I thought Girardi might have got a chance for a shutdown role but he hasn't been very good under AV he was a beast under Tortorella, though with other guys having such good years even if Girardi was playing well he may not of made the cut anyways

Never understood where all the Marc staal hype came from, is he really that good?
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^Solid at best. Definitely not in the upper echelon of defencemen in the league IMO.

2009-2010
82GP 8G 19A 27PTS +11

2010-2011
77GP 7G 22A 29PTS +8

Than the injuries started piling up

2011-2012 Concussion from Eric Staal
46GP 2G 3A 5PTS -7

2012-2013 Puck to the eye, before that he looked pretty good
21GP 2G 9A 11PTS +4

2013-2014 Hasn't played well now has a concussion
30GP 2G 1A 3PTS -7

Not outstanding and not Olympic numbers but if he could of played those 2 seasons without injuries and developed more I think he would be pretty good he isn't bad by any means but not the same as the 2009-2011 Marc Staal

Again, solid player, but not upper tier. Here's a local comparable Dan Hamhuis.

2009-10
78GP 5G 19A 24PTS +4

2010-11
64GP 6G 17A 23PTS +29

2011-12
82GP 4G 33A 37PTS +29


Very similar numbers. And only the most delusional of fans (I admittedly drank the kool-aid at the beginning of the year, but got off that bandwagon after a few games) think Hammer has a fighting chance at an Olympic spot. His only saving grace is that he's left handed, and for some crazy reason Team Canada has a glut of elite RH defencemen.

Edit: I wonder if it eats bother Eric up inside knowing he assisted in his brother's NHL career tanking.

Marc Staal has a lot of hockey left in him and the eye injury had a more significant impact than the concussion.

I wasn't implying the Staal was upper tier or olympic caliber but that he could have been if injuries didn't slow him down and kept getting better, lots of better players available

I hope so and also hope that NYR can keep him hes a UFA soon but it would also be cool to see all the Staals play together. It's kind of concerning that he got another concussion, apparently this one isn't as bad though

Hammer definitely had a shot at Team Canada, I still think he does for the reasons you just stated, I always felt that IF Canada were to pick a shutdown type LD it would come down to Hammer-Vlasic-Staal and I'd say atm Hammer is ahead of Staal who I think is essentially out of the race but behind Vlasic with a month to go.

Looks like I misinterpreted your post. My bad. That said, his numbers don't seem to project to an Olympic roster player, even if we just look at his stats pre-injury and extrapolated them, taking into account moderate improvement each year.


Being a defenceman doesn't help someone with what appears to be a blossoming concussion history. As a forward it's easier to recover since you can choose to hit as well as pick your spots to avoid getting hit. For Marc I wonder if there'll be an innate fear of getting forechecked due to his injury history. We all know that once you get one concussion, the subsequent ones are easier to get. I don't doubt there's a lot of hockey left in him given his age, but I suspect with one or two more he might choose quality of life over a long NHL career.


Watching him this season it almost looks like the idea of making a stacked Team Canada has caused more brain farts than in all of his previous Canuck years combined. He had a shot at the beginning of the year, but I think it has evaporated. And if TC brass were to choose a LD in a shutdown role, I wouldn't be surprised if JBo was added given his excellent partnership with a pretty-much-elite Pietrangelo.

^good point
easily forgot that Pietrangelo and JBo are on the same team, neverless d partners
chemistry would play a big role

As for being a defensemen being more susceptible to concussions than a forward is false logic. Everyone is nearly at the same risk, even goalies (who usually have their heads level lower than all than one other person on the ice. At the mercy of oncoming skaters)

As a forward it's easier to choose not to engage someone. You just skate away from a hit you were planning to make. You can also float around the middle of the ice to consciously avoid impacts. Pick a Russian player not named Ovie or Malkin and you'll see this often. I'm not saying that it'll be good for the career or that impacts will never happen, but IMO it's easier for a forward to hide from hits than it is for defencemen. The latter have to constantly pick pucks off the wall and are at the mercy of players coming full speed at them.

players regardless of position can choose whether or not to engage someone. and you make the statement of skating away as if they only time forwards are in danger is when they are the aggressor. false, they can be for open season on hitting too


you mention D men digging out pucks and at the mercy of opoosing players. yes valid, but lets not neglect the forwards:
get hit carrying the puck across blue line
get hit accepting a pass in the neutral zone (mitchell on toews)
d men lining you up as you try to exit d zone (ala brian campbell on umberger)

im sure if there are stats on the ratio of forward/d that sustain dangerous hits the the head, it would be pretty close

But but...

Hamhuis has international experience with Team Canada

Annnnd experience playing with Shea Weber in his Nashville days.

That's gotta count for something right? :okay:

I didn't discount the fact that your scenerios happen, or that forwards can't get hurt by being the hittee. Getting hit trying to cross the blue line can be avoided by dumping the puck in. The Toews example? It's not too often you see a defenceman send in a forward with a suicide pass, but yes you're right it happens.

All I said is that it's easier for a forward to avoid collisions. You don't see too many open-ice hits because it's harder to connect with someone in open ice. With rule 48, you're only allowed to come at them head-on, removing 2 directions of potential hitting lanes (ala Lindros, Booth, Savard, et al.). There are more methods of bailing in open ice. That's why you tend to see more kneeing/tripping calls on missed hits in open ice. Your examples outline that, when a hit does connect, it's of the spectacular variety which is more likely to lead to an injury.

When you're on the wall, there's less area to move into and away from the hitter. Defencemen spend more time on the walls in general than forwards. This is why I said it's harder for them to avoid contact either by choice or with someone targetting them. They don't call board play "battles" for nothing.

Lastly, like you mention, without stats, it's hard to quantify our observations. So I'll gladly agree to disagree. :)


That's what I was reaching for prior to watching him play this season. It's too bad because if he played like the Hamhuis we all know and love, he had more than a good shot to make the team. There aren't too many guys who can skate as well as him in that "alternates" list for d-men.

interdasting. boho on dat 1.56 PPG status

http://i42.tinypic.com/16a8cc1.jpg

:megusta:

Born Apr 5 1995

I'm not 30 yet, but man do I feel old.

http://static3.wikia.nocookie.net/__...ster_Roshi.jpg

feeling old too when looking at draft years etc

PK Subban should be on that team.

And Rick Nash is not only overrated but coming off a serious injury. I don't think he's Team Canada ready by February.

Re: Rick Nash.

In league play he has few flashes of brilliance. He's just another big body with above-average hands and can skate.

HOWEVER

For some reason, when the man puts on the maple leaf, he plays like a man possessed. If you rewatch the 2010 Olympics (which I can't wait to do), you could argue that he, along with Toews, were consistently Canada's top forwards.


So while I agree that he isn't having the best year, by virtue of his past Canada performances and the fact that he's not brain-dead, he's on the team in February.

Ovi with the huge goal in the last minute of the third.

4 goals on the night and is even :lawl:

Ok that was pretty good, well done Calgary. :thumbsup:

EDIT: Found a video

Someone I follow RT'd this apparently they actually ran out of glass...

Imagine being front row right there and your view gets blocked.......

you could probably just move a seat over though considering nobody even goes to watch the Panthers :badpokerface:

http://wpmedia.blogs.theprovince.com...pg?w=400&h=299

How do you think MG1 feels? :pokerface: