Excerpt from the Hockey’s Future article by Jason Menard:


While D’Agostini may have played himself out of Hamilton, a pair of new arrivals are showing that they are finding life in the Steel City quite enjoyable. Max Pacioretty and Ryan White have jumped into the roster with both skates and have accounted for 18 and 15 points respectively this year.

Defensively, Yannick Weber has adjusted nicely to the professional ranks. He’s got 13 points in 26 games, while being a plus player. And that’s been well received by the Bulldogs who lost a key component of their blueline earlier this season when Pavel Valentenko returned home and signed a contract with the KHL. The contract he had already signed with Montreal has caused a bit of a problem. The Canadiens retain his rights and were very high on the promising young blueliner – but his decision to bail on the organization may have caused irreparable harm on a team that’s still stinging from watching Alexei Yemelin slip through its grasp.

Matthieu Carle has also shown continued development as a blue-line quarterback and offensively gifted defensive presence. In 19 games he’s accounted for three goals and seven assists. A minus-two rating points to his continued need to refine his game in his own end, and he’s working his way back to full speed following a concussion suffered in the pre-season.