Victor Mete: Claude Julien will probably pair Mete with Jordie Benn on Friday.
John Lu
✔ @JohnLuTSNMtl
#Habs Julien says there’s a good chance Mete will play Friday, potentially with Benn.
Julien wants to try Mete in different situations.
Victor Mete likes playing the Right Side on Defence. This will provide that opportunity.
Montreal Fans Comment:
Runner77:
I don't think it's a great idea to have a such a talented prospect (and the Habs are not bursting at the seams with them, esp. LHD PMDs) skip that extra year, that is so often critical to his development. We only saw Mete in a handful of meaningless pre-season games, who knows how he'll handle real opposition. He's a candidate for a 9-game stint at this point. He's not the one that was foreseen as a serious first pairing possibility when Bergevin acquired so many bodies to play LHD. Bergevin will just have to go with a committee approach since this is how he built his D corps for this season.
Pie Her:
He should make the team. He is already the third best defencemen on the team.
Mete Weber
Schlemko Petry
Streit Benn
Alzner (Press box)
Scriptor:
Svoboda weighed less than 160 lbs all wet when he first played with Montreal as an 18-yr old. Rafalski was 5'10" and weighed 10 lbs or so more than Mete at his biggest. This notion that Mete will get destroyed is much too overblown. He'll be overmatched during some one on one battles for the puck or positioning in his own zone, but he has great gap control and plays a solid D-game on top of being a good offensive D.
Mete seems capable of adjusting quite well. so I don't see him necessarily hitting a wall by sticking around to play in the NHL. It could be a case of playing with Weber in favourable game situations, including the PP, and another D on a lower pairing at other times, like when Alzner pairs up with Weber in a shutdown role at times during the game
Habaholicgolf:
The more I think about it, the more it makes sense we put Alzner with Weber. We try Jerabek, Morrow, or Schlemko but if they fail, we pair Alzner with Weber. These two would be even better than Emelin/Weber last year and that worked out fine until Emelin ran out of gas.
Mete needs to go back to Junior. I think it's a mistake throwing him into our critical path with our team core and with Bergevin as a 19 year old. He's going to get his taste of the NHL but go back to Junior and play for team Canada at the U20 Juniors. Bulk up and be ready for next year. The experience he gets this year will help him mentally prepare for next year.
If Mete makes the team, I won't be upset but it's anybodies guess how he does in a 82 game schedule as a 5'-10" 181lbs 19 year old playing D. He's likely to get hurt and not finish the year IMO.
http://hfboards.mandatory.com/threads/victor-mete.2096189/page-33
