ATD2021 Jim Robson Divisional Semi-Final: Chicago Shamrocks vs. Arizona Coyotes

[Hawkey Town 18]

I saw those quotes and was pretty surprised because I don't think they match everything we know about Benn as an ATD player. I see two anecdotal comments from Babcock and Yahoo sports. I'd call him average for the league now which would be below average for an ATD, does that seem fair?

Benn plays physical and borderline dirty, which I think lends itself to a lot of "good away from the puck" sort of analysis. But calling him good defensively even for today is a stretch.

I'm just going to re-state this, because I think it's more important than quibbling on exactly how good Benn is defensively:

Benn is being asked to be the 3rd best defensive player and major physical presence (with two other players who are chippy) on a strong two-way line, and I think he fits the role perfectly.

 

[ResilientBeast]

These are nice single game accounts of MacKay playing well defensively, but nothing that would substantiate him as an all-time elite defensive forward like calling him the best of his era. To be clear, I think he is very good defensively, but not on H. Richard's level.

No argument on where you have Walker

Yes but if you read those quotes and based on what we know about the 20s Millionaires/Maroons MacKay was asked to play defensively from the wing position to facilitate Cook and Duncan to engage offensively. Boucher checked, but MacKay seems to have continued to play the "rover" position but from the wing. We can quibble about the rankings and we might just have to agree to disagree.

I'm just going to re-state this, because I think it's more important than quibbling on exactly how good Benn is defensively:

Benn is being asked to be the 3rd best defensive player and major physical presence (with two other players who are chippy) on a strong two-way line, and I think he fits the role perfectly.

Lalonde is being asked to do the same

 

[Hawkey Town 18]

Lalonde is being asked to do the same

You don't have a Dillon on your line, who is a very good defensive player, that is a major difference.

 

[ResilientBeast]

You don't have a Dillon on your line, who is a very good defensive player, that is a major difference.

True, my second piece defensively is Gordon Roberts who I concede isn't as good as Dillon defensively. I have those new quotes in the bio I made I'll do a little more digging.

As someone who's had him in the past I checked into what you thought of Roberts in 2017 (Cole Division Final: Chicago Shamrocks vs Southern Shore Breakers)

You list him as a phyiscal/powerforward type and below average defensively.

I'd disagree with what I've found now, he was tough but wasn't super physical like players of the time wasn't against smacking someone with his stick.

Defensively however he was definitely better than you gave him credit for, I'd peg him above average for an ATD this size. Dillon better defensively sure.

Overall we can disagree on MacKay/Richard defensive ability but I'd agree your second two-way player is probably better.

 

[Hawkey Town 18]

Coaching

When doing an all-time ranking Anatoli Tarasov is a better coach than Pat Burns, but just as important in the ATD is team fit...

As I've stated in my earlier post, the Shamrocks are full of Pat Burns type players, hard-working, responsible guys willing to commit and play a role. Paul Kariya is really Chicago's only one-dimensional player (all-offense), but even he fits on a Burns team, as a long-time Captain who once led a Mike Babcock coached team to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final as a major underdog.

Tarasov's teams were built with the Center as the primary defensive conscious of the forward lines, but that is not the case with Arizona, whose top 3 lines all rely on the wingers for defense and whose Centers are the best offensive players on each line. This may cause some issues.

 

[ResilientBeast]

Coaching

When doing an all-time ranking Anatoli Tarasov is a better coach than Pat Burns, but just as important in the ATD is team fit...

As I've stated in my earlier post, the Shamrocks are full of Pat Burns type players, hard-working, responsible guys willing to commit and play a role. Paul Kariya is really Chicago's only one-dimensional player (all-offense), but even he fits on a Burns team, as a long-time Captain who once led a Mike Babcock coached team to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final as a major underdog.

Tarasov's teams were built with the Center as the primary defensive conscious of the forward lines, but that is not the case with Arizona, whose top 3 lines all rely on the wingers for defense and whose Centers are the best offensive players on each line. This may cause some issues.

True, but as the quote I posted last round regarding Tarasov, he valued skating and passing

Quotes about Tarasov from Dreakmur's 2013 bio, my roster fits this profile. The players and coach will be comfortable with the system being deployed and what it emphasizes which should smooth over these issues. Taylor & MacKay especially fit these descriptions almost to T. Even Walker who is a mostly defensive player, was a good playmaker, a well known stickhandle and an excellent skater. Tarasov would love to have this player on his units.

To me, a top class hockey player should be an all-round physically developed athlete with speed and strength plus. Such a player has an explosive starting reaction and a will that is as strong as iron. His bag of technical tricks should be big and varied, enabling him to perform his role in the line-up and make lightning decisions in tactics at any and every moment of the game. And all these qualities in modern hockey are absolutely out of the question if the sportsman lacks a high culture of the game: I have in mind tactical intuition, precision work with his partners, perfect orientation, a feeling of the game, the ability to see, understand, and even anticipate the actions of the closest and furthermost opponents and partners. And what is most important, all these qualities must be retained and put into use in the toughest moments of the game, when the pitch of a game is at its highest, when the emotions of players are as taut as bow strings.

I don’t think it’s possible to play a defensive game against a strong team and win, except perhaps once, by sheer luck. Because, when you play a defensive game, you forfeit the main thing – initiative. And it is initiative that most often decides who will win.

The second conclusion I made then was that the centre forward had to be the best player on the team.

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There is simply no place in the game for cowards, squeamish or weak-willed people - there is simply no reason for such people to come out on the ice.

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He defines courage as industriousness. Never being lazy on the ice. Patience and "constancy."

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Together, with Arkadi Chernishov we give ratings to each player after every game.

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Hockey is not a game of speed or courage, but of minds.

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He goes into a section about stars. Basically they have to selfless and be willing to fit into the team concept. Having players that are better than the others is fine, as long as they buy in.

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The essence of our teamwork? Passing!

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He focuses a lot on how he believes stick-handling is the most important aspect of hockey.

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Arkadi Cherishov has an easier nature than mine. He is more soft-spoken, he is more prone to forgive a person. But I have a reputation for being more than harsh.

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for our creative type of hockey, powerhouse hockey is out of the question. I prefer to see our boys strong and smart at the same time, even sly, in the good sense of the word.

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He really doesn't believe in puck-carrying when leaving the defensive zone. He mentions that he wants no more than two strides before a defenseman whips a pass up to another player who already has a head of steam.

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The number of passes in the offensive zone must be constantly increased.

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An attack should be built up rationally.

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Sometimes I have been asked if pressing [ed. note: his system] is a defensive or offensive system...Does this answer lie only in the difference of level of their technique and skills? I believe the answer lies in the following: one team employs attacking pressing, while the other resorts to defensive pressing.

 

[Hawkey Town 18]

How Chicago will Handle Arizona's 1-2 Punch Up Front of Cyclone Taylor and Newsy Lalonde

Pat Burns will likely try to match up the Benn - H. Richard - Dillon line up against Arizona's Jackson - Taylor - Alfredsson line, as they can match them with speed. Henri Richard specifically is the key here, and one of the few players in the draft that is capable of skating with Taylor and should be effective against him.

Then Burns will try to match up the Pospisil - Harvey pairing up against the Lalonde line, as Pospisil and Harvey have the strength, size, and defensive ability to handle Lalonde. Up front it will likely be a combination of the Boucher line and the Laprade line.