ANY UPDATE?

Wait for the slump or a bout of injuries then bring in reinforcements when the team need a lift. We will inevitably go through some patchy periods so use the boost of a new player wisely. At the moment there is no reason to change anything and I feel we would be strengthening for the sake of strengthening and at the expense of Batch as a D man and Rutkis in the squad. Neither deserve that.
 

tim78

Well-Known Member
If we leave it until we see a need for it on the ice, then it may be a little too late. Getting someone gives them time to settle and adjust before this happens.

I don't see the 'it ain't broke don't fix it' as a true depiction of the squad and any player Lord brings in will need to fit the dressing room as well as the ice.

ps with the current team I see the league as a 2 horse race, but the other competitions aren't that easily won by the better teams.
 
This is a really interesting one,

Mods - can we get a split thread on this about "Height advantage in hockey?" or something??

For me, height is almost irrelevant in the modern game.
Joey Martin put up 100 points last year in a Devils shirt, he imposed himself on any game more than any other player. He's 5"10.
Tylor Michel could hit, fight, score like the best of them in his days with us, he's 5"11.
Adam Keefe was as good of an enforcer in the league as we have possibly seen in recent years, again 5"10.
That pest Darryl Lloyd who had a knack of taking even the biggest of players clean off their feet was the same. - 5"10. i've never seen a player hit as hard as Lloyd could.

I guess what you're alluding to, is that STEREOTYPICALLY, bigger guys are more imposing, because in the old game bigger guys had a duty to protect their team mates. However for me in reality i'm not sure this aspect of the game exists so much any more.

We had 21 fights last year,
the most of any guy was 6"0 Justin Faryna (5 fights)
2nd was 5"10 Bryce Reddick (4 fights)
Don't need to fight just use you physical attributes to hit hard, remove players from in front of Bownsy's net and protect team mates when required, Nottingham wore us down last week with big physical players and they will push us all the way this season with the guys they've got.
 

jimmy snels

Well-Known Member
i think as a defensive player it is advantageous to be bigger and stronger than the player you are up against in almost all situations. the top defenceman named by temme are all attacking attributed players, but look at the NHL for example and the average size and weight of defenceman vs forwards they are significantly bigger. They clearly feel it does make a difference as well
 

Gazza272

Well-Known Member
If we leave it until we see a need for it on the ice, then it may be a little too late. Getting someone gives them time to settle and adjust before this happens.

I don't see the 'it ain't broke don't fix it' as a true depiction of the squad and any player Lord brings in will need to fit the dressing room as well as the ice.

ps with the current team I see the league as a 2 horse race, but the other competitions aren't that easily won by the better teams.

I Interviewed Brian Parker on the Webcast on Sunday, and he confirmed we are actively in the Market for a player in order to give us the cover we need.
 

Temme

Well-Known Member
i think as a defensive player it is advantageous to be bigger and stronger than the player you are up against in almost all situations. the top defenceman named by temme are all attacking attributed players, but look at the NHL for example and the average size and weight of defenceman vs forwards they are significantly bigger. They clearly feel it does make a difference as well
Defensive player I agree - bigger/STRONGER is arguably better
Offensive player *This can still be a defenceman* - smaller and lighter is arguably better

For defensive stay at home D men then size is an arguable advantage, although weight/muscle is a bigger advantage than height.
For any offensive/2 way D man, weight is a marked disadvantage, as fatigue on this role is significantly higher and lugging the extra weight around wouldn't help.

Every team needs a balance of both, of course.

We have 3 big, strong, tough stay at home Defensive D men
Batch
Louis
Blood

We have 2 2way D man
Reddick
Richardson

And one pretty offensive D man
Fournier

I can't understand why people would think we are in the market for another Defensive player - we have 3 - one on each D line.

The final player is (if a D man) to replace Tom Parisi.

Parisi was a sub 6ft puck carrying, fast skating D man.

Our Powerplay lines to not involve Louis, Blood nor Batch. We are missing a D man to quarterback the PP unit - Reddick is currently doing this but at a guess he will be moved off once the new guy is here.

There is literally no way we are about to sign some 6ft 5" 230lb stay at home D man as that would not be a suitable replacement.

I've been very wrong on many occasions before though (ask my wife, she'll tell you).

/edit

interestingly,

last year in the EIHL the 4 "tallest" teams by average were also the top 4 teams in league standing.
 
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jimmy snels

Well-Known Member
height as a defenceman is hugely advantageous just from a reach perspective id suggest. look at chara and his enormous stick, people still struggle against him and he is no skater. he's just got such size and reach you cant get near the net like a smaller guy.

each to their own with this i guess. weller was 6ft 4 and bissonette well over 6ft. both could skate at the highest level. i would like a big tough D man. if he can play like that id be over the moon!
offensive wise i think we have more than enough
 

zoesdevil

Well-Known Member
height as a defenceman is hugely advantageous just from a reach perspective id suggest. look at chara and his enormous stick, people still struggle against him and he is no skater. he's just got such size and reach you cant get near the net like a smaller guy.

each to their own with this i guess. weller was 6ft 4 and bissonette well over 6ft. both could skate at the highest level. i would like a big tough D man. if he can play like that id be over the moon!
offensive wise i think we have more than enough
Agreed, look at Blood this season, the reach he has with his stick has massively helped him us this season all ready!
 
Were they that great last year? Always had doubts over Keefe as a coach. They caught us cold in the CC final last year. A one off. Other than that he has proved little in his coaching ability thus far. If it wasn’t for Sheffield and Thompson creating a huge smoke screen for him, I’m sure he would be under much bigger pressure. Decent player, tough and worked hard but he and the Belfast fans seem to dine out on that forever.
 

Temme

Well-Known Member
height as a defenceman is hugely advantageous just from a reach perspective id suggest. look at chara and his enormous stick, people still struggle against him and he is no skater. he's just got such size and reach you cant get near the net like a smaller guy.

each to their own with this i guess. weller was 6ft 4 and bissonette well over 6ft. both could skate at the highest level. i would like a big tough D man. if he can play like that id be over the moon!
offensive wise i think we have more than enough
You know me James, i'd love us to sign a massive guy as much as the next person, but can't see it!

It would be interesting to see how the lines would fit together, as Hotham - Richie and Batch - Richie are 2 very very different looking partnerships so i guess the club could go either way with the guy they select, if indeed they do select one.
 
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