Need Some Help...RE:Latendresse

[BLONG7]

Hey guys, looking for some impartial comments on Gui Latendresse...do you guys think he will be a good NHL player? Has anyone seen him play much in the Q? Or is he simply over-rated by most of the Habs fans? I am not sure if he will make it this year or not, but the media in Montreal seem to want him to stay up with the Big Club...Any thoughts?

Click to read more...

 

[Vikke]

A mix between being overrated by Habs fans and a good player.

 

[kostybros]

A mix between being overrated by Habs fans and a good player.

same type of talent as steve bernier, but who knows who will be the best.
Bernier in san jose has the opportunity to play good player and he doesn't any distractions outside of hockey.

The french media suck, they will do anything to put pressure on latendresse because they want him to be the next guy lafleur wich he's not. so he keeps the focus on hockey, he'll be at least a 30 goal scorer but if he starts clubbing with ribeiro...the pressure will eat him raw.

 

[Transported Upstater]

same type of talent as steve bernier, but who knows who will be the best.
Bernier in san jose has the opportunity to play good player and he doesn't any distractions outside of hockey.

The french media suck, they will do anything to put pressure on latendresse because they want him to be the next guy lafleur wich he's not. so he keeps the focus on hockey, he'll be at least a 30 goal scorer but if he starts clubbing with ribeiro...the pressure will eat him raw.

No way is Latendresse as good as Steve Bernier IMO.

 

[Habitantpeasoup]

No way is Latendresse as good as Steve Bernier IMO.

Because..................

 

[Garo]

A mix between being overrated by Montreal media and a good player.

Fixed.

I have my reserves on him, but while the hype is really annoying, he is one of our best players at camp.

 

[Meat Wave]

No way is Latendresse as good as Steve Bernier IMO.

Without solid arguments, I don't know how anyone could buy into that statement. It's not like it's a general consensus that Bernier is a notch above Latendresse after all.

 

[kostybros]

Without solid arguments, I don't know how anyone could buy into that statement. It's not like it's a general consensus that Bernier is a notch above Latendresse after all.

I think it's just because Bernier is a 1st round and Latendresse is a 2nd that people think he's better. Bernier is still ahead of lats but may not for be a long time...
Bernier was a litle slower to develop because he was not in good shape when he was younger (beerbelly...) but since a year or 2, he has proven that he was worth that 1st round pick.

 

[captaincheat]

Is he going to make the team? If so, top 6 minutes?
What is this guys ceiling?

 

[Skyblaze]

Is he going to make the team? If so, top 6 minutes?
What is this guys ceiling?

The team might decide that it's best to send him back to the juniors but he's making it a VERY hard decision for them.

My guess is he makes it, plays on the fourth line with some PP time, so no, definitely not top 6 minutes this year (if he even makes the team).

Career potential, my call is that he'll be a good 2nd liner/borderline 1st liner that'll only produce well with a good passing center. Let's call him a slightly spunkier, not quite as skilled Brendan Morrow.

Great at puck protection and standing in front of the net to get garbage goals, hits quite a lot and has some quickness in the offensive zone. Average skater, average on defense, more of a shooter than a passer but not exactly a sniper either.

He's just incredibly overrated by the local french media, watch Gainey send him back to the juniors just to spite them.

 

[Uber Coca]

He has been the best prospect in the preseason so far, and since there's only one spot for a young player in the line-up, if he keeps at this pace, he'll play for Montreal this season.

What I've seen from him in the preseason is a much quicker, stronger, and better all-around Latendresse that I've seen in the past. Playing around players like Kovalev, Higgins or Koivu, this guy can be has good as Bernier for sure, they play a similar game.

 

[LeMAD]

He won't play in Montreal this year, except for 9 games...

 

[Anksun]

He's making a strong statement for a spot in the lineup but things just got much closer tonight with Kostitsyn AND Perezhogin getting 1st and 3rd star in an habs win tonight.

And Latendresse throw out of the game because he send DiMaio on the moon early.
____________

Anyways, with Kovalev, Samsonov, Ryder and Higgins already in the lineup... there isnt any space in the top6.

Latendresse (or Kostitsyn, or Perezhogin) - Plekanec - Johnson is already looking like a pretty decent 3rd line imo.

 

[LeMAD]

And he doesn't play a similar game as Bernier. He's more physical, but he doesn't have Bernier's ice vision and hands. I think he's more agile on his skates than Bernier thought. Bernier is a better all-around player, but Latendresse COULD become as good or better than him if he's able to keep the same level of intensity and agression for a full season, but I have some doubts about that...

 

[henri2014]

Lets make it clear to everyone outside Montreal:

The hype is huge around this guy but is performance are huge too.

hes giving everything he has, hes really one of Montreal best player during this preseason and really has improved is skating. Even the players are saying hes rdy for the NHL (Koivu and others).

He deserve to have a 10 game tryout for sure, if not what do you need to do to crack an NHL lineup? He did everything that was possible to do during the training camp.

 

[Poochie_D]

The only reason this guy gets this type of hype by Hab fans is because he gives huge performances. He's been the best forward at training camp and has just shown a unique ability to dominate both offensively and physically.

and for those haters, Latendresse is on the same level as Steve Bernier. Lets allow the season to play itself out before ranking one player before another.

 

[ChemiseBleuHonnete]

I'm not buying in the hype of our own prospects (like Kostitsyn and Perezhogin) but Lats is really a great player. He has a very good shot release and he's a smart player on the ice, he's also very strong.

 

[417]

Since he got drafted, i've maintained that he should of never dropped out of the
1st round...I don't know if suspect skating was the reason, but it was blown way out of proportion. I mean a guy like Bobby Ryan got picked in the top 5 with more skating issues than Latendresse IMO.

 

[Eb0la11]

Im sick about hearing about Latendresse, I dont see how hard it is to just look at his stats and realize hes completely overhyped cause hes a french canadian playing on montreal.

 

[LadyByngJeanRatelle]

Im sick about hearing about Latendresse, I dont see how hard it is to just look at his stats and realize hes completely overhyped cause hes a french canadian playing on montreal.

I disagree.

King Latendresse rules us all.

 

[Habitantpeasoup]

Im sick about hearing about Latendresse, I dont see how hard it is to just look at his stats and realize hes completely overhyped cause hes a french canadian playing on montreal.

Well you didn't have to read this thread

P.S. stats aren't everything

 

[417]

Im sick about hearing about Latendresse, I dont see how hard it is to just look at his stats and realize hes completely overhyped cause hes a french canadian playing on montreal.

sick enough to post in a thread about him? If you don't like it, don't post...but the fact he's being talked about for the 2nd year in a row can't be overlooked. Even by the biggest haters

 

[Blind Gardien]

Im sick about hearing about Latendresse, I dont see how hard it is to just look at his stats and realize hes completely overhyped cause hes a french canadian playing on montreal.

Hmm, I wonder what constitutes "complete" overhyping, though? He's overhyped, true. Is it complete? Well, how many players from the 2005 draft are going to play in the NHL this year? Not more than 10 still in the running, I'd say. Crosby, Brule those are the shoo-ins, while it sounds like Kopitar, Bourdon, are quite likely, maybe a handful of others are hanging in there (Setoguchi? Vlasic? Blunden? Stastny? Russell? ).

Latendresse has played well enough to make the Habs, there's no question of that. That's pretty impressive just by itself. To me, that's worthy of being a significant story. Multiply that by the sheer volume of Habs fans, multiply it by the surprise factor given that he wasn't a high pick, and it makes even bigger headlines.

But that's for the kid making the team, maybe in a reduced role, maybe only for the 9 game tryout, maybe the Habs can't even sign him, maybe he can't step it up from pre-season calibre play to full-up NHL play, etc. Where the "hype" factor really comes in is in stepping from his fine camp showing and all those attached "maybes" into the full-blown put-him-on-the-2nd-line / best-player-in-camp / worship-the-new-french-canadian-saviour / trade-Ryder/waive-Perezhogin / etc zaniness that seems to have come along for the ride. And actually, outside of a sheltered few mediots and their zealots, I don't actually hear much of that zany overhype factor from the Habs fan rank and file.

So, , is it "complete" overhype? I'd say it's a legitimate headline story for Habs fans, with a readily identifiable overhyping lunatic fringe occasionally poking its nose into things.

 

[Maitz]

I wonder if he would be named Mark Smith if the other peoples would like him ...

 

[CaptCrunch]

Geez... I don't know.

The kid has been tried with every center in the habs lineup. He played LW, RW and even did a stint in the middle [in 2005]. He's been used with Koivu, Ribeiro, Bonk, Ben Maxwell, Chipchura... name it.

Everytime he was amongst the best on the ice. His trio was amongst the best. He made Radek freaking Bonk and Marcel Hossa look good last year. He's got more bodycheck than the whole habs lineup put together this pre-season.

You ask him to hit, he hits, you ask him to shoot, he shoots, he park himself in front of the net, he shuts the hell up, he's been on record to say he was prepared to spend his season in the bleachers as a 14th forward if it meant staying the NHL, he'll wash your car, make you coffee, and cook you dinner if you ask him.

He's always part of the play, he creates stuff, he makes things happen. He brings something to the habs lineup that has been missing for a long time.

Remember Terry Ryan? Remember the hype? Same thing. Except this time, unfortunately for you guys, he's french canadian and he's a darling of the french media.

Maybe you'd hear about other things coming out of montreal if there was a half decent english coverage. I'm sorry for you guys but it looks like you're stuck getting Tie Domi career specials and Wade Belak on Sundin's trio funnies.