Dixon

Imp

Active Member
Thread starter #1
Genuine question, not having a go, just interested in people’s thoughts ...

It’s clear from reading this forum that a lot of people really rate Dixon and I’m curious as to why... simply because I know a couple of people who don’t and, significantly, it is really the ONLY Devils/Hockey topic where I’m aware of a really striking difference of opinion between the ’online’ and ‘offline’ fans that I talk to.

The nature of discussion tends to be on overall team performance and someone will mention in passing that ‘Dixon always give 100%’ or that ‘Dixon was a star’ but rarely goes into detail that tells me why he, in particular, stands out to the commentor. Again, not having a dig (or looking to inflate his ego). It’s unfortunate that there is a sort of implied criticism in asking the question at all, but I can’t find words to get around that. I suppose I could just not ask, but then I don’t get the chance to understand this difference in perspective and something that I‘m obviously missing.

So, what precisely is it that you love about #11 Stephen Dixon?
 

Wannabe2

Well-Known Member
#2
Every now and then a player comes along that you think is a real Devil, it’s weird really but it happens, it’s a player that gives everything will go thru a wall for his team, a player that really catches your eye because of the way he play, Stephen Dixon is without a doubt one of those players, Justin Faryna was another one. Dixon is consistently good and is a player that fans just automatically take to heart. That doesn’t take anything away from other player, if anyone doesn’t rate Dixon, they need to check out their pulse, he is one of the players you certainly want to re-sign at the end of a season, a player like Faryna that you would love to have 6 of them in your team. Stephen Dixon epitomises everything that is good in a player, and its obvious why he has played at the standard he has, superb, superb player, a real Devil.
 

pjj365

Well-Known Member
#3
Genuine question, not having a go, just interested in people’s thoughts ...

It’s clear from reading this forum that a lot of people really rate Dixon and I’m curious as to why... simply because I know a couple of people who don’t and, significantly, it is really the ONLY Devils/Hockey topic where I’m aware of a really striking difference of opinion between the ’online’ and ‘offline’ fans that I talk to.

The nature of discussion tends to be on overall team performance and someone will mention in passing that ‘Dixon always give 100%’ or that ‘Dixon was a star’ but rarely goes into detail that tells me why he, in particular, stands out to the commentor. Again, not having a dig (or looking to inflate his ego). It’s unfortunate that there is a sort of implied criticism in asking the question at all, but I can’t find words to get around that. I suppose I could just not ask, but then I don’t get the chance to understand this difference in perspective and something that I‘m obviously missing.

So, what precisely is it that you love about #11 Stephen Dixon?
This question relevant to so many fans as they relate to specific players. I doubt you'll find a consencious anywhere
 
#4
Certain things for me...

Constant talk on this forum about physicality..but it needs to be physicality with purpose. To my mind, a large proportion of Dixon's hits lead to turnovers/puck separation - I.e. we regain control of possession.

For all people marvel at Charles Linglet's skills (and so they should) there is a 'defensive deficit'. So often last year, Dixon negated this. He gets right side of the puck and as a centre ice has excellent gap control with his defenseman on the back check.

Are scorer of 'garbage goals'. I'm not sure I can think of many Stephen Dixon goals in a Devils' shirt that would make a highlight reel. This tells me that he scores by going to the cliched 'dirty areas' and picking up secondary opportunities.

Perhaps, most importantly, respected by his peers. The winner of Players' Player of the Year last Year. Joey Martin is a Devils icon and a true leader by example - but thankfully I'm not a betting man as my money was firmly on Dixon taking the C this year.

I'm a huge Stephen Dixon fan. When everyone is fit, I'm really intrigued to see where he plays. If it's top 6 - no complaints from me. If it's as the 3rd Centre leading an energy line (which is still pretty skilled) then our depth chart is looking pretty good.

Cheers,

John
 

ASHIPP

Well-Known Member
#6
Put it one way, I am sure another iconic class act Ivan Matulik would be impressed to have been playing alongside Stephen. And for all of us who remember those days and that style of Devils' play, that would be some accolade!
 

Temme

Well-Known Member
#8
I like Dixon because he is a 'net first' kind of guy, permanently in the dirty areas.

& he is also one of the best i've seen at disrupting opponents breakouts.

I made the comparison last year but he is as good a 2 way center as we have had in a long time, plays alot like Chris Culligan but has an extra offensive impact.
 

tigertemme

Active Member
#9
Like temme said
Dixon/cully.... every team needs one. He is damm good in the faceoff circle, a few generic comments fit... 200 foot game, team player etc etc

Hes not the flashiest, the quickest, the biggest or the best. But the devils wouldnt be the team they are with out him.

Linglet can do his thing knowing dixon is ready to cover him
 

moggy#9

Well-Known Member
#10
This is an interesting one. I really rate Dixon. His awareness, hockey sense and general workmate are excellent. I know that some people won't rate a forward unless they're continually scoring highlight reel goals, but I think that says more about those individuals and their view of hockey. I've seen people on here say that they didn't rate Moria, I can only assume they never saw him in his prime. When we had ken hodge, some people didn't understand the contribution he made, when to me he was one of the classiest players we ever had.
 
#13
With all due respect to the people who don't think Dixie is that good, imo they really don't know hockey too well.

Every point has been covered in detail here by all of the replies made, so I won't elaborate too much on them, I'll just say that he works his ass off every shift of every game, hits often and makes his hits count, plays a real 200ft game, gets stuck in every area of the ice and scores the dirty goals. Good face-off man too.

To quote JD BluebirdDevil above,

"Perhaps, most importantly, respected by his peers. The winner of Players' Player of the Year last Year. Joey Martin is a Devils icon and a true leader by example - but thankfully I'm not a betting man as my money was firmly on Dixon taking the C this year."

That says enough right there, and I also had him down for the "C"

Upon signing, I asked a head coach from the DEL about him, and he said of Dixon: Great signing, you'll love him and "you'll never find a harder working guy, from the moment he starts"

Oh yeah, plus he was selected for THREE, and won TWO World Juniors U18 & U20!!

2004/5 World Junior GOLD team
Patrice Bergeron (C)

Ryan Getzlaf
Jeff Carter
Sidney Crosby
Andrew Ladd
Corey Perry
Nigel Dawes
Dion Phaneuf
Colin Fraser
Mike Richards
Clarke MacArthur
Anthony Stewart
Danny Syvret
Brent Seabrook
Braydon Coburn
Cam Barker
Shawn Belle
Stephen Dixon
Jeremy Colliton
Shea Weber

The year before had the core of the above list, plus Brent Burns and Mark Andre Fleury!

That is an absolute insane who's who of the elite NHL talent of the last 15 years

I'd sign him til he can't skate anymore, top top person too.
 

Imp

Active Member
Thread starter #15
With all due respect to the people who don't think Dixie is that good, imo they really don't know hockey too well.
Ah, you see THIS comment is a problem, because they DO know hockey. Not necessarily Devils hockey, but I'll happily stand their knowledge of the game up against anyone posting on this forum.

That's what made the question interesting to me: conflicting opinions, all clearly well informed and deserving of respect, but ... different. It was never the case that they were saying Dixon was/is 'bad', but he was noticeably a player where there was an obvious difference between their view and 'The Inferno' view.

To go back to the original source of this topic, there was a game earlier this season where Dixon, to my mind, had a complete 'mare. As far as I was concerned he got caught out of position, left for dead by opponents, sent every pass a yard short, and spilt every pass that came to him... and he ended up with two goals and Man of the Match! Understandably, I had questions after that game. You could be super-uncharitable and dismiss the MotM award as being simply for scoring two goals - in all honesty, sometimes they just need an excuse to pick 'someone' - but two goals on 'a bad day' raises it's own questions.

Having listened to everything said here, the most obvious point is that you have all clearly seen Dixon far more than they have. The idea that he's "a real Devil", by definition, carries a weight of history and expectation from a very specific viewpoint. Immediately, that's a clue as to why someone for whom the Cardiff Devils are relatively new might form a different impression.

Throughout this discussion, I've been very taken by the suggestion that Dixon scores "dirty goals", a quality, like work rate, that adds up over time and over a career, but which isn't necessarily the sort of thing that jumps out at you based on a handful of games. As a one off, a scrappy game and a dirty goal might just be a bit of luck on a bad day. A career filled with scrappy games and dirty goals is an entirely different matter!

Overall, I think work rate alone is probably enough to explain the key difference of opinion.

Beyond that, I'm having lots of fun watching Dixon at every opportunity. :)
 
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