SB Nation - Jimmy Bonneau

Fear The Fin's Lockout Survival Guide

FTF Staff — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 19:00:40 -0000

With the 2012-13 NHL season almost certainly not starting on time and possibly losing its first three months or more thanks to ongoing labor negotiations, Sharks fans will need their hockey fix soon enough. While there's nothing like lacing up the skates and joining a rec league, if that isn't an option, or if you're just jonesin' for the atmosphere and experience of watching a game, there are a few interesting options in the Bay Area. Join us after the jump for a rundown.

San Francisco Bulls

The newest and perhaps most intriguing source of live Bay Area hockey is the Sharks' ECHL affiliate the SF Bulls, slated to begin their inaugural season on October 12th. They're the first professional hockey team to represent San Francisco since the mid-90s, even their most expensive tickets are cheaper than the Sharks' more affordable options and, best of all, they're 100% lockout-proof.

The Bulls will open their first season against the Bakersfield Condors on October 12th at the Sharks' old haunt, the Cow Palace. You can access a full season schedule, a television schedule and buy tickets at their official website.

Stockton Thunder

San Francisco's first preseason game will be against the other ECHL team in the general vicinity of the Bay Area: the Stockton Thunder. While Stockton's a bit of a drive for most of you, and there's a reasonable chance of being shot at during said drive, there's a good chance you get to see a pretty high quality of hockey by ECHL standards. The Edmonton Oilers are now Stockton's sole NHL affiliate and with the likes of Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jordan Eberle and Magnus Paajarvi slated to play for the AHL's Oklahoma City Barons should the lockout drag on, some solid players on OKC may wind up in the ECHL in an effort to get them more playing time. It's even possible guys with NHL experience like Chris VandeVelde or Anton Lander play for Stockton.

The Thunder begin their season on October 12th against Ontario. If anyone lives in the area and is interested in going, you can find out more at their website.

San Jose State Spartans

First and foremost, when it comes to the Spartans, you have to remember that this is a club team. Each player has to find a way to pay over $4000 in dues per season, so you know you're getting players who are very dedicated to the sport. They play in Division 2 of the ACHA, made up of roughly 200 teams across the country. And they're pretty darn good - reaching the 16-team National Tournament 10 times in the last 15 years.

The team is led by the duo of top-line forwards Kyle Dutra and Sam Cimino. They hover around a two-points-per-game pace and finished 20th and 23rd, respectively, in scoring last year among D2 players. SJSU's Mason Console, Sal Barranco, and Nicholas Matejovsky round out the rest of the point-per-game players returning to the roster. One player to watch out for is forward John Germaine. Germaine should be 100% after missing most of last year with an upper-body injury. He still put up 10 points in 13 games, and looks to build on that in 2012-2013. The team will need players like Germaine to step up to offset the loss of 10 seniors that have moved on from last year's team.

Despite losing such a large class of seniors, the Spartans are still in good position to be playoff contenders once again. The team will have a couple tough road trips this year to Utah and Colorado, as well as two trips down to southern California. In fact, they'll be facing quite a few California rivals that they didn't get a chance to face last year. This includes Stanford, Santa Clara, UCLA, and USC, who they'll face in the home opener on October 5th.

The Spartans play their home games at Sharks Ice at San Jose, usually on the north rink. You can purchase tickets at the door on the night of the game. They are $8 for the general public, $4 for SJSU students, and kids in youth hockey jerseys get in free. If you're not able to make it down to the rink, you still have a couple options to support the team. You can stream video through Black Dog Enterprises, or you can turn on your radios and catch select games on 90.5 KSJS San Jose.

Worcester Sharks

San Jose Sharks fans can still get Sharks hockey this season by checking out the Worcester Sharks on AHL Live. For those unfamiliar with AHL Live, you sign up for an account and can either pay per game {which will cost you about $7 per game} or you can sign up for the Team Early Bird Special and get all of Worcester's games for $150. I know that sounds a bit steep but when you divide the price by the amount of games played in the season, each game comes out to $2 and change. Plus, archives are included in the Early Bird Special so if you missed the game when it aired live, you can catch it later at your convenience.

As for the team in 2012-13, both San Jose and Worcester fans have plenty to be excited about. Worcester has young gun rookie forwards in Yannie Gourde, Freddie Hamilton, Travis Oleksuk, Sebastian Stalberg and Daniil Tarasov; depth up front with Jimmy Bonneau, Curt Gogol, James Livingston, Brandon Mashinter, John McCarthy, Frazer McClaren, Brodie Reid, Marek Viedensky, and new arrivals Bracken Kearns and Jon Matsumoto; six solid defensemen anchoring the blue line in Sena Acolatse, Matt Irwin, Matt Pelech, the returning Danny Groulx, Bay Area Native Matt Tennyson and Taylor Doherty; between the pipes, Alex Stalock is BACK full time with Harri Sateri as the back-up while Thomas Heemskerk will probably be assigned to San Francisco of the ECHL.

Zack FitzGerald adds toughness to Bulldogs roster

Kevin van Steendelaar — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 00:23:03 -0000

Amidst the anticipation of Montreal Canadiens training camp opening and the tragic loss of KHL team Lokomotiv last week, a minor signing by the Hamilton Bulldogs got buried.

Last Friday, the 'Dogs signed defenceman Zack FitzGerald (yes that's how it's spelled) to a one-year, one way contract. He is part of the Habs training camp and is currently on the "B Team", along with Josh Gorges, Jaroslav Spacek, and young hopefuls that include Brendan Nash and Raphael Diaz.

The 26-year-old certainly won't crack the Habs lineup, having just a single NHL game with the Vancouver Canucks in 2007-08 to his name, but FitzGerald will had some more toughness to the Bulldogs lineup that already includes Jimmy Bonneau and Alex Henry. He has 1040 penalty minutes in 299 AHL games, and led the league in 2010-11 with 311.

The Minnesota native has also been a fan favorite in his recent AHL stops, that have included the Albany River Rats and the Charlotte Checkers.

"Zach is a great kid and he'll be a fan favorite very quickly," Checkers play-by-play man Jason Shaya told Eyes on The Prize. "He was beloved by Checkers fans for the year he spent here.

Shaya also notes the rugged rearguard is a team player. "He's got a great heart and plays with a lot of passion. Everyone here wishes nothing but the best for him."

Being a tough guy is just part of FitzGerald's roll, as he is as a reliable defender, especially when shorthanded, using his size against opposing forwards. His all time favorite player is Hall of Famer Scott Stevens.

"While his toughness is admirable, it got him in trouble at times last year with AHL Charlotte, especially down the road late in the season and in the Calder Cup playoffs," noted CanesCountry's Cory Spiers. "FitzGerald carved ruts to the penalty box in the series against Hershey and WBS, and found himself benched for some of the more crucial late series games, and some games in the Eastern Conference Championship"

Spiers also gave more insight into the positives that FitzGerald brings on and off the ice

"If I were to describe Zack as a person in one word, I would say, classy, perhaps eternally loyal," Spiers said. "If I were to describe him as a player, I would say aggressive, and obviously, very tough. Zack WILL fight, he WILL pump up the crowd,and he WILL stick around after the game to sign autographs or talk to fans, that's just how he is.

"During the final game of the Checkers regular season schedule, the team stuck around after a win, and the news they had clinched the playoffs, and saluted the fans at center ice and one man gave a short speech thanking the fans for all of their support; that man was FitzGerald. I will say the fans in Charlotte are going to miss him, he is a locker room goof ball, but as hard a worker as I saw last year from the blueline

"The Montreal organization did well to pick him up, as he may serve to protect some of the prospects in Hamilton."

We'll heed this warning to Bulldogs fans cruising the highways and roads of the Hammer; his pet peeve is listed as "bad drivers." And despite hailing from Minnesota, he grew up a fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Leaps off his feet here, but he finished his business against fellow tough guy Louis Robitaille, who retired at the end of the 2010-11 season.

Habs shape up for camp..Well, almost all of 'em

Kevin van Steendelaar — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 23:41:35 -0000

It was fitness and medical testing day, as the Montreal Canadiens training camp officially opened. The 64 players turned their heads an coughed, ran a battery of fitness tests and posed for their individual photos.

After a summer of viewing tweets from Mike Cammalleri and P.K. Subban on their strenuous off-season training drills, and the recuperation work of both Andrei Markov and Josh Gorges, we kind of get an idea of what most NHLers are doing these days to prepare for an upcoming season.

Today's session allowed us to see where the players stood, and for the better part all were impressive, with Hamilton Bulldogs captain Alex Henry surprising many with his fitness level.

There was one exception though..

A photo of Alexei Yemelin, taken by the Montreal Gazette's Dave Sidaway, shows what appears to be a rather bloated Russian defenseman. For time being we can cue the Kyle Wellwood type jokes, or Vladimir Krutov redux.

Considering all the hype surrounding the 25-year old's potential over the last several years, let's hope that he didn't blow his signing bonus on a year's supply of Krispy Kreme. Maybe's one of those "raw natural strength types." Yeah that's it.

Regardless of his appearance, Yemelin will get to prove himself and has Markov as his mentor as camp begins. Both defenseman are on the "Team A" camp squad, and are neighbors in the locker room.

Tests aside, the big topic on the minds for Habs fans and scribes was that of Markov, who did acknowledge that swelling in his knee, which can be expected after surgery, has slowed his recovery. He remains optimistic that he will be ready for the season opener.

Markov dispelled the report, by the Team990's Tony Marinaro, that there was a rift between both he and team management over his recuperation. "There are days when I’m disappointed at the progress of my rehab," Markov said. "But I have nothing against the team or the medical staff."

The camp squads also give us a sneak peak at what Jacques Martin is looking for in terms of his top three lines. Tomas Plekanec, Erik Cole and Cammalleri are on "Team A", Scott Gomez, Brian Gionta and Max Pacioretty are on "Team B", and Lars Eller, Andrei Kostitsyn and Travis Moen are on "Team C". The third squad also has David Desharnais, Ryan White and Mathieu Darche, along with other Habs hopefuls, allowing Martin to experiment with third and fourth line possibilities.

Canadiens.com feature on Alexander Avtsin

Chris Nilan gets a new gig, joining Mitch Melnick on the Team990 at 5:30 weekdays (co-hosting Habs This Week on Saturday), and backs a worthy cause.

The future of fighting in hockey: A roundtable discussion on Hockey Central. Hall of Famer Denis Potvin suggests a 17-man roster and Nick Kypreos notes the mistake made by putting a mic on Georges Laraque during his staged fight.

Media's first hockey insider? Nice find by fellow hockey history buff Mike Wyman on Punch Imlach taking on a ghost writer and writing a weekly hockey column after getting turfed from the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Jimmy Bonneau interview

Did the Canadiens Mess Up by Not Drafting Maxime Talbot in 2002?

Robert L — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 06:39:34 -0000

When it comes to the inexact science that is the drafting of 17 and 18 year old players into the NHL, it is often said that hindsight in 20/20. I'll add that such hindsight is often downright cockeyed, especially in terms of making a point years after players selected have matured.

In regards to where the Montreal Canadiens are concerned, it has often been stated, mostly by local media who have gotten their facts askew, that the Habs virtually ignore Quebec born talent.

Like many other mistruths, the fact begins to follow those who bark loudest. It's the old adage of the most recent historian having the last word.

What is really comes down to, is fibs selling better than facts.

Take the Pittsburgh Penguins forward Maxime Talbot for instance.

Talbot, the game seven hero of the 2009 Stanley Cup finals, would look to be a natural in Montreal Canadiens uniform. After two fairly good seasons with the Hull Olympics of the QMJHL, the Lemoyne, Quebec born forward was selected by Pittsburgh as the lights were being shut off that year, all the way into the eighth round, 234th overall.

In certain parts, it has been considered sacrilege that the Canadiens could miss this talent. Talbot plays with such obvious heart, it is a question that I myself asked during the Penguins final run.

It turns out I wasn't alone in thinking this, as Hall of Fame fournalist, Bertrand Raymond (Journal de Montreal, Rue Frontenac) also made it a point to single out Talbot recently, in an article preceding this summer's draft.

Raymond rarely wavers in his stance on the Canadiens drafting local players. He is unequivocal in stating the when the choice comes down to selecting between two players of equal talent, the Canadiens should without fault select the Quebec born prospect. Raymond states that a player performing in his own backyard will show more heart at the task, for obvious reasons. I've always agreed with that notion. The Canadiens as well, have often trotted the same mantra when applicable.

Now along comes Talbot and his front page heroics, and hindsight goes all cockeyed once more.

Raymond was writing on Louis Leblanc's chances of becoming a Hab three weeks ago, when he took the Canadiens and Trevor Timmins to task for missing out on Talbot. The journalist quoted former coach Michel Bergeron, who's often said of Timmins, that he "can spot a Russian player behind a snowbank in Siberia, but he'll miss a Quebec born talent on the street before him."

Alluding, and not without fault, that perhaps Talbot had yet to show his full bloom by 2002, Raymond then notes that Talbot should have been held in higher consideration by the Canadiens at the time.

"Peut-être qu'il n'annonçait pas encore ce qu'il allait devenir, mais une chose est certaine, parce qu'il est natif de Montréal, Talbot aurait dû avoir plus de valeur pour le Canadien que pour toute autre organisation de la Ligue nationale. Pourtant, on ne l'a pas considéré."

Fair enough. Raymond does state that 30 teams passed on Talbot for a full seven rounds before Pittsburgh fired a bullseye. It is a stretch to suggest the Canadiens did not have their eyes on Talbot. All that can be said is that they likely didn't have him rated as highly as Pittsburgh had come that round

Talbot played two more seasons in the Q, and was named league playoff MVP both years. Who knew, right?

Looking back, Raymond defends his stance in criticizing Timmins for missing the mark on Montreal drafting french players as such:

"Readers have given all kinds of interpretations to my comments regarding Timmins' lack of interest for francophones in the draft", says Raymond. That year, the Canadiens drafted five players ahead of Talbot, four of which would never wear a Canadiens sweater. Never. That is what I mean when I allude to a lack of awareness by Canadiens scouts over the years when the question concerns players of the Quebecois fibre."

"Des lecteurs ont donné toutes sortes d'interprétations au commentaire que j'ai fait sur le manque d'intérêt que Trevor Timmins semble avoir pour le fait francophone au repêchage. Cette année-là, le Canadien a repêché cinq joueurs avant que Talbot ne soit réclamé par Pittsburgh, dont quatre ne porteront jamais le chandail tricolore. Jamais. C'est ce que je veux dire quand je fais allusion au manque de sensibilisation des recruteurs du Canadien au fil des ans quand il était question de la fibre québécoise."

Now here's something to remember - memories can be awful selective at times. I'm not trying to play with words. It's the way brains work - mine, yours and everybody else's.

Of 291 prospects chosen in 2002, only 15 would come from the Quebec league. Chicoutimi's Pierre - Marc Bouchard went eighth overall to the Minnesota Wild and team mate Jeff Deslauriers - Drouin went first in the second round to the Edmonton Oilers. Most of the rest of the names are a collection of "never heard from again" players you'll have a tough time remembering who they were selected by.

The incomplete list reads: Maxime Daigneault, Michael Tessier, Dominic D' Amour, Rosairio Ruggeri, Daniel Manzato, J.F. Dufort, James Cuddihy, Marc - Andre Roy...

All told, of the 15 Quebec born players drafted, only 5 have to this point, played in an NHL game.

If Raymond had checked into the facts a little deeper, he would not have conveniently forgotten that two of those players drafted by the Canadiens he says would never dress for them or play an NHL game were actually QMJHL products - Michael Lambert and Jonathan Ferland. The latter actually did play in the NHL.

Lambert was a 6' 5'' , 220 lb left wing with the Montreal Rocket, who put up 29-24-53 numbers in 71 games in his draft eligible year. He added 111 penalty minutes, surely catching the Canadiens scout's eyes. The prospect would split his time in both the ECHL and the AHL during his contract years with the Canadiens. In three seasons with the Hamilton Bulldogs, Lambert played in 126 games, putting up 24-16-40 totals. He plays in a Quebec industrial league these days.

The Habs did a little better with a later pick, the 212th, wherein they selected Ferland from the Acadie - Bathurst Titans. Ferland remained in the Canadiens organization until 2007-08, and although he seemed to progress annually, he never performed up to hoped for standards. He earned a seven game stint with Montreal in 2005-06, and scored his lone NHL goal that season. In five seasons with the Bulldogs, he scored another 57. It cannot be said that the Canadiens did not give this seventh round pick a fair shot.

Ferland posted 28-46-74 totals in 55 games with the Titans in his draft year. Twenty four picks later, from the same QMJHL, the Penguins took a chance on Talbot, who put up 24-36-60 numbers in 65 games.

Without hindsight, how does any truly know how players will pan out from the later rounds?

What bugs, is that Raymond should know better, when dropping these "so called" mistakes on Timmins' lap. For starters, Timmins wasn't the Canadiens directors of scouting in 2002, he was with the Ottawa Senators. Secondly, Timmins did not shy away from selecting Quebec league talent. Starting in 2003, Timmins and his scouts have regularly selected QMJHL players. Here's a look by year, round and rank:

2003 (11 Selections)

2 - 40 Cory Urquhart - Montreal Rocket

2 - 61 Maxim Lapierre - Montreal Rocket

4 - 123 Danny Stewart - Rimouski Oceanic

8 - 241 Jimmy Bonneau - Montreal Rocket

NHLers - Andrei Kostitsyn, Lapierre, Jaroslav Halak, Ryan O'Byrne, Corey Locke

Highest chosen Q player passed over / who the Canadiens chose:

Marc - Antoine Pouliot 1 - 22 EDM/ Kostitsyn 1 -10

Patrice Bergeron 2 - 45 BOS/ Urquhart 2 - 40

Alexandre Picard 3 - 85 PHI/ O'Byrne 3 - 79

Bruno Gervais 6 - 182 NYI/ Christopher Heino - Lindberg 6 -177

2004 (9 Selections)

6 - 181 Loic Lacasse - Baie Comeau Drakkar

9 - 278 Alexandre Dulac - Lemelin - Baie Comeau Drakkar

NHLers - Kyle Chipchura, Mikhail Grabovski, Mark Streit, Gregory Stewart

Highest chosen Q player passed over / who the Canadiens chose:

Adam Pardy 6 - 173 CAL/ Lacasse 6 - 181

2005 (7 Selections)

2 - 45 Guillaume Latendresse - Drummondville Voltigeurs

4 - 121 Juraj Mikus - Slovak*

5 - 130 Mathieu Aubin - Lewiston MAINEiacs

7 - 229 Philippe Paquet - Salisbury HS Connecticut**

NHLers - Carey Price, Latendresse, Sergei Kostitsyn, Matt D' Agostini

* played one season in QMJHL with Chicoutimi Sagueneens after being drafted.

** Quebec City born prospect went on to 4 seasons at Clarkson U

Highest chosen Q player passed over / who the Canadiens chose:

Kris Letang 3 - 61/Latendresse 2 - 45

2006 (6 Selections)

2 - 53 Mathieu Carle - Acadie - Bathurst Titans

NHLers - Ben Maxwell

Highest chosen Q player passed over / who the Canadiens chose:

Claude Giroux 1 - 22 PHI/ David Fischer 1 -20

Blake Geoffrion 2 - 56 NAS***/ Maxwell 2 - 46, Carle 2 - 53

*** Great grandson of Howie Morenz, grandson of Boom Boom Geoffrion

2007 (9 Selections)

3 - 65 Olivier Fortier - Chicoutimi Sagueneens

NHLers Max Pacioretty, Yannick Weber

Highest chosen Q player passed over / who the Canadiens chose:

Angelo Esposito 1 - 20 PIT/Ryan McDonagh 1 - 12

David Perron 1 - 26 STL/ Pacioretty 1 -22

2008 (5 Selections)

No players chosen from the QMJHL

No NHL players to date

Highest chosen Q player passed over / who the Canadiens chose:

Not yet established

2009 (8 Selections)

1 - 18 Louis Leblanc - Omaha Lancers USHL

5 - 139 Gabriel Dumont - Drummondville Voltigeurs

No NHL players to date

Highest chosen Q player passed over / who the Canadiens chose:

Not yet established

All together, the Canadiens have drafted 55 players under Timmins' watch, 13 of which were QMJHL or francophone players - that's close to 24% of all players drafted by the team.

As draft choices generally take two to three seasons to reach the NHL, the players selected from 2007 to the most recent draft have yet to come under full evaluation. Judging how well or not Timmins has done, is best served by looking primarily at the 33 players chosen from 2003 to 2006.

During those five drafts, 10 of 33 players were QMJHLproducts or francophone choices, and they include Urquhart, Lapierre, Stewart, Bonneau, Lacasse, Dulac - Lemelin, Latendresse, Aubin, Paquet, and Carle. These picks represent 30% of the Canadiens selections during that time. Of the aforementioned, only Lapierre and Latendresse have become NHL players, which means the Canadiens have a 6% ratio of success when drafting locally.

Of the remaining 23 players chosen in those five drafts, 12 players have played at least one NHL game, representing a 54% success ratio when the Canadiens draft outside of Quebec.

(I am aware that this is a blanket surface assessment that does not give way for numerous mitigating circumstances involving players and where they were chosen, but the discrepancy in ratios still speaks largely for itself.)

Perhaps Timmins is aware of this, as only 3 (Fortier, Leblanc and Dumont) of the Canadiens 22 selections in the three most recent drafts are considered local product.

While Raymond and other journalists are stating loudly that the Canadiens aren't paying close enough attention to francophones in their backyard, perhaps the opposite is true.

Maybe Timmins is making less selections out of the Q because he is in fact paying greater attention, and not seeing much.