Anton Stralman

[IAMREALITY]

I must say I'm a bit surprised to not see him have a thread anywhere. He's probably our most underrated player in my opinion, and he's done nothing but impress me overall since he's been with us. He's one of the only cases I remember where we sign some other team's reject and they turn out to consistently outperform our expectations. Because when we signed him, he really wasn't expected to be anything greater than mediocre at best. But ya know what? I'm gonna just come out and say it: Anton Stralman is a GOOD defenseman.

Thing is, he never quite gets the credit he deserves and is consistently underrated and overlooked. I mean, last night he was almost every bit as good as Staal or McD. He led in TOI and was solid out there. Though Sam and JD did pay some homage to that about halfway through the game, there was NO mention of Anton at all during the postgame show. None. Tons on Staal and McD, but no mention of how good Anton was at all. And it kinda pissed me off a little, because I thought he deserved some recognition.

So I guess I kinda want to just raise my glass to him and say thanks... Thanks for being a pleasant surprise, thanks for contributing in the ways he does and thanks for stepping up in the absence of Girardi. He's been really good for us, and I think showin him some love is way overdue!

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[LittleKev6D9]

He really elevated his game in the playoffs and proved to be a solid 3rd pair D-man. I thought that would be the end of it and he would fade off into being just a plug, but that hasn't been the case.

So far this season, Stralman has shown that he can be a top 4 defensemen. Also, I love the way he shoots on the PP. He's not afraid to let one good if he gets a look. He just winds and fires any chance on the one timer. I could see him being our PP Quarterback.

Good stuff from Stralman.

 

[iggyDDS]

If I'm not mistaken, comin into the NHL he was supposed to be a top offensive dman so kudos to him for taking in what torts has been preaching. He's been solid and I think should get more PP time bc the man knows how to get the puck on net.

 

[IAMREALITY]

If I'm not mistaken, comin into the NHL he was supposed to be a top offensive dman so kudos to him for taking in what torts has been preaching. He's been solid and I think should get more PP time bc the man knows how to get the puck on net.

He couldn't even get the devils to take an interest past training camp, so whatever perceptions there were of him entering the NHL were definitely not the perceptions that he brought with him to us. But kudos to him nonetheless for turning it around for sure.

 

[Vitto79]

yea this guy really turned his career around. Was highly touted in TO, was sent to Calgary for a 2nd rounder, then went to CLB for a think a 3rd.

Seems to have found a home in NY in the top 6. I could see McIlrath eventually stepping in and that's a good 6 with McD, Girardi, Staal, DZ, Stralman, McI

 

[BlueshirtBlitz]

He's certainly stepped into the role of top 4 d-man very well.

 

[Joey Bones]

Love love love the guy!!! I wanted us to sign him before he went to the devils training camp last year! Honestly has turned it around with us & if he continues with it, will be with us for a little longer. He's only 26 too!!!

 

[Orr Nightmare]

I was very critical of the signing last year...my impression of him was that of another Christian Backman....I was 100% wrong!

 

[Joe11]

He has played excellent this year. Helps ease the loss of Girardi the last 2 games

 

[mandiblesofdoom]

Glad he's on our side.

& good to see him get more time on the PP.

 

[KICKsaveANDaBeauty]

I was on the train with a guy last night who was going on a close to five minute tirade on how stupid Torts is for for having Stralman in over Bickel. His main arugment, you ask? "He's a European 'looosaaaa'"

 

[Chimpradamus]

All I can say from the impressive performance from Strålman is, I'm not surprised. He just continues doing what he did last season and the playoffs, where he was one of our best defensemen, especially offensively. I don't know what Torts did, but it worked. He toughened up his play a little and gave his confidence back. Or maybe Strålman just fits perfectly into the system the Rangers play, which promotes the mobility Strålman has tons of.

Last season, when Staal was out for so long and also Del Zotto and Girardi missed some games if I recall correctly (please get better Sauer!), Strålman was asked of Torts to step up and play as a top 4 defenseman for an extended period of time. He had some bad games, sure, but who doesn't? Overall, he was playing better the more minutes he played. He was quietly doing his work defensively, throwing an occassional thundering hip check to show up on the highlight reels and he's one of our better defensemen when it comes to moving the puck. His skating is one of his strengths.

As you've mentioned, he doesn't hesitate to bomb away from the blueline. I have waited since the start of the season to see Strålman man the PP point. Feed it to Strålman, get two guys in traffic and see what happens. Many top PP teams in the league rely on a PP QB and getting two guys in traffic.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

I was on the train with a guy last night who was going on a close to five minute tirade on how stupid Torts is for for having Stralman in over Bickel. His main arugment, you ask? "He's a European 'looosaaaa'"

A large part of Rangers fans are stupid. You should have seen all the crying about the Rupp trade. Like we traded Lundqvist! As long as you're a North American, big, and can fight once in a while, you're good. Doesn't matter if you can play.

 

[Riverdale]

Very underrated

Love having him on the Rangers

 

[SnowblindNYR]

BTW, so many clueless fans of other teams were saying in the best D corps thread that the Rangers can't be it because of Stralman and Bickel, dumping the 2 together. He's now not only a passable but a GOOD #5.

 

[Rangers ftw]

He should be our nr one alternative on the PP blue line. Been real good this far!!

 

[SnowblindNYR]

Can any Swedes tell me what the deal is with his first name? Is Anton a common named in Sweden? I know that it's a Russian name, never heard another nationality use it.

 

[E-Train]

Stralman deserves the recognition he's getting here. Would like to see him turn it on offensively, had some nice ones from the point last year that can at least create some rebounds.

 

[amazingbathulk]

Can any Swedes tell me what the deal is with his first name? Is Anton a common named in Sweden? I know that it's a Russian name, never heard another nationality use it.

It's not unusual, but not a super popular name either.

 

[Kershaw]

Call me crazy, but I think Stralman might be the best 3rd pairing defenseman in the league.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

It's not unusual, but not a super popular name either.

Interesting. I know that Finland is very close to Russia (I think they were part of it at one point, no?), do you know if there's some sort of Russian influence with the name?

 

[SnowblindNYR]

Call me crazy, but I think Stralman might be the best 3rd pairing defenseman in the league.

I don't know other teams' 3rd pairing players, considering how deep our D-men are it's incredible that we're not better defensively this year.

 

[Kokoschka]

Interesting. I know that Finland is very close to Russia (I think they were part of it at one point, no?), do you know if there's some sort of Russian influence with the name?

I'd rather guess it's from German descent. Lots of Antons here in Austria and Germany. It's very common in Italy as well - Antonio.

Wikied it: Anton ist die Kurzform des lateinischen männlichen Vornamens Antonius.
"Anton is the short form of the latin male name "Antonius"".

 

[mulli25]

Stralman started out this season playing absolutely dreadful and has done a complete 180

He's back to where he was during the majority of last season which is an awesome surprise and a very underrated component of the rangers success.

 

[amazingbathulk]

Interesting. I know that Finland is very close to Russia (I think they were part of it at one point, no?), do you know if there's some sort of Russian influence with the name?

I have no idea!

I googled it and apparently it's a German version of the Latin Antonius.

And yes, Finland used to be a part of Russia, but also once was part of Sweden so I'm not sure if that has anything to do with it (Sweden also had a chunk of Russian territory. We used to be the big guy around the block ).