Joël Bouchard of l'Armada in the LHJMQ, and who is involved as a GM of the World Junior Canadian team, shares his thoughts on Victor Mete.
He says he's liked him for a long time, isn't surprised by his early success at Canadiens camp, since his playing style meshes well with the current type of game in vogue in the NHL. He says he plays a clean game, is a good defence partner, has good feet, good hands and is 'well-positioned'. He keeps things simple with the puck, doesn't overhandle it, keeps his head up. Nothing is complicated, unpredictable, or erratic with him, "what you see is what you get". He had a good summer camp in Plymouth with Team Canada. He'll potentially be a part of a strong defence squad for Team Canada this year. He's a good person, not "complicated guy", he's fun.
Asked by Dave Morrissette if he'd be surprised if he stuck with the Canadiens, Mr. Bouchard says that nothing surprises him anymore, surprises always happen, and he brings up Jacob Chychrun and Travis Konecny as examples. It's not necessarily the most obvious candidates (I think he meant the high draft picks), it depends also on the situation (I think he meant the penurious Phoenix owners were desperate to keep Jacob Chychrun on his Entry Level deal, instead of sending him back down if money wasn't so tight). He also mentions Samuel Girard's early success in Nashville. He says Victor Mete is just doing his thing, leaving his calling card, and the Canadiens are in a 'win-now' mode, so it will depend how things go.
Asked how he lasted until the fourth round, Mr. Bouchard immediately brings up his small stature. Still, he's a gamer who shows up for big games, he shows leadership. Generally, he says teams tend to overlook "good players", and will draft for "big potential", big players with high upside. It makes sense, even though it's not necessarily his approach, to draft big players, to take 'homerun swings'. He brings up Mike McCarron as an example, says the pick made sense, there are no other players drafted right after him who the Canadiens missed out on. He calls Mike "a nice gamble", you can't find guys like that, they have their place in a draft. But there's also room for good players, and Victor isn't big, isn't a sexy prospect, but he's a good player. Those kind of players will tend to slide, every draft he sees a few players at the draft who he's shocked are still available by a certain point. Sometimes the player who can't skate like the wind or who's not 6'4" will slide. When the Canadiens drafted Victor Mete, he believes they knew what they were getting, a good player, a good kid, a guy who knows how to win and who won in London, but you weren't getting the 'wow factor'.
He also has high praise for Thomas Chabot, says he had him on Team Canada, but also faced him often in the LHJMQ and especially in the playoffs. He says it's a little different in that he's got enough seniority that he can go to the AHL, whereas Victor is stuck going back to the OHL if he doesn't make the Canadiens. The potential of Thomas Chabot is extraordinary on the long term.
I'll again whine that the Canadiens haven't already signed Joël Bouchard to work in the organization. This summer, Sylvain Lefebvre's contract expired, it would have been a perfect time for Mr. Bouchard to come in and take the next step, coach the Rocket, bring a bit of excitement to the team, and prepare the succession for Claude Julien. Same as the missed opportunity in 2016 when, after a season when the team demonstrably, shamefully quit on Michel Therrien, Guy Boucher was available to hire, was looking for an NHL coaching job.
I understand Marc Bergevin's desire for stability, for continuity, to stop the revolving door and the media madness in Montréal, but there should also be room in there for the maxim that 'you're always looking to improve the team'. We'd have a stronger organization now with Guy Boucher and Joël Bouchard working for us.
