Je veux bien croire que la route est longue lorsqu'on prends l'autobus de l'Outaouais jusqu'à Baie-Comeau, mais de là à arriver en retard.....de 6 buts, il y a toujours "bin" des limites. Le Drakkar a frapper tot et il a aussi frapper fort. C'était un Anthony Brodeur qui en avait les jambières pleines en première période, le Drakkar a tiré au filet 15 fois et la défensive Hulloise se cherchait.
Les 3 premiers buts du Drakkar ont été compté sur des descentes soit à 2 contre 1 ou simplement des "odd man rush". Les hommes de Benoit Groulx semblait ne pas suivre le navire Côte-Nordien alors que celui-ci s'amusait à tribord et à bâbord. La vitesse d'exécution du Drakkar était en place tandis les Olympiques semblait sortir de l'autobus encore et advienne qui pourra, c'était devenu 3-0 après la première période.
Je me disais la 2e période ne peut pas être pire que la 1ère.....I was wrong. Le Drakkar n'avait pas fini d'impressionner la galerie, il sont revenu à la charge avec 3 autres buts pour prendre les devant 6-0 dans la rencontre et naturellement faire un point d'exclamation en même temps sur notre museau Hullois. Charles Hudon a terminé sa première soirée avec le Drakkar à domicile avec 2 passes.
Le défenseur Alexis Vanier, qui revient du match des prospects à Calgary a montré qu'il pouvait faire du dommage avec son tir foudroyant en comptant deux buts en 26 secondes avec celui-ci. Quand je parle d'un tir puissant des ligues majeurs c'est exactement ce que j'ai en tête, clairement un des meilleurs tirs de la ligue, il ressemblait beaucoup à celui de Diaby que nous avons vu à Guertin la semaine passé. Les annonceurs de BC s'amusait à dire qu'il n'avait toujours pas vu son tir lorsque celui-ci avait marquer son premier but de la rencontre et pendant que les deux festoyait le soit-dit but, Vanier en profitait pour ajouter son deuxième but de la rencontre, 26 secondes plus tard.
Flash-forward en 3e période, Benoit Groulx a surement lancer rondelle et poubelle entre la deuxième et la troisième période, alors que nos Olympiques sont revenu à la charge avec 4 buts sans riposte, riposte qui n'était pas nécessaire étant donné l'avance de 6 buts du Drakkar, mais tout même, un jolie point d'exclamation pour la formation Hulloise qui semblait se diriger vers un cuisant revers. Le revers demeure une dégelé car nous étions jamais de la partie, mais au moins sur papier, elle semblera un peu moins amer. Assurément, le Drakkar a levé la pédale en 3e période.
Ce qui ne m'a vraiment pas plait, c'est la façon dont notre défensive a joué....quand je parlais de défensive inexpérimenté en début de saison, mes peurs fut conclus avec leur performance de ce soir. Je ne peux pas voir comment nous pourrons affronter ce genre de formation en série avec cette ligne bleu là. Pauvre Anthony Brodeur qui était toujours coucher de gauche à droite pour tenter de maitriser les retours de rondelle étant donné que sa défensive ne semblait pas vouloir suivre le jeu en début de rencontre. J'ai rien contre le kid, mais me semble que c'était le genre de match pour vétéran de la classe de Robert Steeves, j'aimerais une explication...naturellement, je l'aurai pas!!!
Direction Chicoutimi, j'imagine que les Olympiques seront à l'heure pour cette rencontre de demain, par cela je veux dire...qu'il arriveront pas 6 buts en retard au centre Georges-Vézina. Les Sags, ne sont vraiment pas de la trempe du Drakkar, ceci devrait aider la troupe à Big Ben a ne pas se faire humilier une 2e partie de suite....mais encore là, la glace olympique à Chicoutimi ne sera pas un avantage pour notre défensive.
Fait à noter pour la partie contre le Drakkar, tu gagneras pas beaucoup de match lorsque tu gagner 28 mises aux jeux sur un total de 74!!! Les mises en échecs ont terminé 23 à 12 en faveur du Drakkar et "as usual" notre power-play a terminé 0 en 4 pendant que celui de BC a compté 2 fois en 3 occasions....deux buts qui ont finalement faite la différence..."who would of thought, after being down by 6 goals"!!!
J'ai hâte de voir notre vrai visage en série, car personnellement celui-ci commence à me tomber sur les nerfs. Je veux "bin" croire que tu veux pas trop en montrer à l'adversaire en saison régulière, mais est-ce vraiment nécessaire d'être 17e en avantage numérique!?!?! I think not, un moment donné, il y a des raisons pourquoi des matchs en saison régulière donne deux points au classement et il y a des raisons pourquoi ont remet une bannière à la formation qui termine premier à la fin de la saison.
Ce soir, personne a vu le vrai visage des Olympiques, la raison est très simple....car nous nous sommes pas vraiment présenté!!!
Keep dropping the gloves kids, it's part of the game!!!
H4L, good blogs. Funny how a team can be so dominant one game and not so much the next one. I cannot comment on either game as I have not seen the team play in a while.
RépondreSupprimerI'm a bit peeved with Sear and Groulx at the moment over their treatment of a few players that they keep jerking around with lies and deception. Not something that I can or should discuss on a blog of the legal implications. I wouldn't get myself or the players in trouble because Sear and Groulx cannot contradict the truth but, if they follow their customary patterns, they'd try to lie their ways out of it. We'll see how the league reacts... if it does at all.
The chaos between Groulx and most of his players is probably causing the ups and downs of the team's performances. I've never heard or seen so much discord on a junior team, and I expected some "cleaning" of this at the trade deadline that did not happen. I do believe that if it wasn't for Sear and the fact that two or three of the outspoken owners are now gone, that Benoit Groulx would be out as coach - not because of the team's win loss record but because of the crap that seems to be happening on a weekly basis again this year.
BTW, about a month ago, you wrote about a former player having been lured here with the promise of a 4 year schooling package. You were directly lied to... but so was the player.
I'm also hearing that Schumaker's days may be numbered here. It would surprise me but I don't know the player at all so I don't know who much abuse he's able to take.
WIth all that being said, they're still well positioned in the standings and if they can fix what's broken before it sinks, your Olympiques may surprise.
mj
Guys,
RépondreSupprimerIs it that bad in the room?
Nice to hear from you MJ. Of course goaltending is the essence of hockey. We have a good lineup, but our goaltending is very suspect. It might carry us a long way, but we could also go out in the first round. In the past Groulx teams have been very inconsistent and unpredictable. Sometimes the effort is there, other times the kids just go through the motions at half speed.
RépondreSupprimerIf all of what you suggest is true, then hopefully the truth will come out and Groulx will be gone and Sear will be forced to smarten up. What we see on the ice, and the merry-go-round of players in and out is certainly consistent with all that you are telling us. And there are at least two posters on the Olympiques forum that say very similar things based upon what they tell us are conversations with parents, billets and others.
MJ, is Baie-Comeau now the class of the Q and the likely favourite?
I have not seen Baie Comeau play in quite a while but, on paper, they are indeed very strong. Their offense is balanced, their defense is big and strong and skilled and they have a great coach. I got to know the Poulin kid a bit and he's a good kid, very polite and intelligent. I'm glad he's doing so well after the disaster that was his brief time here. There is quite a bit of pro interest for him. I also love the big Vanier defenseman. I'm hoping he goes late first round.
RépondreSupprimerJust a brief comment about the trade deadline in the Q - I love it so much compared to the bore that is the OHL trade deadline. Some deals in the Q don't make much sense but there are so many buyers and so many trades - it's great!
Groulx addressed the overager and PP situation with Schumaker and then made a couple of depth deals and then made a splash by overpaying for Pepin who could be tremendous but will probably not be able to play for Groulx if what I'm hearing is true. I have not seen him play since the trade but I'm eager to do so. I know a local scout was excited to see how the kid would react to the gong show in Gatineau. He has basically written off the kid but will follow him closely now. In his words, "any kid who is 25 pounds overweight in his draft year is not a player we want to draft.".
mj
Pepin is out of shape for sure. He is a pretty good skater. He seems to have good hands, a natural scoring touch and he can make plays. Also, he is a VERY smart hockey player. He reads the play very well, always seems to be in the right place at the right time. If this kid gets into top shape he will be an excellent player.
RépondreSupprimerNice to see you back on my blog MJ, I would really like to meet with you if you are in town someday for a game!!! I would keep our meeting confidential of course and I would not reveal you're identity to this blog. I've been able to catch every Hull game's lately for personnal reasons.
RépondreSupprimerI also said that we over paid for Pepin, not descrititing the kid here, but it's simple logic...you don't pay 2 first rounds draft picks for a kid that let's himself go 25 pounds overweigth in his draft year...anyone with a hockey IQ over 10 would understand this...of course most people bloging on media forum's don't get this because they're all Groulx/Sear sheeps...meaning they believe every crap that these 2 lay on the line!!!
I'm glad you mentionned that the other owners wanted Groulx out, except for Sear, i've wondering for a long time now why he's still in position, both positions to boot!!! Of course Sear signed him for seven years, knowing that Sear counts all of his pennies...it's not surprising that he doesn't want to fire him, since he would still have to pay him for the next 3 years plus paying another coach/GM!!!
The Schumacher trade is not only a bad one, but also a big waste of time...anyone thinking this guy can change our horrible powerplay is well under the 10 point mark of my above hockey IQ affirmation!!! The guy is intense and all, but for a 20 year old defencemen he's well under the bar...we could of found a better power-play guy at age 19 somewhere in the league and then getting another 20 year old guy elsewhere thus maximising in that category!!!
As fans we want to go see a team that believe's in themselves...i'm soooooo freaking tired of hearing crap that happens behind closed doors...or in public restaurants...I won't comment on this last one!!!
We're in January and Groulx is benching superstars that have been with him for 3 years...here's an idea, if the kid still doesn't listen to you after coaching 3 years...guess what??? That's because he doesn't believe in you're abilities to make him any better!!!
The Poulin kid was no match for Groulx, you said it yourself MJ, he's polite and smart....that clashes with Groulx like stink on a pretty lady!!!
I just wish that one day i'll be able to say that I love this franchise has much has I used to, but let's not kid ourselves...this won't be for at least 3 years or so...or maybe the day I actually step foot in that locker room...which is not likely to happen tomorrow LOL...
Anyone else noticed how many scouts we have left in our team???? Of course the organisation didn't bother to mention this to the fans!!!
Although I'm on the road a lot, I'm usually in town more often than not. For sure, we should meet up one day and talk hockey.
RépondreSupprimerThe Pepin kid is a risk and they overpaid for what they are getting right now. But (and it's a big but) if the kid was unhappy in PEI and they take the right approach with him, he could be a tremendous player next year. His combination of size and skill is very rare. We'll see what their approach is. If they treat him with kid gloves as they treat someone like Carrier, will Pepin get in the shape he needs to be and play as he needs to play? Probably not. But if they treat him with malice and contempt as they've treated so new players, will the kid want to play for Groulx? There needs to be a middle ground that Groulx seems unable or unwilling to apply with any consistency. Still.... 25 pounds overweight? Unheard of!
The hockey community is big and small at the same time. Ten years ago, Groulx had the advantage that the Olympiques had a great reputation, were close to the Ontario border and actually had scouts who saw players live, not on youtube. But now, with the advent of social media, message boards and blogs such as yours, tactics employed by the likes of Groulx and Sear eventually catch up with them. Players talk, parents talk, scouts talk, agents talk, billets talk, coaches talk,... When Sear and Groulx bring in a player, make tons of promises, treat him like shit, renege on these promises, embarrass him in front of his teammates, and then screw him over with his education package and release, how many people learn of this treatment? The parents, the players, the advisors, the agents, the Jr coaches, more and more, know about what goes on in Gatineau as it is talked about in local arenas, especially in the Ottawa area. When is the last time that they were able to lure a very good Ottawa area player? The Jr A league in Ottawa is very strong yet they invited Alexander Sifton to training camp... a terrible player. They only signed Johnson on lies and false promises. Other than that, they were able to recruit a few from Southern Ontario and the Smith kid from the States (what a terrible signing in my opinion). The top Jr A players from here don't want to have nothing to do with Groulx and Sear. It's well known. What do you think the Johnson kid (who is now with a good Pembroke team) has to say to his teammates about his experience in Gatineau?
Groulx is the GM. He has the final word. But, from my experience with the team, he doesn't do much. He's never to be seen in any arena (unless his son is playing). He's not the one who speaks to players or parents or agents or advisors or GMs. He's not involved in any of the recruiting process. Once the kid is in town, he sees him once or twice (on the ice illegally with the team at a practice) and then makes a decision. Promises are made (as per the Smith, Johnson, and so on signings) and a contract is quickly signed. I've seen some players not even know they had actually signed a contract - NOT the way it's done with other more "professional" organizations. Sear does the job of GM more than Groulx as far as seeing players, negociating and making promises.
Anyways, all this leaves a sour taste in the mouths of too many people and the organization looks bad. Word spreads and you get what you get now. Talk to most billet parents... you'll see what a mess that is also. Attendance is down with a very good team.... why is that?
As far as scouts, there are never any Olymiques scouts to be seen at local rinks as far as I can see. The only one that I know (I won't mention his name) is not much more competent that Alain Sear.
mj
MJ, how can this go on and on and on? Does nobody blow the whistle? Does the Q not care? Sooner or later all of this should be exposed, should it not?
RépondreSupprimerI don't know Stooy,
RépondreSupprimerAll this is of little interest to the casual (or even die hard) team fan as most are only concerned with the on ice performance of the team and know next to nothing about the behind the scenes workings of a Major Junior hockey team. The Q is all about protecting their own and Groulx is a high profile personality for them and he knows it. Players are also reluctant to push back too much because too many of them still have the "dream" and worry that Groulx makes good on his threats. On more than one occasion, a player has told me that Groulx had threaten to ruin him and make sure he never played hockey again if the kid quit the team or didn't show up to training. I've seen them refuse a release just to spite the player. I've heard of players ask for a trade and then be sat and ridiculed the rest of the year. It's their MO. Just this past training camp, a vet (who was leaving for an NHL camp) was forced to play in a preseason game by the coach (remember that bad loss on a Saturday night). That's the way they operate. I've heard of shady practices in dealing with injuries to less than star players. Why do players not blow the whistle? Intimidation. Agents and advisors? They advise their players not to play in Gatineau. That's their way of dealing with it. I know of one player who's agent went ballistic when the player practiced and signed with the team a few years back. The agent was furious with the player and the parents but the kid didn't even know what he had signed. They are supposed to have the right to get the contract looked over by a lawyer! The agent was right... the kid lasted 7 or 8 games before being cut. There are lots of juicy stories (not just in Gatineau but they're the kings of deceit) and a few are evolving right now.
mj
I should have said that the vet who was forced to play in a preseason game was nursing a nagging injury and did not want to aggravate it but Groulx huffed and puffed and wanted to force him to play.
RépondreSupprimermj
We have seen Groulx teams roll over and play dead. I mentioned on another thread that a few years ago in Drummondville in the playoffs, when Hull4life and I watched the games together, the team simply refused to play. It happened in the playoff in the spring of 2007 against Rouyn as well. A lot of kids have pride and try their best despite the coach, but some kids just give up and don't play hard. Groulx cannot bench everyone if a lot of kids do this at the same time.
RépondreSupprimerMaybe what it will take is for the entire team to agree to get bombed by about 15 goals, at home, and get booed out of the building. Sooner or later it will dawn on average fans that the players are deliberately showing up the coach.
It also takes guys like Reway, the stars, the players Groulx cannot dump, to speak up as he did.
What goes around comes around. Sooner or later all will come out in the wash.
Thanks for your comments in this forum!!
When you are in the Bob let us know. Hull4life and I are known to make scenes between periods, but with you around we will keep cool. :)
Thanks again for you're input MJ, it's always appreciated to see someone with you're background knowledge to trhow his weight around. Stooy and I, are simply fans, sometimes we have to speculate to push our point further then the front door...but we're not fools or fooled by our organization anctics!!! I've been sitting in the same seat since 1991...we're in 2014...i've seen great teams play in that building, I know when we have talent and when don't....having said this...Claude Julien use to do a lot better with average teams...then what groulx does with power-houses!!! Anyone who see's our line-up can conclude that on PAPER we have a good to great team, aside from shaddy goaltenting...so how come our numbers aren't that good!!! JFP the team reporters says that Groulx doesn't operate on a 3 year cycle anymore, apparently he's now doing a 4 year cycle!!! What the hell!?!?! Funny to me,because when we loss to StJ in the final in 2010, he said that this year he wanted to be has strong as the dogs we're in 2010...and now because he's not, he's giving himself another year to try to accomplish this goal!!! What a bouffon!!!
RépondreSupprimerWe're sinking to the bottom of the league because we're mistreating people...players, parents and everyone around our team...on top of that we're using youtube has our main scouting tool!!! This is getting to be very ridiculous in a hurry!!
Let me know next time you're in town MJ ;--)