- Feb 24, 2012
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On the size/skill... there are spots that tend to show that there is a need for some size (center is pretty well documented). You can't win without skill either. Both sides are right.
Really? That's the crux of your argument? Zadorov injuring someone else's star player? I like Z as much as the next guy but if that's where this is going, then you're just choosing to die on a crumbling hillside.
Don't really recall the last team that won Stanley Cup glory in recent years who had a guy who targeted and took out the team's best players. If Zadorov is that guy, then frankly, he's really ****ty at it.
But go ahead. Bet. I suppose it's your money to lose.
Just think if Zadorov had laid that hit on Caufield instead of Tkachuk. That's the kind of play you'll see in the POs. You don't set out to target and hurt someone a la Matt Cooke. But you don't hold back in PO hockey either. That's how Calvert's series ended against the Sharks. So your indignation seems a little unwarranted.
It's still an insanely weak argument. Even Tom Wilson didn't take out William Karlsson or anyone else of note in the Caps eventual Stanley Cup victory.
Goals show up on the scoreboard. Hits don't. End of story.
That's not tough hockey, that's goon hockey. The days when you needed enforcers to protect your star players from the other team's goons taking their heads off are long dead, and I'm glad. Z hits big, but he's clean about it, the idea that we would be well served to employ a thug like Rinaldo to take out ROR in our next playoff run makes my skin crawl. If we can't win without that kind of dirty, unsportsmanlike play I'd rather not.I'm willing to bet a couple of big Zadorov hits on Caufield will take him out of the game. Can't score goals if you're not playing.
There is certainly a place in hockey for size, and it will always be there. There is a place for skill too. If you don't have both, you're gonna have a bad time.
Draft position is a weak argument, too. Is Strome better than Rantanen just because he was picked first? Teams make mistakes all the time, and mark my words, a bunch of teams made a mistake passing on Caufield.So you say. That's why Caufield got drafted where he did. I guess that shows how much great hockey minds in the business agree with you.
So you say. That's why Caufield got drafted where he did. I guess that shows how much great hockey minds in the business agree with you.
Sure. I don't get why this has to be such a polarizing argument every goddamn time. Am I really having to argue the value of an elite goal-scorer (let's just swap out Cole Caufield for Johnny Hockey for the sake of argument since CC hasn't yet made the NHL) over Nikita ****ing Zadorov!? We're talking about a reliable scoring forward vs. a #4-6 defender, and #4 is stretching it. The latter has an important role to play but if I'm being told he's more important to winning than the actual goal scorer, then I don't mind saying that's just a galaxy brain take.
The Avs obviously listen to their analytics guys, and it's pretty clear their front office is valuing size AND speed in addition to skill. I don't see what's so hard to understand.
Draft position is a weak argument, too. Is Strome better than Rantanen just because he was picked first? Teams make mistakes all the time, and mark my words, a bunch of teams made a mistake passing on Caufield.
You could rephrase that as "Caufield is a munchkin, but he can score."Caufield can score. But he's a munchkin.
That's not tough hockey, that's goon hockey. The days when you needed enforcers to protect your star players from the other team's goons taking their heads off are long dead, and I'm glad. Z hits big, but he's clean about it, the idea that we would be well served to employ a thug like Rinaldo to take out ROR in our next playoff run makes my skin crawl. If we can't win without that kind of dirty, unsportsmanlike play I'd rather not.
You could rephrase that as "Caufield is a munchkin, but he can score."
Oh, I'm sorry, was he not taken in the first round?
Oh and since we're on the subject of "great hockey minds," how much are players like Brendan Gallagher (fifth round pick, since you're touting draft pedigree now) and Johnny Gaudreau (fourth round pick) vs. what Nikita Zadorov (first round pick) is making? Those great hockey minds in the business are the ones drafting those contracts.
I never advocated goon hockey. I'd be surprised if Caufield could withstand some of Zadorov's hits which I regard as clean.
The question remains if he can avoid getting hit at the next level, but he's going to be an impact goal scorer for sure. He'll have to modify his game a little from juniors (he was surprisingly scrappy in the games I saw), but his knack for floating into dangerous areas and letting loose his lethal shot is a skill that will definitely translate to the NHL. The kid just knows how to put pucks in the net, and that will win his team games, even in the playoffs.I never advocated goon hockey. I'd be surprised if Caufield could withstand some of Zadorov's hits which I regard as clean.
Sure. I don't get why this has to be such a polarizing argument every goddamn time. Am I really having to argue the value of an elite goal-scorer (let's just swap out Cole Caufield for Johnny Hockey for the sake of argument since CC hasn't yet made the NHL) over Nikita ****ing Zadorov!? We're talking about a reliable scoring forward vs. a #4-6 defender, and #4 is stretching it. The latter has an important role to play but if I'm being told he's more important to winning than the actual goal scorer, then I don't mind saying that's just a galaxy brain take.
The Avs obviously listen to their analytics guys, and it's pretty clear their front office is valuing size AND speed in addition to skill. I don't see what's so hard to understand.
There's a reason why Caufield wasn't selected higher. Go figure it out.
There's a reason why Caufield wasn't selected higher. Go figure it out.
You obviously haven't seen much of Caufield's play, because in the USHL he gave as good as he got, and his game is very similar to DeBrincat's in that he knows how to get into open spaces on the ice to score. So far DeBrincat hasn't really suffered a ton of injuries because of Nikita Zadorov or any other physical player out there.
Lack of size doesn't necessarily equate to a decrease in durability.
There's a reason why Caufield wasn't selected higher. Go figure it out.
The question remains if he can avoid getting hit at the next level, but he's going to be an impact goal scorer for sure. He'll have to modify his game a little from juniors (he was surprisingly scrappy in the games I saw), but his knack for floating into dangerous areas and letting loose his lethal shot is a skill that will definitely translate to the NHL. The kid just knows how to put pucks in the net, and that will win his team games, even in the playoffs.