Mike Green

[sundinfan13]

I rmemebr approaching last year's draft mike green's ranking was quickly dropping. At one point he was slated to be a top-15 pick, but fell to the final picks of the first round. Does his play this year raise his potential. I mean 14 goals and 50 assists is pretty damn good for a defenseman in the 'dub. Would you consider him "stolen" by Washington???

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[Form and Substance]

Yes I would, I was shocked to seem him still around at #29. the fact that he played for a pretty dead **** crappy team last year pretty much explains why he went so low.

 

[Atlas]

It also remains to be seen how Green's game will translate against NHLers. Defensemen at 6'1" and under usually have a hard time. I expect a lot of teams passed because of that.

Can someone who sees Green play give an idea of his style? Is there an NHLer that he reminds you of?

 

[Jacob]

Hopefully with some rule adjustments and a more free-flowing game we'll see more Mike Greens and less Andy Suttons.

 

[Vatican Roulette]

It also remains to be seen how Green's game will translate against NHLers. Defensemen at 6'1" and under usually have a hard time. I expect a lot of teams passed because of that.

Can someone who sees Green play give an idea of his style? Is there an NHLer that he reminds you of?

Kaspar, Stevens, Witt, Leopold, Lydman, Wesley, Spacek, Zubov, Chelios, Staois, Van Ryn, Hill, Vishnovski, Schultz...to name a few.


He actually reminds me a lot of Bob Rouse. Nothing spectacular, but very steady.

 

[bruins4777*]

I heard he's an incredible open ice hitter.

 

[Sabes]

I heard he's an incredible open ice hitter.

He had that huge open ice hit in the Top Prospects game and everyone labelled him an open-iced hitter, but if you watch him play he hits sometimes but not really that much.

 

[Jeffrey]

what impressed me the most about him it's his QB PP ability and his skating !

 

[Lefty]

He had that huge open ice hit in the Top Prospects game and everyone labelled him an open-iced hitter, but if you watch him play he hits sometimes but not really that much.

He doesn't hit a lot, but when he hits he hits. Tonight he had a hit very similar to the one at the Top Prospects Game last year. Someone had their head down and paid the price.

I can't think of anyone to compare him to, but he is an excellent PP QB and an exceptional passer. If anyone saw him tonight against Prince Albert, they'd know what I mean. With a few rule changes, I think he can become a top line defenseman. Even without, I think he is a pretty sure fire NHLer.

 

[Mothra]

It also remains to be seen how Green's game will translate against NHLers. Defensemen at 6'1" and under usually have a hard time. I expect a lot of teams passed because of that.

Can someone who sees Green play give an idea of his style? Is there an NHLer that he reminds you of?

I think way too much is made of that....there are plenty of very good dmen 6'1" and under in the NHL

 

[PSUhockey34]

I cringed when McPhee drafted Shultz at 27th, I was hoping for Green...but it all worked out when McPhee got him with the 29th

 

[bruins4777*]

I think way too much is made of that....there are plenty of very good dmen 6'1" and under in the NHL

So true, everybody loves to make the biggest deal of size. Size apparently is everything these, days which in fact in any position there are cases and great ways of showing how silly it is to only care about size.

 

[Big Deaner]

Kaspar, Stevens, Witt, Leopold, Lydman, Wesley, Spacek, Zubov, Chelios, Staois, Van Ryn, Hill, Vishnovski, Schultz...to name a few.


He actually reminds me a lot of Bob Rouse. Nothing spectacular, but very steady.

I've always thought Green plays like Ed Jovanoski

 

[Atlas]

I think way too much is made of that....there are plenty of very good dmen 6'1" and under in the NHL

I don't know Mothra. There are certainly examples of great d-men at 6'1" or below...Ray Bourque was 5'11" with incredible technique....and he'd be great in today's game....but I think of a player like Ken Klee who is very solid against average NHL forwards but then the playoffs come and the large, dominant forwards put him out of his element. Klee works incredibly hard but is no match physically for Todd Bertuzzi, Joe Thornton and Jagr and....many more.

Brendan Witt is a similar case. Klee and Witt are average NHLers but most GMs today would be hesitant to use a first rounder on d-men that size. If their game is offense that's another matter. Rafalski's and Housley's will always have a place in the game. But stay at home defensive types almost always need to be big and strong.

What defensemen were drafted recently in the first round? And how many were 6'1" and under?

 

[bruins4777*]

I don't know Mothra. There are certainly examples of great d-men at 6'1" or below...Ray Bourque was 5'11" with incredible technique....and he'd be great in today's game....but I think of a player like Ken Klee who is very solid against average NHL forwards but then the playoffs come and the large, dominant forwards put him out of his element. Klee works incredibly hard but is no match physically for Todd Bertuzzi, Joe Thornton and Jagr and....many more.

Brendan Witt is a similar case. Klee and Witt are average NHLers but most GMs today would be hesitant to use a first rounder on d-men that size. If their game is offense that's another matter. Rafalski's and Housley's will always have a place in the game. But stay at home defensive types almost always need to be big and strong.

What defensemen were drafted recently in the first round? And how many were 6'1" and under?

"What defensemen were drafted recently in the first round? And how many were 6'1" and under?"

I think thats the point, i haven't looked it up but i'm betting its very few and there weren't a lot. There are probably plenty of dmen, but they were probably all 6'3 or something like that height.

The complaint i have is that so few defensemen are GIVEN THE CHANCE if they aren't 6'3 or something like that. And if they're under 6 foot their chance at the NHL is so small.

I bet as talented and incredible as bourque was, you stick bourque as an 18 year old into today's draft and he wouldn't even go in the top round. Thats how stupid and silly our league has become in terms of height. Hell even bobby orr would probably be put on a short leash in today's NHL. Nowadays HEIGHT IS EVERYTHING. It doesn't matter the accomplishments it doesn't matter their play, no matter how dominant they are, as long as your under 6 foot these days your going to have critics and you'll continuouslly have this incredibly small window of chance and you'll have to be PERFECT to make it.

 

[Mothra]

I don't know Mothra. There are certainly examples of great d-men at 6'1" or below...Ray Bourque was 5'11" with incredible technique....and he'd be great in today's game....but I think of a player like Ken Klee who is very solid against average NHL forwards but then the playoffs come and the large, dominant forwards put him out of his element. Klee works incredibly hard but is no match physically for Todd Bertuzzi, Joe Thornton and Jagr and....many more.

I guess my question back is....name the dmen that arent out-matched physically by Bertuzzi/Thornton/Jagr etc....the list is very short. I'm not suggesting that big D isnt a good thing, only that player 6'1" or so can hold their own in most cases. What you did above is name a journyman D in Klee that pretty much your average guy, and then list all-star forwards that are also huge....of course he is over-matched phyically...but it also must be said guys like Klee still make plays on these guys

Brendan Witt is a similar case. Klee and Witt are average NHLers but most GMs today would be hesitant to use a first rounder on d-men that size. If their game is offense that's another matter. Rafalski's and Housley's will always have a place in the game. But stay at home defensive types almost always need to be big and strong.

What defensemen were drafted recently in the first round? And how many were 6'1" and under?

Thing is, Witt and Klee arent Mike Green....its important for me to say I have never seen Green play....but it certainly seems like he has way more offense than Witt/Klee. Witt has never shown any offense, and IIRC Klee came up as a forward....Mike Green seems to have, among other things, some offensive skills. I have not seen Green called a "stay at home defensive type"...so I am not sure how any of this Klee/Witt stuff relates.


just going by hockeydb size listing

Ladislav Smid
Andrej Meszaros
Ryan Suter
Keith Ballard
Denis Grebeshkov
Martin Vagner
Dan Hamhuis
Igor Knyazev
Carlo Colaiacovo
Tim Gleason

 

[Marshall]

Uhm, Witt's 6'2" and @ 230. Not hulking, but very solid. No size issue there.

 

[WesternEliteHockeyPr]

Many have compared Mike Green to Nick Schultz of the Wild! Green is a smooth skating, puck handling offensive d-man with leadership who controls the pace of the game when on the ice. Green could also be compared to Scott Neidermayer or Daryl Sydor.

 

[Atlas]

Well said, Mothra. It's true that very few Dmen match up with those forwards. My point is that if you're sitting there thinking about taking a Dman with that first round pick you're gonna want someone that can either defend against those guys or someone who is a serious threat offensively. I'm surprised from your list that there were that many 6'1" and under Dmen selected so high. A couple of those guys are gonna be very good.

Marshall, I don't believe Witt is that tall. I think 6'1" is generous. He's tough and strong but he doesn't look very big out there.

 

[Flames Draft Watcher]

I don't see him as a steal at all. He reminds me quite a bit of Steve McCarthy. I think he'll have problems handling big NHL powerforwards.

 

[EroCaps]

I don't see him as a steal at all. He reminds me quite a bit of Steve McCarthy. I think he'll have problems handling big NHL powerforwards.

If he was a bad skater and possessed no puck skills I'd agree with you.

There are plenty of successfull 6'0-6'1 d-men.

 

[Flames Draft Watcher]

There are plenty of successfull 6'0-6'1 d-men.

And plenty of them struggle to contain guys like Forsberg, Bertuzzi, Tkachuk, Iginla, etc. It's a common problem for d-men with average size. And that's why they need excellent skating, skills and hockey sense to compensate for their lack of leverage/strength.

Some smaller d-men have tremendous core strength and upper body strength which can actually make them stronger in one-on-one confrontations. Andrew Ference is an example. At 5'10 he's a small d-man but he's stronger and more stable on his skates than many a d-men that has a couple inches on him. At this point Green certainly doesn't have that kind of strength to height ratio and I don't believe he'll add it which I why I see him struggling to physically contain NHL sized powerforwards. This will limit his minutes at the NHL level and thus his upside IMO.

 

[EroCaps]

And plenty of them struggle to contain guys like Forsberg, Bertuzzi, Tkachuk, Iginla, etc. It's a common problem for d-men with average size. And that's why they need excellent skating, skills and hockey sense to compensate for their lack of leverage/strength.

Some smaller d-men have tremendous core strength and upper body strength which can actually make them stronger in one-on-one confrontations. Andrew Ference is an example. At 5'10 he's a small d-man but he's stronger and more stable on his skates than many a d-men that has a couple inches on him. At this point Green certainly doesn't have that kind of strength to height ratio and I don't believe he'll add it which I why I see him struggling to physically contain NHL sized powerforwards. This will limit his minutes at the NHL level and thus his upside IMO.

In all fairness who doesn't have trouble containing Bertuzzi, Forsberg, Iginla, Kovalchuck, etc? A couple guys? Stevens, Blake, etc?

Green could be a real solid second pairing guy IMO and there's value to that.

 

[Chimaera]

And plenty of them struggle to contain guys like Forsberg, Bertuzzi, Tkachuk, Iginla, etc. It's a common problem for d-men with average size. And that's why they need excellent skating, skills and hockey sense to compensate for their lack of leverage/strength.

Some smaller d-men have tremendous core strength and upper body strength which can actually make them stronger in one-on-one confrontations. Andrew Ference is an example. At 5'10 he's a small d-man but he's stronger and more stable on his skates than many a d-men that has a couple inches on him. At this point Green certainly doesn't have that kind of strength to height ratio and I don't believe he'll add it which I why I see him struggling to physically contain NHL sized powerforwards. This will limit his minutes at the NHL level and thus his upside IMO.

There's a reason those guys are elite offensive talents. But even elite offensive talents this side of the Great One, and to an extent Mario, are held in check by average to poor defenseman quite often. If a guy like Jason Doig plays 23+ minutes a night, and can hold a 'premier' offensive player to scoreless while he's out there, does that make Doig a great player? Or the offensive player poor?

Apples and Oranges.

 

[Big Deaner]

Mike Green is a beast. I work out at the same gym he trains at during the summer and he is massive. He trains like an animal and I feel he won't have any trouble containing most of the forwards in the NHL. Obviously there are guys like Forsberg, Bertuzzi and Thorton who can dominate almost any d-man in the game (probably not Chara). I have no fears about Green's strength or skating. My greatest concern would be Green's hockey sense, in the games I've seen him play he can get lazy in the defensive zone and make ill-advise passes leading to turnovers. He also likes to jump up into the play sometimes thinking offense before defense. This is partly why I compared him to Ed Jovanoski. However, I believe he will work out these flaws in his game and be a solid 3-4 defensman (I believe he's heads and shoulders above Jeff Schultz).