Sébastien Piché

[NGKEIB 32]

I don't know anything about this kid, except that he just got eliminated from the playoffs, and had a fight with some guy that you can see on youtube. Anyone know anything more?

Edit: Apparently he's a Wings prospect.

Edited May 22, 2009 by NGKEIB

[NGKEIB 32]

http://www.redwingscentral.com/prospects/piche.php

Looks like he had a great season, and might be in GR next year.

Good stuff.

[titanium2 867]

[skacore 2]

I watched all of the Memorial Cup and Piche is on Rimouski so I got to see him play 4 times. He was a point per game D man in the Q this year and that alone is impressive. He isn't very big and doubt he'll get much bigger but he seems pretty strong along the boards and is willing to take a hit or throw a hit but nothing devastating. I thought he was a little weak in front of his own net but I'm sure he can learn from guys like Lidstrom and Rafalski how to tie guy's sticks up. The fight above was from his first game against Windsor and as you can see he did alright for himself. He also took Henrique, one of the tournament's leading scorers, who already had 2 goals (I think...) off for 5 minutes in the 3rd. His only offense came in the 4th game against Windsor (lost 6-4) but he showed up when it mattered most. He ended up being even +/- which isn't bad considering Rimouski was a tournament underdog and officially were the first team eliminated. Like most young D men he has a long way to go but I like that we signed this guy, he's like a free draft pick and probably already on par with a couple of our other D prospects. A couple years in the AHL is definitely required and we'll see where he goes from there.

Tournament stats:

4 GP - 1 G - 2 A - 3 P - even +/- 5 PIM (fight)

[skacore 2]

by the way he is not 6'0 200... probably more like 5'10 180 if I had to guess.. but he's got a nice shot and one-timer for a smaller guy

[titanium2 867]

2010 Prospect Camp Review

http://blog.mlive.com/snapshots/2010/07/red_wings_prospect_camp_assess.html

39 Sebastien Piche

Pluses: Ah, cockiness in all its glory, a bluffing defenseman who knows how to use his flair for the dramatic to bluff his way into and out of trouble with equal aplomb. Piche’s relatively small but does everything pretty well—he’s a strong, speedy skater, he’s got a shot which matches its high, hard wind-up, he’s a solid passer and his lateral mobility is superb—who possesses a sneakily physical game and is able to turn and twist his body while battling an opponent to gain the positional and physical upper hand. He’s not particularly big (5’10,” maybe 185 lbs.), nor is he the fastest, strongest, or most subtly skilled hockey player out there, but he works very hard and is an absolutely fantastic communicator, letting his teammates know where they need to be and probably getting under his opponents’ skin with equal aplomb.

Minuses: His lack of size and “pretty good” skill set hold him back, as does the fact that being the consummate bluffer sometimes blows up in your face. Piche still plays a the high-risk, high-reward, high-octane game that he did in the QMJHL with the Rimouski Oceanic, and his lengthy stint in the ECHL during his first pro season indicates that he tried to get away with a game that leads to mistakes, missteps, and goals against at the pro level. He’s got to focus on becoming much better defensively, more efficient in terms of skating, and a bit stronger if he is to keep up with the push and shove of pro hockey. He can’t let that on-ice arrogance translate to his self-opinion as much as it does at present (though he’s made huge strides in that regard).

Potential “upside”: I have a hard time pegging down where Piche will be in two or three years. He could become a top-four defenseman at the AHL level who’s looking to break into the Wings’ roster as an undersized #5/6 guy with bite—think Derek Meech as the Red Wings envisioned him a few seasons ago, with some snarl to boot—or if he doesn’t absolutely and positively ensure that he maximizes his skills and conditioning, he could find himself plying his trade at the minor league level for the next decade or more, either in North America or Europe, a la a former Wings prospect, Danny Groulx.

[titanium2 867]

From their first prospects tournament game 9/11 in which the Wings won 6 to 1.

The diminutive Piche’s zero points and +3 belie the fact that he was the best defenseman on the ice not named Brian Lashoff, firing laser-sighted passes, hard shots with that classic Al MacInnis wind-up, twisting and turning and grinding out the puck along the boards and masking opponents like a lite version of Niklas Kronwall.

[titanium2 867]

54 Sebastien Piche: Piche’s a fantastic skater, a superb hitter and has a powerful shot with an Al MacInnis-high wind-up that powers the puck toward the net, and he’s enthusiastic, very vocal and hard-working to the point that he’ll often talk to his teammates and coaches about drills or plays to make sure he’s in exactly the right spot, he’s got that vicious Brad Stuart-style tendency to twist his hips when he hits opponents to smear them to the boards, he’s got a nice outlet pass...and he’s still rough around the edges despite having played half a season in the AHL. When Piche’s on, he makes you think of Brett Lebda with a nastier edge, and when he’s off, he makes you think of Brett Lebda when he was off. The fact of the matter is that while Piche is in tremendous shape, he’s 5’10” and maybe 175 lbs and he has to get, if not stronger, smarter and less mistake-prone.

http://www.kuklaskorner.com/index.php/a2y/comments/red_wings_prospects_conclude_tournament_with_a_loss_prepare_for_main_camp/