Post by jrbfan on Sept 14, 2007 16:24:19 GMT -5
Big goalie impresses Habs brass
PAT HICKEY, The Gazette
Published: 7 hours ago
At first glance, Andrew Loverock's numbers aren't that impressive. He had a 3.50 goals-against average and an .892 save percentage last season with the Mississauga Ice Dogs of the Ontario Hockey League.
But there are some other numbers that have prompted the Canadiens to invite the 18-year-old goalie to their main training camp, which opens Friday in Pierrefonds.
There's his size. At 6-foot-3, he's an inch taller than prize prospect Carey Price. And then there's his record - 31 wins, 13 losses, three ties and one no-decision in 48 starts.
"He's a winner," said Trevor Timmins, the Canadiens' director of player personnel, who invited Loverock to the Habs' development camp in July. Loverock played well enough to earn a second invitation, to the Canadiens' rookie camp, which concluded yesterday at the Bell Centre.
Timmins said that Loverock has impressed goaltending coach Rollie Melanson and the Canadiens want to take a further look at him before sending him back to junior hockey.
"We have a decision to make," Timmins explained. "He wasn't drafted in June and we offered him a tryout. We have to decide whether to sign him before we send him back to junior. If we don't, he goes back into the draft next spring."
Loverock said he was surprised he wasn't drafted after being the 13th-ranked goalie last year. But he's happy with the opportunity to show what he can do.
"He's looked good," Melanson said, "but the real test is coming up when he goes up against the big boys. We want to see how he handles that. He's a big kid and his record shows that he finds a way to win."
The rookie camp brought together players who are close to making the NHL (Price, Kyle Chipchura, Janne Lahti and Ryan O'Byrne lead this pack); players who need more seasoning in the American Hockey League or in junior (Matt D'Agostini, Mathieu Carle, Pavel Valentenko, Ben Maxwell and
P.K. Subban) and players like Loverock who are getting their first taste of a pro camp.
The latter group also includes defencemen Scott Kishel and Andrew Conboy, a couple of 2007 draft choices from Minnesota who have a long road ahead of them. They play in the United States Hockey League, a junior league whose primary focus is developing players for U.S. colleges.
They won't be around for the main camp, but neither expected to be. They'll return to their USHL teams for one more season before enrolling in university. Conboy, who plays for the Omaha Lancers, has committed to the University of Nebraska-Omaha, while Kishel will join the Sioux Falls (Iowa) Musketeers before attending the University of Minnesota-Duluth next fall.
Because of NCAA regulations, both players had to pay their way to attend the Canadiens' rookie camp, but Kishel said the expense was worthwhile.
"It was great being in camp with these guys and getting some experience," said the 5-foot-11 defenceman who has to work on filling out before he takes the next step. He checked into the Canadiens' camp at 154 pounds.
"I learned some things on this trip and I'll be prepared for my next camp," Kishel said.
Conboy, a 6-foot-4, 195-pound defenceman, managed to squeeze a lot of hockey into the past week. His Omaha team came north to play exhibition games against the Chicoutimi Saguenéens and the Quebec Ramparts, and surprised a lot of people by going back home with a pair of wins.
phickey@thegazette.canwest.com
PAT HICKEY, The Gazette
Published: 7 hours ago
At first glance, Andrew Loverock's numbers aren't that impressive. He had a 3.50 goals-against average and an .892 save percentage last season with the Mississauga Ice Dogs of the Ontario Hockey League.
But there are some other numbers that have prompted the Canadiens to invite the 18-year-old goalie to their main training camp, which opens Friday in Pierrefonds.
There's his size. At 6-foot-3, he's an inch taller than prize prospect Carey Price. And then there's his record - 31 wins, 13 losses, three ties and one no-decision in 48 starts.
"He's a winner," said Trevor Timmins, the Canadiens' director of player personnel, who invited Loverock to the Habs' development camp in July. Loverock played well enough to earn a second invitation, to the Canadiens' rookie camp, which concluded yesterday at the Bell Centre.
Timmins said that Loverock has impressed goaltending coach Rollie Melanson and the Canadiens want to take a further look at him before sending him back to junior hockey.
"We have a decision to make," Timmins explained. "He wasn't drafted in June and we offered him a tryout. We have to decide whether to sign him before we send him back to junior. If we don't, he goes back into the draft next spring."
Loverock said he was surprised he wasn't drafted after being the 13th-ranked goalie last year. But he's happy with the opportunity to show what he can do.
"He's looked good," Melanson said, "but the real test is coming up when he goes up against the big boys. We want to see how he handles that. He's a big kid and his record shows that he finds a way to win."
The rookie camp brought together players who are close to making the NHL (Price, Kyle Chipchura, Janne Lahti and Ryan O'Byrne lead this pack); players who need more seasoning in the American Hockey League or in junior (Matt D'Agostini, Mathieu Carle, Pavel Valentenko, Ben Maxwell and
P.K. Subban) and players like Loverock who are getting their first taste of a pro camp.
The latter group also includes defencemen Scott Kishel and Andrew Conboy, a couple of 2007 draft choices from Minnesota who have a long road ahead of them. They play in the United States Hockey League, a junior league whose primary focus is developing players for U.S. colleges.
They won't be around for the main camp, but neither expected to be. They'll return to their USHL teams for one more season before enrolling in university. Conboy, who plays for the Omaha Lancers, has committed to the University of Nebraska-Omaha, while Kishel will join the Sioux Falls (Iowa) Musketeers before attending the University of Minnesota-Duluth next fall.
Because of NCAA regulations, both players had to pay their way to attend the Canadiens' rookie camp, but Kishel said the expense was worthwhile.
"It was great being in camp with these guys and getting some experience," said the 5-foot-11 defenceman who has to work on filling out before he takes the next step. He checked into the Canadiens' camp at 154 pounds.
"I learned some things on this trip and I'll be prepared for my next camp," Kishel said.
Conboy, a 6-foot-4, 195-pound defenceman, managed to squeeze a lot of hockey into the past week. His Omaha team came north to play exhibition games against the Chicoutimi Saguenéens and the Quebec Ramparts, and surprised a lot of people by going back home with a pair of wins.
phickey@thegazette.canwest.com