HabsWorld.net --
After signing a 2-year contract with the Canadiens, Yannick Weber seems ready
to take the next step in his professional hockey career. Although Weber
sits fairly far down the depth chart, he has valuable offensive skills that might
see him earn some minutes on a (typically) potent powerplay. Similar to
his countryman Mark Streit, Weber has played both forward and defence with
Montreal; does he have the potential to put up similar numbers?
2010-11
Weber began the season with the Hamilton Bulldogs last year, recording 8
goals and 4 assists in 15 games before being called up to the big club.
The trade of Ryan O’Byrne as well as the injuries to Andrei Markov and Josh
Gorges ensured that the Swiss-born defenceman would remain with the Canadiens
for the duration of the season. Weber was used in a wide variety of roles
including forward, defence and on the powerplay unit.
NHL Season Stats: 41 GP, 1 goal, 10 assists, even rating, 14 PIM, 5 PPA,
63 shots, 16:33 TOI
Professional Averages
NHL (projected over 82 games)
Goals: 2
Assists: 18
Points: 20
+/-: -6
PIM: 33
PPP: 8
GWG: 0
Shots: 119
AHL (3-year average)
GP: 49
Goals: 11
Assists: 19
Points: 30
+/-: 22
PIM: 37
2011-12 Role
Without the aid of a crystal ball, it is next to impossible to know what kind
of role Yannick Weber will play this season. Weber has demonstrated that
he will adopt any role that benefits the team, so he might line up on the 4th
line or take a regular shift on the bottom defensive pairing. What is
known is that he possesses an above-average slapshot as well as excellent vision
that will likely manifest at the point on the powerplay. Barring any
injuries, he shouldn’t rise beyond this role this season, and would do well to
simply stave off internal competition. It would be unlikely to see
Weber’s minutes exceed 20 minutes per game.
Projected Stats
There are a number of things one must take into account when projecting
Weber’s statistics for the 2011-12 season. Will he play primarily as a
defenceman or forward? Will he dress for all 82 games? Assuming that
he sees powerplay time, what wave will he be on and with whom will he be paired?
Will he ever score on another goalie besides Tim Thomas? Weber has shown
that he can put up impressive offensive numbers at every level save the
NHL… will this be his year to breakout?
If Weber breaks out as Mark Streit did in 2007-08 (13G-49A-62P-34PPP) in a
similar role, he might prove to be quite the sleeper pick. Keep an eye on his
position eligibility, as he may qualify as both a forward and defenseman in some
leagues. At this point, the safe strategy is to draft Weber with either a
late pick or pluck him from the free agent pool/waivers should he impress during
pre-season.
GP: 72
Goals: 5
Assists: 21
Points: 26
+/-: -2
PIMS: 43
PPP: 17
GWG: 1
Shots: 142
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