tsn ont fasit un aticle sur streit
Streit fights for roster spot on Habs
Mark Streit
Canadian Press
9/24/2005 2:38:14 PM
MONTREAL (CP) - Mark Streit was a big man in Swiss hockey but the veteran defenceman left that behind to pursue his dream of playing in the National Hockey League.
While he was one of the top players in Switzerland with Zurich and was captain of the national team, Streit is in a battle with prospects Ron Hainsey and Andre Benoit for the seventh defenceman´s job with the Montreal Canadiens.
If he doesn´t win that fight, he could find himself toiling in the American Hockey League with the Hamilton Bulldogs, but the 27-year-old said he´s ready for the challenge.
´´I got the opportunity to play in the NHL - in Montreal, such a great team - so it would be stupid not to take the opportunity,´´ Streit said Saturday prior to a pre-season game against Toronto.
´´The only thing I was concerned about was the two-way deal, but as a rookie, it was the only possibility to come over.
´´But I like it here so far. I like the city, the team and the hockey. For me, it was a great decision.´´
A two-way contract means the Canadiens can send him to Hamilton, but the Habs like him and appear ready to be patient.
Montreal drafted Streit in the ninth round (262nd overall) in 2004 and when the lockout ended, convinced him to take a second shot at making it to the NHL.
In 1999-2000, he played for three teams in three leagues - the Utah Grizzlies of the defunct IHL, the Springfield Falcons of the AHL and the Tallahassee Tigers of the ECHL, but he returned to Switzerland the following season.
Now, he has to adjust to the smaller rink and quicker, more physical play in the NHL.
So far in camp, he has shown himself to be a good skater and passer, but has work to do on his defensive zone play.
´´I knew it would be a big challenge and a big adjustment for me,´´ he said. ´´I think I improved a bit every day.
´´I have to get used to the different style of hockey and the smaller rink, but I´m pretty positive about how it´s worked out. I know I´m pretty far from my best game, but I work every day on my game and I feel better every day on the ice. I think it´s going to come.´´
Coach Claude Julien agrees.
´´He´s very smart with the puck and he has an excellent shot,´´ said Julien. ´´I think he´s feeling more at ease as the camp goes on.
´´He was a star for his country at the world championships and we feel he´ll get better from week to week.´´
Streit helped Switzerland reach the quarter-finals at the men´s world hockey championship in Austria in May. The Swiss lost 2-1 to Sweden in that quarter-final.
The five-foot-11 198-pound defenceman, who was voted top defenceman in the Swiss league five times, will play again for the Switzerland at the 2006 Winter Olympics in February.
More and more it appears that Switzerland is replacing Germany as the world´s top team outside the Big Seven of Canada, the United States, Russia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Finland and Sweden.
´´We´ve improved as a team,´´ Streit said. ´´For such a small country as Switzerland, we had great success since we´ve been in the A group. We´ve played eight times in a row in the A group.
´´To make the top seven or eight is always a battle for us, but the last two years we made the quarter-finals. I think that´s a good result and you never know, some time in the future we might get lucky and go even further. That would be great for us, But for us now, it´s just important to be in the A group.´´
a moins que se sois une 12, 15, 19, 22, 25, 27, 32, 45, 52, 63 ou une 72... 
lol
merci