Devils Player Back Is.....

[Cookies_naughtyboy]

Max Birbraer

http://www.cardiffdevils.com/newsheadline.aspx?cpid=761


Not Returning, Mark Smith, Scott Romfo and Mike Hartwick

 

[Rempel16]

Can't say i'm best pleased with this signing.

Max was so lethargic throughout so many games last season and i'm not sure we can win a trophy having to carry such an enigma.

On his day, as the article says, Max is 'unplayable'. Unfortunately, his day is usually 1 in every 2 games.

Add to this the article saying Smithy won't be back and it's a slight worry. We saw Max in a season without Smithy on a line with Deschatelets and Silverthorn and to be honest he wasn't the same player

A little less excited now.

In other news, good luck to Hartwick, Romfo and Smith!

 

[Scott]

Hrmmm...

Will need 2 linemates who can bring the best out of him. I'm glad this is G's job and not mine, because as the poster above said, he looks kinda lost without Smithy.

Good luck to Romfo, Smith & Hartwick!

 

[Gazza272]

he looks kinda lost without Smithy.
!

Disagree there, i thought Max had his best spell when he was put on a line wiht Finnerty and Michel, that line Ripped Belfast apart in the challenge cup final semi first leg and with the work rate of Michel and Finnerty it made Max work harder which i think is what he needs.


Quite frankly Max needs to put more good performances in than he did last season, when he plays well we seemed to because he possesses such clear quality as a hockey player.

Big pressure on Maxi this season as if we are to be consistent as a team we need max to be consistent as a player. he obviously cares for this club or else he wouldnt have signed up this early, now is the time to show.


One thing i would say though, is that with him being our top points scorer last season, did other players underachieve more than he did?

 

[wildthing74]

I'm amazed people are not happy with Max re-signing.I take the point about Smith being a playmaker that feeds Max and the concern he needs a top centre to feed off but this guy was our top point scorer.
There would not be many teams fans unhappy with getting their top point guy back the following year and I'm sure Max is hungry to have a better year again.
Welcome back Maxi.

 

[Rempel16]

he looks kinda lost without Smithy.
!

Disagree there, i thought Max had his best spell when he was put on a line wiht Finnerty and Michel, that line Ripped Belfast apart in the challenge cup final semi first leg and with the work rate of Michel and Finnerty it made Max work harder which i think is what he needs.


Quite frankly Max needs to put more good performances in than he did last season, when he plays well we seemed to because he possesses such clear quality as a hockey player.

Big pressure on Maxi this season as if we are to be consistent as a team we need max to be consistent as a player. he obviously cares for this club or else he wouldnt have signed up this early, now is the time to show.


One thing i would say though, is that with him being our top points scorer last season, did other players underachieve more than he did?

That line that ripped Belfast apart is evidence of his inconsistency. That line looked devastating at times but it didn't last. Max on a line with Smith ripped teams apart at times too. Max was a better player next to Smith and the fact that they ended the season back on the same line is testimony to that i feel.
For what it's worth, despite being completely different moulds of players (and for that Max, Finnerty and Michel can't really compare to each other) I often felt that Max looked the weak link on that line.

Does it show that he cares enough for the club? Or are we the most accessible option to his new home? Only time will tell.

I don't think a comparison with the rest of our team is the answer, Max was sign to be one of the league's premium players (as with Smith). So compare him to the rest of the league's premium players and his points production has been distinctly average. I was expecting approx. 80 points out of him this year. He came nowhere near that.

Our 2nd and 3rd line players have stats comparable to those of other teams secondary scoring and for me they have made up for the shortfall that Max and Smith (injury, so let him off) failed to produce.

It's a little crazy for me to treat the re-signing of our top scorer with a bit of contempt, I can appreciate that, but there were similiar discussions around the Prpich signing last year too.

 

[Soundwave1]

Just a couple of points;

I don't think Max being the top points scorer for the Devils means much. Relative to other teams points scorers it was a poor return.

However, he is an inspiraional player when on form and perhaps with the right signings G feels he can accomodate that type of player.

Assuming his return will be similar next year, ideally Max will need to be our third top ponts scorer and second top goals scorer if we are to push on from next year.

IMO we need a genuine sniper who'll we can be confident will get us 40 goals next season.

G has said he's in talks with a proven scorer so lets see.

On a positive, no mention of Jarvis, Miller, or Michel leaving so they are presumably still a possibility.

 

[James]

On a positive, no mention of Jarvis, Miller, or Michel leaving so they are presumably still a possibility.

The interview with G on wales online implies Jarvis won't be back, unless he can't get at place in Europe.

It is also unlikely Wes Jarvis will be back but Adams said: “I have left the door ajar for Wes if he wants to play for Cardiff again.

 

[ASHIPP]

I have got my coat ready and I'm waiting for the rotten eggs to be thrown in my direction.

I had the champers ready, waiting for the announcement of another gritty, multi-faceted player who was responsible for raising the Devils' quality of play last year - really hoping it was going to be Killer, Tylor or Wes.

I am disappointed. Max is undoubtedly a great goal scorer, and often scores when something is really needed - but IMHO did not perform anywhere near his potential mentally or physically last year. For someone who could possibly so prolific, I often felt he wasn't in some of the matches and I got the feeling he relied too much upon his comfort zone of Smithy to perform. Other prolific goal scorers like Kalmikov, Fulghum, Chambers, Shields proved last year that they could perform irrespective of who they were partnered with.
I always felt in his second year with the Devils last time, he, like Prpch was a player who mentally turned up when he felt like it.
It will be interesting to see if he can bring his A game to every match next season because Smithy won't be there.

 

[Finny]

It's a little crazy for me to treat the re-signing of our top scorer with a bit of contempt, I can appreciate that, but there were similiar discussions around the Prpich signing last year too.

I was just thinking the same myself!

I remember being delighted when Max re-signed last summer and couldn't understand why people's views on him were mixed. After last season though, I can understand why.

On his day he can be the best player in the league and pretty much unplayable. Unfortunately those days aren't every week - but then if they were he'd be in the NHL.

He and Smithy didn't destroy the league like we hoped we did, but I think Mark Smith should shoulder most of the blame for that by not being fit at the start of the season. I'm a big fan of Mark Smith but I was very disappointed he wasn't ready for the start of the season.

I also felt at times that Max was being restricted by people feeling he had to be played alongside Smith to get the best out of each other. But as someone has already said, one of his best spells was alongside Finnerty. I also noticed at times that line was far too attack orientated and forgot to defend, for every goal they scored they were usually the line that then got scored on straight away. Perhaps with Finnerty or a similar player alongside Max he will be able to focus on attack whilst the centre plays a bit more defensive.

If we want to win the league we are going to need players of Birbraer's quality. At the end of last season he was in top form and at times in the final seemed to be carrying our team on his own like Szwez was for Belfast.

Would I have been happy to see him sign for one of our opponents?
Definately not.

Which I think is a sign of our good a re-signing he is. He was our top scorer last season and yet a lot of us feel he still wasn't playing to his full potential all season. In which case it 's G's responsibility to give him the linemates and force that full potential out of him.

If he does, we will have a scarily good player on our team.

 

[James]

For someone who plays defense for his national team, I'm always surprised by Maxis lack of effort in that direction. Yes, he has drifted in and out of games his last 2 seasons with us, but as others have said, G needs to find Max a linemate who will force him to maintain his game as Smith did in his first year with us. Last year we hoped that would happen again but it was not meant to be. I'm sure G is aware of this and working towards this goal.

 

[devilsice]

I think the most interesting line is: "....I think I had a good year but with a stronger team, better attitude towards team goals and hard work we can erase those nasty losses..."

Hmmm, is this an insight into our locker room last term?

Personally I agree with most on here. This guy can grab a game by the horns and shake it about. Lets hope G can find a line mate that will see this happen as it did a few years ago.

There is also a line about Voth on the Walesonline story. I just feel the we and UK hockey has seen the last of him!

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/sports...rbraer-agrees-new-devils-deal-91466-26227746/

 

[Soundwave1]

While I agree we need to find a suitable line mate for Max to bring the best out of him (as with any player); in the end, shouldn't we be placing the responsibility to perform to his best ability on Birbraer himself rather than his line-mates?

 

[Koop11]

I must admit I have mixed feeling regarding this signing. Define hot and cold. This is how I would sum up Max. In spells he can be the best player in the league. There are unfortunately times where I feel he looks like he cannot be bothered. I don’t believe that is his attitude but it is the impression I get when I’ve seen in him some games, especially away from home. Maybe it’s a fitness thing.

Like in the 2006/2007, I feel last season much of the hard work was created by Smithy and Max was there to pick up the points. In 2007/2008 I felt Max wasn’t the same player without Smithy who is a workaholic. My worry is that with the news Smithy will not be returning next year Max may struggle.

Having said that, Max hit over 70 points this year which I believe is his highest for the club (perhaps Finny can confirm/correct). He has scored some huge goals in some very big games. I guess he’s a bit like Sly who played for us in 2007/2008. Some people didn’t feel he offered much but in reality he hit over 80 points in a team dogged by injury and was missed when he was gone.

I certainly welcome Max back to the club. With as little more consistency and dare I say fitness I think he will have the impact we know he can. I do feel his performance will be determined by who we will sign to play on his line.

With regards to Smithy, Romfo and Hartwick, I think Smithy will be a huge loss. A slow start to the season because of his ropey knee but was by far the best player in the team in the 2nd half of the season. That said, I would imagine he will demand a huge wage. Everyone is replaceable. Romfo I felt was solid and certainly had a great playoff. He will also be replaceable. I have to say how surprised I was to see the amount of people suggesting Hartwick should go (on another thread). For me Hartwick is by far our most reliable defence man and on the short hand is the most affective player out there. I think this will be the biggest loss of the three and I wish him and the other lads all the best.

 

[HC42]

Really pleased to have Max back, I just hope we create a first line around him and our top priority for this year is a sniper who can be a leader on the top line and keep Max focused as Smith did the first time round, sadly Smith was struggling though last year and the lines never really worked out as well as would have been hoped.

 

[DevilDom]

I think the most interesting line is: "....I think I had a good year but with a stronger team, better attitude towards team goals and hard work we can erase those nasty losses..."

Hmmm, is this an insight into our locker room last term?

Personally I agree with most on here. This guy can grab a game by the horns and shake it about. Lets hope G can find a line mate that will see this happen as it did a few years ago.

There is also a line about Voth on the Walesonline story. I just feel the we and UK hockey has seen the last of him!

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/sports...rbraer-agrees-new-devils-deal-91466-26227746/

Interesting atricle. A little off subject, however I was surpirsed the wage cap was mentioned - i thought this had been scrapped?

 

[Gazza272]

I think the most interesting line is: "....I think I had a good year but with a stronger team, better attitude towards team goals and hard work we can erase those nasty losses..."

Hmmm, is this an insight into our locker room last term?

Personally I agree with most on here. This guy can grab a game by the horns and shake it about. Lets hope G can find a line mate that will see this happen as it did a few years ago.

There is also a line about Voth on the Walesonline story. I just feel the we and UK hockey has seen the last of him!

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/sports...rbraer-agrees-new-devils-deal-91466-26227746/

Interesting atricle. A little off subject, however I was surpirsed the wage cap was mentioned - i thought this had been scrapped?

It has but the league has a wage suggestion i believe, that teams are encouraged to stay in and around to remain competitive. I believe this is what the article is referring to.

 

[ASHIPP]

With regards to Smithy, Romfo and Hartwick, I think Smithy will be a huge loss. A slow start to the season because of his ropey knee but was by far the best player in the team in the 2nd half of the season. That said, I would imagine he will demand a huge wage. Everyone is replaceable. Romfo I felt was solid and certainly had a great playoff. He will also be replaceable. I have to say how surprised I was to see the amount of people suggesting Hartwick should go (on another thread). For me Hartwick is by far our most reliable defence man and on the short hand is the most affective player out there. I think this will be the biggest loss of the three and I wish him and the other lads all the best.

Sentiments of many of us here. Good luck to the guys leaving and many thanks for all the experience and effort. Think it was inevitable they would be amongst the leavers.

 

[Rempel16]

I have to say how surprised I was to see the amount of people suggesting Hartwick should go (on another thread). For me Hartwick is by far our most reliable defence man and on the short hand is the most affective player out there. I think this will be the biggest loss of the three and I wish him and the other lads all the best.

I agree with this. Hartwick has been massive for us on D this year.

His game went off the boil a bit over the last month of the season, but i wonder whether his mind has wandered a little bit towards life after hockey and let this affect his game.

 

[nmase20]

Like most i have mixed feelings about this one and he wasn't exactly top of my list to resign, however, i think people are forgetting that he wasn't the only player to under perform. We didn't lose all of those away games because of maxi, maybe with a new team with a better attitude we will see the best of him. I'm not too concerned that he won't be playing with smithy, that partnership didn't provide what it did the first time round and i'm sure smithy isn't the only player in the world max can play well with.
G has got to find a good sniper that maxi can play with and hopefully things will work out, however, i think by december maybe before, if we are still seeing the inconsistency from max we saw this season, then G will have to let him go if we want to fight for honours.