Habs AHL and ECHL Update

The Hamilton Bulldogs continue to play some good hockey, but their first place lead has been narrowed, as they have been off for most of the last week. The Dogs now hold a four point lead in their division, as they get ready to play six games over the next nine days. Leading the way for the Dogs on offense has been Josef Balej, but they will need to find another way to score, as Balej has been recently called up to the Montreal Canadiens. Also out of the lineup is J-F Damphousse, who had surgery on his thumb and is expected to be out for 6-8 weeks, and recalled to Tampa Bay, Alex Svitov leaves the Dogs short down the middle with captain Gratton injured in Montreal.

Josef Balej- RW. Is the Dogs leading scorer, and is currently third overall in league scoring, as the second year pro is enjoying a breakout season as he leads the Dogs in just about every area of offense. His +19 leads the entire AHL, as he has shown he can play in all ends of the rink, in all situations, which gives him a lot of ice time. Balej has just been called up to the Habs, a reward for his recent success, as he has exploded offensively as he now has more then double the amount of goals then any other Hab prospect. Balej, along with Plekanec have formed an impressive duo, as they have been a major reason for the teams success and have a combined nine game winning goals between them.

Tomas Plekanec- C. Plekanec has been returned to the team, after seeing some limited ice time with the Habs, where he dressed for two games. Another reward for his efforts, Plekanec has been a one of the top players and main reasons for the Dogs success. He picked up right where he left off before the call up, with two assists in his first game back. Plekanec leads all Hab prospects in penalty minutes even though he was called up for two weeks.

Francois Beauchemin- LD. Beauchemin is again the Dogs top defensemen, as he has been solid all season, while cutting down on his trips to the penalty box. Earlier in the season, Beauchemin was paired with Mike Komisarek but with his call up, Ron Hainsey has taken his spot along side the now AHL veteran. Both pairings have been the Dogs top pairing over their select games, a testament to the steady play of Beauchemin, who is currently second on the team in shots.

Chris Higgins- C/LW. Higgins has slowed down a bit, as the rookie adjusts to the much longer schedule of the American league, but he is still getting good chances while being solid in his own end. Playing a very intelligent and well disciplined game, Higgins has spent the least amount of time in the penalty box for all the prospects, with only eight minutes so far.

Alex Perezhogin- RW. After a somewhat slow start to his first season in North America, Perezhogin has been on fire as of late, as he is finding the back of the net with more consistency. The former first round pick is tied in rookie scoring for the Dogs with another first round pick in Chris Higgins, which should give former GM Andre Savard a smile. With the help of fellow Russian Alex Svitov, Perezhogin seems to be adapting well to his new surroundings, as he is third on the team in shots on goal showing he will generate offense when he’s on the ice.

Ron Hainsey- RD. Hainsey has played some solid hockey while down the road in Hamilton, as he is second on the team in +/- and leads all defensemen as well. Also he has been able to help the Dogs PP, as he moves the puck well, and likes to pinch in on the rush well possible. Hainsey has improved his play in his own end, but could stand to be more physical in front of the net and in the corners. If he’s not called up, expect him to be a major factor in the teams success should they go far in the playoffs.

Marcel Hossa- LW. Goals have been hard to come by for the younger Hossa, as he has lit the lamp only two times so far since being demoted to Hamilton. But with a shot like his, it’s only a matter of time before he picks up his touch again, hopefully soon as the Dogs head into the playoff drive with less then 40 games to go. Coach Jarvis seems to have confidence him Hossa, as he has shown some hard work for the most part, just can’t seem to find the back of the net and not for lack of chances as he is getting over two shots a game.

Jonathan Ferland– RW. Has had some trouble producing on offense, as the young rookie sees less ice time but has shown a strong work ethic and solid physical game in the games he’s played.

Duncan Milroy– RW. With the limited ice time Milroy has seen, he was still able to get his first professional goal, as he’s been getting some chances, just has had trouble with them going in.

Andrew Archer- D. After missing camp and the start of the season, the rookie Archer has had some difficulty finding good ice time, as he adapts to the higher level of talent.

Olivier Michaud- G. With an injury to veteran goalie Eric Fichaud, the rookie Michaud was called up and put into action when J-F Damphousse injured his thumb. In just his third game ever in the American league, Michaud was able to get his first win and he did it big by getting back to back shutouts.

ECHL

M-A Thinel- RW. After being sent down from the Dogs early on this year, Thinel is the leading scorer of the Habs prospects in the ECHL. He is currently second on his team in assists, and third on the team in points, even though he missed 13 games while with Hamilton. Thinel is a RFA this summer, so he will need a strong showing with Columbus, if he is to remain in the organization, but producing on offense is one way to earn another contract.

Christian Larrivee- LW. Larrivee has been able to dress for every game, which should help him gain experience in his first year as a professional hockey player. The problem for Larrivee has been in his own end, as he has the second worst +/- on the team by a wide margin with a -12.

Matt Shasby- D. Shasby is also in his first season of professional hockey, as he adjusts to the more physical ECHL, verus his days of playing in the NCAA. With the team struggling at the start of the season, Shasby had a tough time in his own end, but with the team finding much more success, he has been able to greatly improve his +/- as he has now worked his way back to even after being in the negative double digits.

Jerome Marois- LW. After being demoted from Hamilton, Marois was loaned to the Long Beach Ice Pirates, where he looked to show management he’s worth keeping in the organization, as he is in his final contract season this year. After a strong start to the season, Marois has had trouble getting in the lineup. He could be injured as he is still on the active roster, but hasn’t played in some time now.