Maximum Effort

The Gatineau Olympiques were not expected to compete for the President's Trophy but they were expected to do much better than a 12th overall finish. By the end of February, head coach Jerome Dupont resigned from the position and John Chabot was named the interim coach. He managed to settle some players down and get them playing better hockey. Mckeen's correspondent Rick Springhetti reports on some of the younger Gatineau Olympiques going forward.

Maxime Clermont (2010), G, Gatineau

Wide goaltender that covers up space .. is not often out of position .. holds on to higher shots well .. fairly athletic in his approach .. footwork is good, although he tends to give up some rebounds when making pad saves .. manages to get into position quickly after making a save .. not much of a stickhandler .. can get rattled if he gives up a few goals early in the game .. very streaky goaltender .. not really the type that can steal you a game but won't likely cost you one either .. had a bad habit of not playing his best games against better competition, but showed a lot of competiveness by backstopping Gatineau to a victory in the first round of the playoffs after the team was down 3 games to 1.

Olivier Croteau (2010), C, Gatineau

Used in defensive situations where his long wingspan and willingness to block shots make him very effective in these type of situations .. very labored skater .. choppy and seemingly uncoordinated footwork .. finishes all his checks with authority .. gets in trouble when he stops moving his feet, something he cannot afford to do .. choppy stickhandler .. will try to barrel through opponents when he does have the puck .. lacks peripheral vision to make plays and doesn't try much so he becomes a little predictable to opponents .. tries to be physical but lack of mobility and inability to angle opponents make it difficult to do so.

Adam Janosik (2010), D, Gatineau

Plays a lot of minutes for Gatineau .. moves fairly well backwards but his pivots don't seem fluid .. pretty good first-step quickness .. very quick after his first few strides .. uses his lower body well to pin opponents against the boards until help arrives .. has difficulty clearing the front of the net, as he is not especially big and opponents take advantage of this .. plays the puck more than the man in his own zone .. finds open spaces well to get the puck out of his zone but should try to distribute the puck a little quicker .. got more confident in his offensive vision and ability at the point where he started pinching in regularly as the season progressed .. shot is hard and to the net.

Denis Kindl (2010), C, Gatineau

Not a very quick skater .. has to work on his lower-body strength, as he gets pushed around a lot during battles for the puck .. can make some quick passes on either side of him but tends to play an individualistic game going for low percentage plays leading to turnovers .. hard wristshot, likes to use his opponent as a shield .. anticipates the play well offensively and will usually get open for a pass .. lateral movement is good .. doesn't initiate contact much .. defensively, he will angle opponents against the boards without much conviction .. not the hardest-working player in his own zone.

Alex Noel (2010), C/RW, Gatineau

Undersized forward who needs to get quicker to be effective .. not intimidated by physical play .. will actually initiate contact but is not very effective at this aspect of the game.. passes the puck reasonably well to teammates, as long as passes are kept short .. he does play the give-and-go game well due to his ability to make quick decisions. .. also started using his stickhandling ability to get himself some time and space .. goes to the net for rebound opportunities .. can be beat down low in his own zone, so he will have to work at cutting angles and playing the puck instead of the man .. will sacrifice his body in his own zone .. gets surprising velocity behind his slapshot.

Mitchell Porowski (2010), LW, Gatineau

Choppy skater who doesn't pick up much speed on his first few strides .. big body that he still needs to get comfortable in .. uses his size to pin opponents along the boards but is otherwise not a very aggressive player .. pretty soft hands but needs to spot his teammates quicker and get them the puck when the opportunity presents itself .. he does look for open spaces in the offensive zone and tries to take advantage of them to give himself the extra time he needs to make a play .. corrals passes effectively and has a quick release on his wristshot .. can be very patient with the puck when a scoring opportunity presents itself .. defensively, he still has to work on his anticipation and position, as lack of foot speed makes him vulnerable against skilled players.

Mathieu Gagnon (2011), D, Gatineau

Local-born defenseman who uses his speed and mobility to defend .. covers his man well and stays with him .. skates well forward and laterally .. needs to improve his backward skating, as he doesn't seem to be very balanced when doing so .. .. has good gap control generally, the problem is that he is often beat by forwards who are coming to the net from the outside .. tendency to lower his head when trying to make a play .. hesitant to take a shot on net, he would rather distribute the puck .. easily pushed off the puck during battles along the boards or his the corner .. saw a lot of icetime during the end of the season playing with Janosik where, by simplifying his play, he did well for the Olympiques.