This Week in Media Transcripts: Travis Green’s Prospect Report

Travis Green on Pedan: “He’s got a lot of skills, he’s got a lot of talent. He skated well, he shoots the puck well, he passes the puck hard, he hits, he fights. He just needs to keep getting better. He’s a young defenseman that I think, in the past, he’s skated so well and probably been able to skate his way out of trouble a lot. Now at the NHL level, for him to be effective, he’s got to learn to simplify things and make sure he makes the right play and the right pass and moves it quick and he’s not going to count on skating the puck up the ice. If his brain can catch up to where he skated and the rest of his skill level, if he can get to the NHL level, I think he’s got a chance to play.”

Travis Green on Subban: “Probably the first half of the year he was the most improved player on our team. Size is a factor for him, he knows that, we’ve talked about it. He’s going to have to perfect certain parts of his game if he wants a chance to play in the NHL. But I did like the way he progressed last year. He does a lot of things well offensively.

Travis Green on Cole Cassels: “It was a tough year for Cole, without a doubt. We had him on a plan for the first three or four months, a workout priority over playing. His games revolved around his workouts. It was a tough summer for him, he had a tough year. But throughout the process, I don’t know if I yelled at him once, where a lot of young guys you’re barking at them a lot of times. He gave us everything he had. For me, it felt like he was playing behind the eight ball a little bit and we tried to keep him afloat. It’s up to him now. He’s got a summer under his belt. The reports I’m getting back is that he’s been working exceptionally hard and making some big gains. I’m excited to see him.”

Travis Green on Gaunce: “I think it was vital for him to play the wing early in his career. He didn’t play enough, he wasn’t hard enough to play against, he didn’t finish enough hits. I don’t think anyone wants big, soft centreman. They want a guy that plays with some bite and is hard to play against. We felt that putting him on the wing was going to force him to play a certain way. I thought also his foot-speed in the middle wasn’t quick enough when he first came in the league. We go back and forth with him (playing centre or wing). He’s going to have to be that hard player to play against, can play up and down in your lineup, can play wing, can play centre. Those players are invaluable.”

Travis Green on Demko: “I haven’t put much thought into [our goaltending situation]. I know last year was easy, we had two really good goalies and I split every game. I’m anticipating it might be different this year, but you just don’t know. I’ve never seen Demko play. I know he’s a really good, young goalie, a top-end prospect that we’re excited about. I hope he can come in and play 50 games, but you don’t want to put too much on a guy and you’ve just got to wait and see. A goalie’s got to be able to bring it. I’m confident in Demko, I think the organization is. There’s no way that I’m going to sit here without seeing him play and say he’s going to play this many games. He’s definitely going to play, and hopefully he’s ready to play 50 to 60 games and challenge Bachman. In a perfect world, I’ve got two guys that push each other every night.”