Interesting EIHL article O'connor and Myers

Hockeymad

Well-Known Member
#3
If us fans are going to moan about o Connor signing then it's very harsh. Quality skater good scorer on the pp and he's british.

Your all happy to see duggan waller etc but not o connor?

Well I hope we do sign him
 

moggy#9

Well-Known Member
#4
If us fans are going to moan about o Connor signing then it's very harsh. Quality skater good scorer on the pp and he's british.

Your all happy to see duggan waller etc but not o connor?

Well I hope we do sign him
For me the issue with him is in the context of our overall defence. He would imo be a downgrade from the import defensemen we had last season. If we'd lost Richardson to another team or retirement, then yes, I could see it - but not to replace an import. It would be like when we replaced Stephen cooper with Derek king. A capable player, but not the same level.
 
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Ejercito Rojas

Well-Known Member
#6
If us fans are going to moan about o Connor signing then it's very harsh. Quality skater good scorer on the pp and he's british.

Your all happy to see duggan waller etc but not o connor?

Well I hope we do sign him
I think the issue with some may be the 'value for money' aspect attached to O’Connor!
 

Wannabe2

Well-Known Member
#7
If Ben signs for us I will certainly welcome him, his last 2 seasons as a D Man reads 40 pts from 46 games, and 32 pts from 44 games and thats from a DMan. What’s not to like.
 

Ejercito Rojas

Well-Known Member
#8
I agree with you regarding his points output in his last 2 full seasons but his plus/minus is not that impressive leading to the perception that his defensive game suffers because of his offensive upside Where he tends to get caught up ice on breakaways!
However, where he does come off as distinctly second best to Fournier is in the goals column.
For me, O’Connor is more of a set up man on the pp and a d man with a good outlet pass, in other words, exactly the role we’ve brought Matt Register here to perform!

If we’re looking for a replacement for Fournier’s goals, (and I’m not sure we are), in Fournier’s last 2 seasons with Devils he scored 37 goals in 106 games.
O’Connor, in his last 2 seasons for Sheffield scored 10 goals in 90 games!
 
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Mooney#16

Well-Known Member
#9
Defence is all about the pairings. For the life of me I could never work out Sheffield’s obsession with keeping O’Connor paired with Phillips. Always felt that was a shocking pairing. Put O’Connor with Ritchie and we all know what happens to his partners. Career year central. O’Connor has all the fundamentals to have an impact in the EIHL. My question mark is has he been coached poorly the last few seasons or is he un coachable.
 

The_Puck

Active Member
#10
One thought maybe is that Richie only has 1 more year left in him so we may have brought O Connor in now when he’s not got a team to replace him next year. Whereas we’d be searching to find a really good brit to replace Richie when he retires and there might not be many options out there
 
#11
Defence is all about the pairings. For the life of me I could never work out Sheffield’s obsession with keeping O’Connor paired with Phillips. Always felt that was a shocking pairing. Put O’Connor with Ritchie and we all know what happens to his partners. Career year central. O’Connor has all the fundamentals to have an impact in the EIHL. My question mark is has he been coached poorly the last few seasons or is he un coachable.
Absolutely agree about him being paired with Davey Philips. You got one d man who loves to get forward at every opportunity paired with a slow d man who rarely ventures over the blue line and as a consequence they are invariably too far apart and easy for the attacking team to split the d!
 
#12
One thought maybe is that Richie only has 1 more year left in him so we may have brought O Connor in now when he’s not got a team to replace him next year. Whereas we’d be searching to find a really good brit to replace Richie when he retires and there might not be many options out there
I believe O’Connor is 33 this year!
 

moggy#9

Well-Known Member
#14
One thought maybe is that Richie only has 1 more year left in him so we may have brought O Connor in now when he’s not got a team to replace him next year. Whereas we’d be searching to find a really good brit to replace Richie when he retires and there might not be many options out there
I've always said that succession planning is essential. To be honest though I'd see Jones or tetlow as more of a long term replacement for Richie.
 

RedDevil17

Well-Known Member
#15
For me the issue with him is in the context of our overall defence. He would imo be a downgrade from the import defensemen we had last season. If we'd lost Richardson to another team or retirement, then yes, I could see it - but not to replace an import. It would be like when we replaced Stephen cooper with Derek king. A capable player, but not the same level.
I think O’Connor is better defensively than both Reddick and McMonagle, who were imports. I seem to remember them both being good on the powerplay but very suspect at times in terms of their defensive ability. I’d take O’Connor at Devils!
 
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Finny

Well-Known Member
#16
If we were to sign O’Connor I’d see him as effectively Bowns’ replacement.

Yes they’re different positions, but you’re replacing one experienced premium Brit with another experienced premium Brit.

Without any official confirmation of import rules and bench sizes it’s tough to work out but it’s possible that if we go with two import netminders then Waller effectively replaces Murdy and whilst I’m still hoping Myers returns it could be Davies is his replacement not an addition as I originally assumed.
 

zoesdevil

Well-Known Member
#17
Well I trust what the Skalde, Todd & the owners see in him, they obviously think he's good enough for our defence if we sign him & that's good enough for me.
 

Ocko

Well-Known Member
#19
317 points in 380 games for the Steelers and we don’t think he’s good enough? He’s an offensive D man, of course he will have turnovers from time to time. Those players are high risk, high reward but you still need them.

If anyone listens to Brent Waltons podcast he mentions a couple of times what a star O’Connor is in this league.
 

jenks33

Well-Known Member
#20
317 points in 380 games for the Steelers and we don’t think he’s good enough? He’s an offensive D man, of course he will have turnovers from time to time. Those players are high risk, high reward but you still need them.

If anyone listens to Brent Waltons podcast he mentions a couple of times what a star O’Connor is in this league.
People would argue that Wally was talking about the Ben O’Connor he remembers and that was 6 or 7 years ago. I think most fans would be delighted if we were signing the 2015 Ben O’Connor.
By the way I’m not dead against the signing. I have my doubts but I’m happy to trust Todd and Skalde on this one
 
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