulled in the first period seeing how they gave up four goals in the first 13 minutes of the game. Rather than leaving Monty out to dry for another 20 minutes, and with the game already out of reach, Berenson decided to put in Ruden, who never plays much just to get him some experience (Ruden will be starting the Great Lakes Invitational for U-M when Monty's away at the WJC).

The team played so bad defensively that Berenson benched Hensick the following night at Wisconsin to send a message to the team (Hensick was on the ice for Minny's first three goals against U-M). He said he probably could have benched half the team.

 

Everybody here seems to know a fair bit about college hockey.

Can anyone tell me what's up with AJ Thelen. I hear he's playing really poorly and was wondering if he was playing hurt or what?

 

I hope so.


Anyone know why he opted out of last years draft? By all accounts 05' is much deeper than 04'; though the 05' draft seems to have more smaller players.

 

He thought he'd have an even better year this year and would as a result move up in the draft.

 

I don't think Thelen is playing as well as he can, but Michigan State as a team isn't anything to write home about this year. It's hard to stand out as an individual on a very average or poor team.

 

Gotta love his attitude as well.

 

Oh, yeah, how could I forget the best skater in the entire game? He is ready for the next level, IMO. Can't say much more other than he has the speed and the hands to play at a very high tempo and I don't recall his supposed 'lack of size' being a particular issue. He will move on the the professional ranks and be effective there I think. Again, he plays the game at speed, with intelligence and can finish plays. Showed not a lack of desire to play and understanding of the defensive aspects of the game but that wasn't really questioned as ND posed no threat to the Wolverines. ND's goalie was a sieve so I agree with whomever said that. He got no support but still he had the opportunity to keep the game a bit closer and didn't. Maybe he just had an off night. No reason to judge him based on one game. I guess I should cut Wes some slack, too. Still, I don't see how you have a bad 'skating' game. It's one thing to not create chances offensively or to get overzealous in the defensive zone and miss assignments but if you can barely play at the pace of the game, you get beat to the outside by college level forwards (some of them quite good, but still, its college) then perhaps this is something that is not isolated to the one game alone. Certainly skating issues, which Wes has, IMO, don't fluctuate greatly from game to game.

 

After seeing Wes O'Neill on Friday, its easy to see how he dropped to the 4th round but probably unnerving to 29 other teams just to see his raw skills.

The guys a beast that can skate, has a good shot and pass. But he doesnt have much in the cabeza and hockey is a sport where you need to be able to think and react. He'd make the dumbest plays but you still wanted to see more of him because of his attributes.

 

Does Oreskovich play for ND? If so, how did he look.......if he stood out at all...

 

if Wes can skate, has a great shot and can pass (well) then he sure as heck didn't display any of it on Friday. But if you've seen him more than I have which is almost for certain then I'll defer to your opinion.

 

Tambellini? Or was that about Hensick. I confused.