February 25, 2024
Alexandre Carbonneau (D, L, 6’3″, 198, Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, 04/14/2006)
Game Grade: B-
Comments: Carbonneau is a thickly built left shot defender with a shoulder width skating base who is still developing his foot speed. Defensively he relied on using his big 6’3″ frame to be in the way and break his opponent’s momentum. He has very good strength and was able to pin his opponents to the wall ending the cycle. His hands are strong which allowed him to pop his opponent’s sticks and take control of the puck. Offensively he is not going to set the world on fire and he was at his best when he went with his first option. He is young and long so he is still developing his passing skills and getting spin on the puck so it is easy for his teammate to handle. Overall he is bull of a young man who is winning 63% of his 50/50 battles this season but averaging 0.71 hits per game so we feel that for him to take the next step he will need to add an abrasiveness and bite to his game.
Xavier Villeneuve (D, L, 5’9″, 146, Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, 09/29/2007)
Game Grade: DNP
Comments: Did not play. Overall Comments: Villeneuve is an undersized smooth skating left shot defenseman who has the type of elusive mobility that can make opposing forecheckers literally turn in the wrong direction. He is very accurate passer and his passes are put in an area where his teammate can make the next play without having to adjust his bottom hand to handle the pass cleanly. Although he is still quite light and can get pushed off the puck he uses his quickness and puck anticipation to win races to keep plays alive or start offensive transition.
Comments from a Northeast Pack game last January 13, 2023: Villeneuve is a slight-framed left-handed defenseman with the best asset with his skating ability. He has good mobility and puck handling skills and uses his ability to advance the puck well up to his forwards. On one shift in the game he showed his ability to pass well as he back peddled into his own zone with puck possession and quickly stretched a pass up to far blue line to teammate for scoring opportunity. Later in the 3rd period he again showed his smooth skating ability as he rushed the puck from below his own goal line thru the neutral zone and gain easy offensive zone entry. Grade: B
Justin Carbonneau (RW, R, 6’1″, 188, Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, 11/25/2006)
Game Grade: A-
Comments: Carbonneau is a 6’1″, 190lbs right shot right wing who played a power forward type game. Right from his first shift of the game he finished checks and then beat his man into the open ice or scoring area. He showed a shoulder width skating base with a full length stride that finished with a bit of a heel kick but he had good agility and used his outside edge to generate power when coming out of power turns. He had the primary assist on the Armada’s first goal of the game that came on a quick 2 on 1. The play took place during 4 on 4 play and Carbonneau recognized that the opposing defender was out of sorts and took a knee without taking away the passing lane for a one-timer on the backdoor. The pass was soft sauce that landed in the goal scorer’s wheelhouse. Carbonneau had two quick release curl and drag snapshots that were rockets that hit the goaltender in the shoulder. On both shots he showed the hand strength to still fire a bullet while an opponent was getting their stick blade in his shooting area. He led the game in hits having two bombs where he literally launched the opposing player off their feet onto their backs. He was an animal when chasing down rebounds and showed nice puck anticipation as it seemed like he knew where the puck was going before anyone else on the ice.
Vincent Desjardins (C, R, 5’10”, 155, Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, 09/08/2006)
Game Grade: B+
Comments: Desjardins is an undersized right shot center with very smooth edges and explosive acceleration. There were times when it seemed like he was standing lost in the crowd and then bang, he would make hard thrust and be gone. He used his acceleration to win races to loose pucks and to be an asset on the backcheck. In the defensive zone he was responsible and showed the awareness to maintain net side positioning throughout the wall battle or net front scrum. Offensively his passes were hard flat, on the tape and he did not need to stickhandle before making an accurate pass into the slot. He had a team high six shot attempts with five coming from low in the right dot-lane and the other coming from the goal line just to the left of the net. This may sound selfish but on each attempt he was shooting far pad looking to generate a juicy net front rebound.
Matt Gosselin (C, R, 5’7″, 150, Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, 02/14/2006)
Game Grade: B+
Comments: Gosselin is an undersized right shot forward with a skating base that is just outside of his shoulders and a very rapid stride rate. He showed both quickness and speed as well as the ability to create separation or close the gap when racing with an opponent. Although still quite light Gosselin was fearless when attacking the middle ice and while battling for his ice at the top of the crease and this is exactly how he scored his goal. Throughout the play he was battling at the top of the crease, then he won a 50/50 puck, made a quick pass and then attacked the crease with a prepared stick looking for a pass or loose puck to bury. There a few times when he looked to force passes into tight areas but we feel that as his game matures he has the puck skills to wait that extra second for the open seam. As would be expected he was bale to be pushed off the puck or off stride but he consistently showed the mindset that he was going to win the battle or loose puck.
Eliot LItalien (C, L, 6’2″, 187, Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, 03/23/2006)
Game Grade: B+
Comments: Litalien is a long legged left shot center with fluid powerful strides that finish with a toe snap and return to it’s flat edge. While in pursuit he showed very good straight line speed and the leg strength to slam on the breaks to stay with an opponent when they tried to shake him. On line rushes he used a change of speed and when he recognized that the defender had slowed Litalien turned on the jets to blow past him. He showed a quick stick on rebounds with an expanded shooting area. As a center we felt there were too many times when he telegraphed his passes and this may be because as a younger player his skating has allowed him to force plays simply because he was faster than his peer group. Defensively Litalien is a work in progress. We feel that his skating has always allowed him to quickly recover when he was out of position but as he plays against better players in higher levels he will have to learn to use his skating as a defensive asset rather than a liability.
Olivier Lemieux (LW, L, 5’9″, 166, Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, 11/27/2006)
Did not play. Comments from previous viewing: Lemieux plays a hard game below the goal-line in the offensive zone. He is a quick F1 and hunts loose pucks. He uses his body effectively to gather control and make plays under contact. Lemieux has a quick, hard and accurate release when putting the puck on net. Defenders had difficulty containing this player as he was sliding out of containment regularly. Lemieux’s compete level is high. Grade B
Tommy Montreuil (LW, L, 6’5″, 183, Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, 04/25/2005)
Game Grade: Did not play
Comments from previous viewings: Montreuil is a 6’5″ left shot forward who can play both wings. Weighing in at just under 185lbs he is still light, gaining the strength and explosiveness combination that is needed to play a power forward game and quite frankly is still growing into his body. He shows an upright skating posture with an athletic knee bend but we feel he is still gaining the core strength and flexibility needed for longer more fluid stride. In the offensive zone he knows that his job is to win battles, tie up defenders and get to the front of the net to create chaos. At this point he certainly engages in battles but he is still learning how to use his leverage so there are times when his opponents can get under his center of gravity and force him off the top of the crease. We also feel that his overall game would benefit from an added mean streak that would allow him to intimidate. Defensively it is obvious that he pays attention in team meetings because it looks like he is doing his job no matter what the situation calls for. Montreuil is no doubt a work in progress but he will be an entirely different person in 6, 12, 18 months and he is worth watching.
Mateo Nobert (C, L, 6’0″, 161, Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, 08/12/2007)
Game Grade: B
Comments: At this point Norbert looks like he’s all arms and legs. He showed a long stride with a finishing toe snap but he is still gaining the strength for a real leg driving stride. We liked how he stopped on pucks and used an active stick to force his opponents into poor decisions but if they held onto the puck a split second longer Norbert is still so light that he bounced off of contact to allow the opponent to make a play. His passes were accurate and had the kind of touch that made it easy for his teammates to handle. Norbert also showed that he knows the importance of moving his feet after making a pass. At this point in his junior career he is still learning the defensive side of the game as he is prone to drifting towards the puck or simply because he can be outmuscled to end up on the wrong side of the puck. This offseason will be huge for him as he consistently showed the type of offensive instincts that lead to success at higher levels.
Eliot Ogonowski (LW, L, 5’9″, 154, Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, 03/17/2006)
Game Grade: B
Comments: Ogonowski is an undersized left shot forward who took shifts on both wings. He showed a deep knee over toe skating base and full length strides that finished with a strong powerful toe push. He used a cross-under to generate speed through power turns, out of hard stops or when driving wide on a defender. We liked the strength he showed through contact and his willingness to absorb body contact but we feel for his offensive numbers to take off Ogonowski will need to show more puck poise while protecting the puck along the walls when cycling below the hashmarks in the offensive zone. He scored a beautiful goal off line rush on a back foot snap shot that went short side shelf. The shot was a rocket that caught the goaltender leaning. Inside of the house he showed a shooter’s mentality and looked to get the puck to the net as quickly as possible.