For Whom the Belle Tolls
There are some posters who believe that Mtl needs to sign another defenceman to fill the number 4 spot. I am not sure why some feel the need to deal away good young prospects for another d-man while there are some that complain that Mtl has too much depth on defence and need to trade some for the big centre most think they need!
I will start with Shawn Belle. Here is a player who was drafted 30th overall by the Blues. The write up in the hockey news yearbook stated that a scouting report called him ” The best pure skater in the draft, like Paul Coffey, and the most enigmatic, as in slow learner, as in defensive liablilty, three years away”. Fast forward to the Score 2007-08 preview issue. ” Now on his third NHL team, Belle is hoping to break through this season. A defensive defenceman with great size and strength, he needs to show more consistency”. Based on both these scouting reports it would appear that the first scout was correct, he needed the 3 years to learn to play defensively, but has learned to based on the last scouting report.
Hockeysfuture.com says this;
Belle is a well-balanced skater who has good speed. He is very athletic, highly skilled and can play in all situations. He is good positional player when he wants to be. He has great height and weight distribution, though a little more muscle could never hurt. He is a very capable defenseman with the stick and has a big league shot. Even though he is a great two-way player, he shows his youthfulness by trying to do too much.
He has spent the last four seasons with the Americans, where he has become the team’s top all-around player. In his draft year, he was selected to participate in the 2003 CHL Top Prospects game. Belle has also spent extensive time with Team Canada’s junior program. He has played on two U-18 gold medals teams in 2002 and 2003 as well as the U-20 team in 2003 and 2004. The list also includes his participation in the 2003 and 2004 Canada-Russia Challenge, while representing Team WHL.
Based on these reports and the skill of Mtl’s scouting group, I would say they have plucked another potential gem who could replace Boullion this season. Not unlike the Gorges story. Nobody had heard of him and he was never drafted. Everyone complained when Mtl got him in the Rivet trade and he has proven to be an astute pick up. Belle is a year younger than Gorges and if he follows Gorges path, this would be the year he proves himself. He definitly gives Mtl size over Boullion as well as having an age advantage.
When you add Markov, Komisarek, O’Byrne and Hamrlik, I don’t see the need to bring in another d-man. I know some think O’Byrne isn’t going to be good, but rewind 2 seasons and everyone was saying the same thing about Komisarek. Do you want to chance giving up on a 6’4″ 240 lbs player? he may end up being a very solid 5th or 6th d-man, or he may creep into the top 4, why give up now? Then you have the other players who are close, Valentenko and Carle since they both played in Hamilton, then of course, Fischer, McDonough, and Subban. There is also Emelin who apparently wants assurances that if he comes over, he will only play in the NHL. He may be a better tradeing chip although Pierre McGuire believes he will be a top 2 shut down d-man.
I guess the bottom line is that there are players such as Bouwmiester, who has yet to live up to his hype and may never, and then there are the prospects already in the fold who won’t cost any assets. Is it worth the assets and the gamble to make a deal? Some other people have mentioned Schneider, but at this point in his career, he is overpaid and injury prone. Why would Mtl commit that much cash to him. That would handcuff them come trade deadline if they do need a player to help out, or if they suffer an injury to a key player or 2 and need to replace them.
I say let our guys prove their worth and trust Gainey and his team since they have proven to know what they are doing. Look at the improvements in depth and competativeness since they took over!