U17 WHC: The Hab-Nots

Team Quebec had what only could be described as a dismal showing, managing only one win at the recent World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in Lethbridge, Alberta. We take a look at many of the prospects including captain Benjamin Breault and his teammate Alexandre Monahan who had a breakout game against Germany in which he had three goals and was selected the player of the game.

Guillaume Durand (2006), D

Has a mediocre wrist shot .. a breakout pass was well off target .. not only failed to hold the puck in at the point, but allowed the forward to get by him .. lunged to deflect a breakaway pass .. received a lazy kneeing penalty away from the play .. made a very poor decision grabbing the puckcarrier and dragging him down right in front of the ref .. U-17 totals (5-0-0-0-6).

Maxime Frechette (2006), D

Played the one-on-one very well all the while maintaining proper positioning.. worked effectively behind the net and in the dirty areas .. possesses limited mobility and his overall skating is average at best .. U-17 totals (5-0-1-1-2).

Alexandre Biega (2006), D

Blessed with sizzling wheels and his first few steps are second to none .. doesn't have the size or strength to compete effectively in traffic and in front of the net .. on the ice late in the game when his team needed a goal .. U-17 totals (5-0-0-0-4).

Alexandre Monahan (2006), F

Raw forward with some potential .. played on a line with Stefan Chaput and Michal Dubuc .. got nothing on a wrist shot from the point .. has good overall speed ..poked the puck loose at his own blueline and cleared the zone .. was able to get a decent burst to get around a defender in neutral ice, creating an odd man rush .. he tried to pass the puck in to the slot, but it bounced off on opponent and in to the net .. effectively pursues the puckcarrier .. went for a hit along the wall and ended up taking the worst of it .. had a shot in the slot and put it over the net .. usually takes the pass at the full speed .. stickhandles well, although does have some problems in traffic .. while around the crease was able to redirect a shot behind the goaltender .. supports the puckcarrier .. flipped the puck over the goaltenders shoulder for the third goal of the game .. selected player of the game .. U-17 totals (5-3-3-6-4).

Michael Dubuc (2006), C

Tried to stickhandle by a defenders, but just didn't have the extra gear necessary .. centered a line of Alexandre Monahan and Stefan Chaput .. needs to get stronger on the puck ..drilled a slap shot past the goalie from the slot ..took an unnecessary boarding penalty .. displays some technique in the faceoff circle, however must work on holding up the opposing center a bit more efficiently as there were occasion where he looked like a turnstile .. was able to get by a defender wide and because it was at the end of the shift and he had little left all he was able to do was force a fairly stoppable shot on net and go for a change .. his headman pass lacked crispness and was easily intercepted .. selected player of the game versus the Czech Republic .. U-17 totals (5-2-3-5-2).

Stefan Chaput (2006), RW

Has reasonably soft hands and stickhandles well .. played on a line with Alexandre Monahan and Michal Dubuc .. very mobile, with nice acceleration .. forced a defender to drag him down and take a penalty after he was able to get by him .. comes back to support the defense .. received the pass at top speed and didn't break stride .. had a few opportunities to get in the open, but each time he either shot the puck right in to the pads or wasn't able to lift the puck over the goalie .. displays maturing playmaking skills as he proved on a two-on-one when he dished a sweet back pass to the trailing forward to create a quality scoring chance .. later dished out a very poor back pass that was easily intercepted .. selected the player of the game in the game versus Finland .. U-17 totals (5-3-3-6-4).

Francois Bouchard (2006), RW

Gets a decent pop from his wrist shot .. acceleration is above average .. beat the goaltender with high wrist shot from the slot .. used an active stick to close down passing lanes on the forecheck .. needs to display more urgency to his game, especially away from the puck .. overall speed is good, but his skating is choppy .. lacks the anticipation need to get to loose pucks .. gets bodied off the puck too easily .. U-17 totals (5-2-3-5-2).

Peter-James Corsi (2006), F

Heavy wrist shot and can pick the corners .. his release can handcuff goalies .. played on a line with Yannick Riendeau and Benjamin Breault .. failed to get the pass to the open man in front .. drove to the net and was stopped on the doorstep .. held up his man off the draw after winning it .. didn't get rid of the shot very quickly, but still managed to get a scoring chance .. drove to the net and tapped the puck in even though he had been knocked down .. used excellent hand-eye coordination to knock down a breakout pass .. delivered a nice pass on the two on one to create a scoring chance .. U-17 totals (5-3-1-4-0).

Pier-Alexandre Poulin (2006), LW

Very accurate wrist shot .. although he is a bit of a choppy skater, he displayed surprisingly strong puck pursuit .. took the faceoff on the PK and lost, but held up his man .. got a solid bodycheck on the point man .. took over for a pinching defender at the point ..did well to steal the puck on a backcheck .. worked hard along the boards, however he doesn't yet have the strength to have a lot of success .. will go to the net .. his stickhandling still needs work .. doesn't protect the puck well enough ..has a long reach and once he improves his stickhandling and strength, he may develop in to a solid player .. U-17 totals (5-1-0-1-0).

Hugo Carpentier (2006), F

Wear an A .. strong on the puck .. got a great scoring chance on a two-on-one, however wasn't able to get it over the goalie's outstretched pad .. didn't show a lot of imagination firing from a bad angle .. comes back and supports the defense .. communicates with his linemates .. uses his body to protect the puck .. worked hard on the backcheck and drew penalty .. got open in the slot and was unlucky not to score firing a terrific one timer that was stopped .. U-17 totals (5-1-3-4-4).

Jonathan Bernier (2006), G

Extremely quick feet and very agile as he proves with his ability to bounce right back up after he drops to his knees .. got across quickly and square to the shooter to take away a point blank shot .. made a nice stop on a deflection .. once again made a quality save going side-to-side and getting his pad on a labeled shot .. had some difficulties handling a blast with his glove .. has a tendency to go down too early and not surprisingly is much better on low shots than high ones .. although it didn't cost his team, he failed to alert his team at the end of a penalty .. U-17 totals (5-1-4-0).

Pascal Boutin (2006), D

Displayed very good quickness, mobility and excellent acceleration .. has a heavy shot that doesn't seem to lose any momentum as it reaches the goal .. an extremely fluid skater who can easily make the transition from skating forward to backwards .. had some problems handling the puck, especially under pressure .. takes the pass easily .. can be a real load for puckcarriers to handle one-on-one .. destroyed a forward with an open ice hit .. blindly threw the puck around the boards and had it intercepted .. showed splendid determination not giving up on a play after he fell and was able to get back and knock the puck off the opponent's stick .. U-17 totals (5-1-0-1-2).

Jason Legault (2006), D

Solid skating defenseman played the point on the powerplay .. moves the puck efficiently .. buys extra time with his mobility and can elude the forecheck .. his passes are not always on target, however, he has the capability to deliver long, crisp breakout passes .. will drop down to block shots .. battles hard away from the puck .. doesn't shy away from contact and has some grit to his game .. on the ice late in the game with his team needing a goal .. U-17 totals (5-1-3-4-8).

Benjamin Breault (2006), C

Team Quebec's captain .. played on a line with Yannick Riendeau and Peter-James Corsi .. his wrister has some juice in it .. very mobile .. comes back and supports the defense .. delivered a solid hit while on the forecheck .. drove to the net and made no mistake roofing a shot over the goaltender's shoulder .. was able to quickly get past the opposing center off the draw .. very good acceleration and has the overall speed and stickhandling ability to beat a defender wide .. finds the opening in the defensive coverage .. received a ton of ice time whenever his team needed a goal, which was often in this tournament .. always dangerous when he has the puck in the offensive zone .. arguably Quebec's best player in Lethbridge .. U-17 totals (5-2-3-5-2).