QMJHL: Teen Titan

The Acadie-Bathurst Titan and St. John's Fog Devils recently split at two-game set at Mile One Center. Goaltender Antoine Tardif turned in a solid two-game performance between the pipes for Les Titan. Along with Tardif, McKeen's files this report on several 2008 draft-eligible Titan including Remi Blanchard, Vincent Couture, Taylor Lambke and 2009-eligible Daniel Tanel.

Remi Blanchard (2008), D, Acadie-Bathurst

Selected in the fifth round, 79th overall, in the 2007 Q-draft by Acadie-Bathurst .. the 5-foot-9, 178-pound blueliner hails from Bas-Caraquet, NB .. was paired on the third defense unit with Daniel Tanel, but was also paired with other partners throughout the two-game set .. played a regular shift (logged significant minutes) and was used exclusively on the powerplay .. skates well, choppy style skating forward, smooth skating backwards, not overly fast, but effective .. demonstrated ability to rush with the puck on a few occasions .. displayed stickhandling ability in open ice and in traffic .. distributed the puck well, used partners effectively, and made solid outlet passes, although he did rush some decisions while under pressure .. demonstrated willingness and ability to shoot the puck, and was able to get shots through from the point .. was involved offensively, led and joined the rush on a few occasions and looked comfortable doing so .. was solid defensively, strong positioning overall, although did have some trouble containing along the boards .. was aggressive with his stick both on the puck and on the body .. demonstrated good communication skills on the ice .. was not overly physical, but was not dominated physically either .. finished the series with one assist, a plus-two rating, two PIM's and six shots on goal.

Vincent Couture (2008), C, Acadie-Bathurst

The 6-foot-2, 182-pound pivot is from Sorel, QC .. was selected in the 10th round, 169th overall, in the 2007 QMJHL draft .. played on the left wing in both games .. skated on the third line in Game 1 with center Charles-Antoine Messier and RW Spencer Jezegou and on the fourth line in Game 2 with center Taylor Lambke and RW Raymond Leroux .. played a regular shift and had limited powerplay time .. not a graceful skater, choppy style, although did display some speed .. played more of a dump-and-chase game, never displayed much in the way of stickhandling ability .. was unable to find open ice in the offensive zone .. provided team with energy, some physical play, worked the boards and competed .. caught running around in the defensive zone, as he was weak and slow identifying coverage .. finished the series with no points, a minus-one rating and one shot on goal.

Taylor Lambke (2008), LW, Acadie-Bathurst

Selected in the sixth round, 97th overall, in the 2007 Q-draft by Acadie-Bathurst .. the 5-foot-10, 167-pound left-winger hails from Antigonish, NS .. centered and skated on the fourth line in both contests ..skated with LW Cameron Critchlow and RW Raymond Leroux in Game 1 and with LW Vincent Couture and RW Leroux in Game 2 .. limited icetime with spotted time on the powerplay .. good skater, displayed some jump and speed .. moved the puck well and made crisp passes .. was solid on the cycle and along the boards .. displayed stickhandling ability, but was not involved offensively .. managed to pressure the puck on the forecheck .. worked hard without the puck and was solid on the backcheck .. was involved physically and tried to finish his checks .. finished the series with no points, two PIM's, threw a couple of big hits and took 15 faceoffs, winning eight.

Daniel Tanel (2009), D, Acadie-Bathurst

The 6-foot-6, 223-pound rearguard hails from Brampton, ON .. was a 2007 invitee to training camp by the Titan .. was paired on the third defense unit with Remi Blanchard in both games .. limited icetime overall, but did see some time on the powerplay .. size was evident and demonstrated his strength on more than one occasion .. lumbering skating style with wide strides, solid on skates, but needs to work on foot speed and skating overall .. skated with his head-up and made strong, short passes but had some trouble with long outlet passes .. takes time to get into shooting position with a long wind-up and back swing .. failed to create much in the way of offense .. stickhandling ability is fair at best .. possesses and used his long reach to his advantage .. was strong along the boards and solid 1-on-1 coverage .. was a little slow with help defense, but solid overall .. was not involved physically in the way of huge hits, but did demonstrate ability to muscle and lean the opposition off the puck .. would have loved to see a mean streak displayed .. finished the series with no points and three shots on goal.

Antoine Tardif (2008), G, Acadie-Bathurst

Selected in the first round, 14th overall, in the 2006 QMJHL draft by Acadie-Bathurst .. the 6-foot, 182-pound goaltender hails from Daveluyville, QC .. started and finished both games .. butterfly-style goaltender, although not against staying on his feet either .. solid balance on his skates .. was square to the shooter .. aggressive and challenged shooters .. solid positioning .. outstanding rebound control .. athletic, flexible and displayed quick reflexes .. quick up/down and strong lateral movement .. demonstrated quick glove and made a number of fantastic pad saves .. displayed strong body language - cool, calm and collected under pressure .. competed and second efforts clearly displayed .. made many saves look easy due to his strong positional play and ability to read and react to the play .. finished with a 1-1 record, surrendered four goals on 76 shots (24 considered dangerous) .. made 72-saves in the two-game set, many of the spectacular variety.