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Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Why Brendan Gallagher should Win The Calder Trophy

3:14 PM Sean Lloyd No comments

Will The Canadiens Have Their First Calder Trophy Winner Since Ken Dryden In 71-72?

After being a healthy scratch in the Montreal Canadiens season opener, rookie Brendan Gallagher fought his way onto the roster with his fiesty character and hard work and never looked back.

In a season that had a healthy crop of Calder Trophy candidates including Nail Yakupov, the first overall pick in the 2012 draft, and Gallagher's teammate Alex Galchenyuk (picked third overall in 2012), Brendan Gallagher should be the safe bet to take home the Calder Trophy. Habs' Brendan Gallagher finished his rookie campaign with 15 goals and 13 helpers to go with a +10 rating.

Being a Hab fan myself I can see how some may say I'm biased. The truth of the matter however, is that Gallagher brought more to his team than his fellow nominees.

Gallagher's Calder Competition

In no way am I trying to take away from either Brandon Saad or Jonathan Huberdeau. Both rookies displayed tremendous talent and have bright futures ahead of them in the NHL.

Brandon Saad of the Chicago Blackhawks finished fourth among rookies in scoring with 27 points in 46 games and first among first year players with a +17 rating. Saad averaged 16:27 minutes of ice time per game (third among rookie forwards) on a President's Trophy winning team that boasts the likes of Jonathan Toewes, Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa and Patrick sharp just to name a few.

Nobody is doubting that Saad is one of the top rookies in the NHL, but the cast he plays alongside certainly doesn't hurt his development. It's hard to imagine the Blackhawks suffering too much in the standings without Saad in the line-up.

Jonathan Huberdeau is one heck of a player and undoubtedly has a promising future ahead of him. Out of the three finalists for the Calder Trophy, Huberdeau is though of by many to be the best in the longrun. Huberdeau finished his season tied in first with Edmonton Oilers prospect Nail Yakupov for points among rookies with 31 points in 41 games. His 14 goals put him third behind only Yakupov and Gallagher.

Huberdeau's -15 rating is nothing to write home about but when you average16:55 minutes per game - unmatched by any other rookie forward - on the lowly Florida Panthers (the Panthers finished 30th overall) it would be asking a little much for a top quality plus/minus rating.

While he didn't have the roster that Saad had to play alongside, Huberdeau's stellar introduction into the NHL did little for his team overall.

Head Of The Class

And now for Gallagher...

Montreal's nominee for the Calder, the (expletive) disturbing fireball with a pesky smile that 90% of the league wants to slap right off of his face, managed to have an incredibly impressive season with less to work with.

Gallagher managed to finish third among rookie scorers with 28 points in 44 games, his 15 games had him behind only Nail Yakupov and his +10 rating was good enough for fifth among rookie skaters. Gallagher pulled those numbers off on a team that doesn't come close to matching the linemates Saad played. Not to mention if Gallagher took the season off, it would be a safe bet that the Canadiens would not have won their division, jumped to second overall in the East and eased their way into the post season after finishing last place in the Eastern Conference the previous year.

Huberdeau also lacked the all star support that Saad enjoyed but was unable to help his team rise in the standings. And unlike Huberdeau, Gallagher saw an average of only 13:51 minutes per game which would put him 13th among rookie forwards who've played at least ten games.

A Quick Recap

While Saad, Huberdeau and Gallagher all enjoyed stellar seasons, Gallagher brought the most to his team while having less to work with in terms of support (Saad and his first place Hawks) and time on ice (Huberdeau and his top sik minutes).

To simplify things if the three candidates were to have sat out the season the Hawks would win their conference still and - probably the President's trophy - and the Panthers would more than likely remain in the basement....no changes there.

The Habs however would be hard pressed to make the playoffs let alone win their division and keep up at the Penguins pace for the better part of the season.

There is no doubt in my mind that the stats Gallagher managed to put up with minimal ice time on a team that had no business succeeding as much as they did should be enough to earn Brendan Gallager the 2013 Calder Trophy.

(Photo By Ryan Remiorz , The Canadian Press)

Sens Pummel Habs, Gallagher Up For Calder, More...

10:32 AM Coach K 6 comments

Greetings Habs Addicts!!!

After what seemed to be a promising 4-1 victory by the Canadiens in Game 2 on Friday at the Bell Centre, they were thoroughly embarrassed by the Ottawa Senators 6-1 in front of a sellout crowd at ScotiaBank Place last night.

The Sens Army came out in force, physically imposing themselves early in the first period, hammering the Habs with a barrage of hits that they were never able to recover from.

Sens' rookie Jean-Gabriel Pageau, with a little help from the playoff tooth fairy, led the Sens with his first career playoff hat trick. Craig Anderson was solid in front of the Ottawa goal, although he went mostly untested by anything the Canadiens sent his way.

Senators' coach Paul MacLean certainly provided the Habs with enough bullitin board material to perhaps awaken them from their Game 3 stupor, especially with his attempt to take a timeout with 17.9 seconds left in the third period and the game all but done.

Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun gives us his take on the pounding the Senators gave the Habs.

Dave Stubbs of the Montreal Gazette drubbing in Ottawa, from a Montreal perspective.
give us his take on the

The National Hockey League announced the finalist for the Calder Memorial Trophy as the league's top rookie this season. Among the finalists in Habs' diminiative right winger, and perennial spark plug Brendan Gallagher.

Canada beats Russia 4-1 in New Year's Eve Battle

3:59 AM Anonymous No comments

The much anticipated New Year’s Eve battle between rivals Canada and Russia surely didn’t disappoint. Despite the 4-1 score, this game couldn’t have been closer. Both teams came out hunting for the win right from the opening whistle, but it was Canada who drew first blood with a goal at the 14:03 mark by Dougie Hamilton. Mark Schiefele added to the Canadian lead only a few minutes later off a pass from Jonathan Huberdeau. Refusing to let the game get away from them, the sell-out Russian crowd only got louder, and would be rewarded with a goal from Nikita Kucherov late in the period to cut the Canada lead in half.

Neither team’s intensity died down in a second period that was defined by fast play and hard hitting. Both teams had plenty of chances, but it was Canada who managed to score on a beautiful wrap around goal by Jonathan Drouin early in the second period to bring the lead back to 2. A flurry of Canadian shots were sent towards Andrei Makarov, who played brilliantly throughout the game, stopping 44 of 47 shots, to keep the Russians alive.

Desperate for a comeback, the Russians put the pedal to the metal in the third period, using their quickness to create many near opportunities in front of the Canadian goal. Unfortunately for them, Malcolm Subban came ready to play for the second night in a row, and refused to be beaten. With just under 2 minutes left, Makarov was pulled to give Russia the extra skater. Canada however, took advantage with an empty net goal by Huberdeau, that took the hope out of the home crowd. With a 4-1 lead, Subban flexed his muscles again, saving a late-awarded penalty shot, that would have at least provided a silver lining for the home Russian team.

The much deserved win gives Canada a bye into the semi-finals, while Russia now have to play on Wednesday against a gritty Switzerland team.

Writer’s Notes: I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention how unbelievable the Russian fans have been throughout the tournament thus far. Not only in supporting their own team, but in accommodating us Canadian fans as well. Even after defeat, their fans were lined up to shake our hands and take pictures with us donned in our Canadian paraphernalia. Despite some other deserving teams, judging from last night’s game, nothing would be better here in Ufa than a Canada-Russia rematch in the finals.

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Rob Myerson is a Quebec trained secondary education teacher. After a year in Montreal, teaching at Beurling Academy, he moved to London, England where he currently resides and works. His previous sports writing experience comes from writing for Bishop's University's school newspaper, "The Campus".

Canada hammers Germans, RNH with 5 Points

7:19 AM Coach K No comments

Good Morning PuckAddicts!!!

In one of the most anticipated games in World Junior Hockey Championship history (thanks NHL Lockout), Team Canada exploded for nine tallies versus a sub-par German team in their opening game in this year's tournament.

Edmonton Oilers sophomore Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored a goal and four assists, while his line mates Jonathan Huberdeau and Mark Scheifele combined for 10 points. Malcolm Subban went mostly untested in this affair, however he did give up a bit of a softy on a horrible turnover by Mark McNeil in the second period. He bounced back beautifully in the third, making a couple of point blank saves.

Canada continued their undisciplined play in the first two periods with a parade of unnecessary penalties, putting behind the eight ball early, and allowing the Germans to stay hopeful. However, Canada dominated to majority of the game, often maintaining possession of the puck in the German zone for three to four minutes at a time.

Canadian head coach Steve Spott, while happy with the result, should be apprehensive about his team's defensive zone play. Scott Harrington and Dougie Hamilton were solid on the Canadian defense, but Team Canada was often hemmed in by a tenacious German team, who were more lucky than good on all three of their goals. The fourth line for Team Canada showed an obvious deficiency in transitional play, giving up the puck multiple times along the half-wall, leading the German scoring chances.

Another obvious weakness in Canada's game was their lack of a defensive presence in the mid-ice lane. They allowed the Germans to attack with speed through the neutral zone on numerous occasions, forcing some over extended shift and mistakes in their own zone.

Team Canada's next test comes Friday morning against Team Slovakia.

Special Correspondant in Ufa

HabsAddict is happy to welcome Robert Myerson to our staff. Rob will be covering the World Junior Championship from Ufa, Russia after the Slovakia game, and providing our readers same day game summaries and analysis. Join me in welcoming Robert aboard.

(Photo courtesy Canadian Press)