Posted this in another thread a few months ago
I've been following This kids progress this season ever since I went went to a Gat/Drummondville regular season game back in November hoping to get a look at Couturier who ended up being a healthy scratch. 18yr old Jean-Gabriel Pageau who ended up with 2 goals really stood out and Ever since I thought the Sens should consider drafting him with their 2nd, And now that they've acquired 2 more it seems even more plausible.
Now of course I'm no scout- just a guy who watches as much hockey as possible and this is what I noticed from last nights game. First of all Couturier couldn't have been more disappointing. He hardly moves his feet and when he does he doesn't get anywhere quick. For back to back 96pt seasons he didn't seem too impressive in the offensive zone, in fact he looked far more comfortable in the defensive zone- often times acting as a 3rd Dman. A friend of mine at the game who is an Oilers fan compared him to Dustin Penner- A big body who knows how to use it in front of the net, but when the puck's not on his stick he doesn't look like he's doing anything- just kind of floating around(which he definitely did last night).
Now as for Pageau- coming off a 5 point performance in game 4, then 2 more in game 5. He began putting on an offensive showcase in the 3rd period last night. He scored a CANNON of a slapshot on a partial break which ended up being the GWG early in the 3rd. Only to outdo himself he got the insurance marker with under 3 to go by burning a someone around the outside then pulling off a curl and drag and snapping a shot over the goalie's glove about a foot from the crease. It was a remarkable goal. He finished with 3 points in the game but also went 14/22 in the FO dot, most of the time going against Couturier who ended up 5/18.
He finished with 29 pts in 24 games after finishing the season with 79pts in 67 games.
His coach Benoit Groulx compared him to Claude Giroux(whom Groulx also coached)- and after watching his performance last night I can see why. His creativity & quickness with the puck combined with his decision making and faceoff prowess made him stand out head and shoulders over guys like Couturier & reg season scoring leader Phillip-Michael Devos. In my mind this guy is a huge riser for this coming draft and really hope that the sens take a long hard look at him.
Sorry this was so long.