Ben Bishop is a transcendent talent

OvermanKingGainer

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Feb 3, 2015
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If you only have to beat out like 20 other guys at your height to be an NBA centre, than yes. Height is by far the most important attribute at that position.

That position happens to be the absolute most difficult position to play in the sport due to the responsibilities attached at both ends of the floor, and every year a dozen tall stiffs with decent college careers are drafted as projects, and every year a dozen former projects retire after failing to pan out. As an aside, mobility and reach (shoulder height + arm length) are valued over raw height anyways. Even if reach is an important attribute, fundamentals are most paramount - An NBA center has as much responsibility defensively as an NHL goaltender and 1D, but also has at least as much responsibility offensively as an NHL 1C.

All in all though, he average NBA height is achieved by what...1 in 1000 males? Least athletic sport of the big 4, easily.

...There is a much bigger talent pool to pull from compared to Hockey or Baseball. The height "requirement" is a function of that talent pool. Just as the increase in 6'5+ goaltenders is a function of the growing talent pool in hockey, not a stylistic change.
 
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ChocolateLeclaire

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Jan 12, 2010
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Ottawa, Canada
Tampa didn't have a ton of young talent at the time. Conacher was having a very productive season and the geniuses of hfboards skewered Yzerman when the trade went down. There was about a year there after the bolts made the conference finals when the hf group think started the Yzerman is over rated to terrible as a gm meme. :laugh:

People seem to forget that the offers for Bishop weren't exactly lighting the world on fire. He was still considered a "Prospect" goalie at the time of the trade having played less than 80 professional hockey games in the NHL. Ottawa knew he had talent and tried to get a bidding war going, but the market wasn't there. The next best offer to Tampa's was Edmonton's laughable offer of a 2nd round pick and Randy Jones. There's an episode of Oil Change where Steve Tambellini hears what Bishop was traded for and says: "Whoa, that's higher than I thought." Ottawa tried to pry Couturier out of Philly but they ended up trading for Mason instead.

Ottawa took Conacher because he looked like he could play in the NHL now and put up points in the Top 6. We have no clue if Murray asked for Tyler Johnson, or if Yzerman offered him instead of Conacher but either way, Yzerman looks like a genius now for rolling the dice on Big Ben.

And that's why he's out of work.

On the plus side, the goalie Ottawa drafted with their 4th round pick, Hogberg, looks to have some serious potential.
 

Burke the Legend

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Feb 22, 2012
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I think Bishop showed in Game 6 he's got a different gear than Price. Price is good with the puck, but part of being the "best puck handling goalie" is actually playing the puck. WHEN Price handles it he's good, but Bishop is so aggressive with it he's basically a sixth skater out there. Smith and Bishop are the top two and in a class by themselves.

He is too aggressive, he is abusing the goalie no-hit rule. Playing the puck off a dump-in is ok, but jumping in front of a forward behind your net when it's chipped from the half boards, to grab the puck in the middle of a cycle is abusing your protection, and basically a kind of reverse interference.

I think the NHL will make a rule soon where goalies can't leave crease to play puck if it originated inside their zone, this is really too ridiculous what he's doing.
 

Yzlamic Preacher*

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He is too aggressive, he is abusing the goalie no-hit rule. Playing the puck off a dump-in is ok, but jumping in front of a forward behind your net when it's chipped from the half boards, to grab the puck in the middle of a cycle is abusing your protection, and basically a kind of reverse interference.

I think the NHL will make a rule soon where goalies can't leave crease to play puck if it originated inside their zone, this is really too ridiculous what he's doing.

Wasn't that what the trapezoid was for? Also he isn't the only goalie to do it, he is probably one of the most proficient at doing it though.
 

OvermanKingGainer

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On the plus side, the goalie Ottawa drafted with their 4th round pick, Hogberg, looks to have some serious potential.

Another 6'5"er huh. Remember when guys like Luongo used to be considered big!?....Hogberg, Hellybuyck, Markstrom, Dubnyk, Rinne, Andersen, Hellberg, Bishop, Darling, Gillies, McDonald... 6'4 is the new 6'0!
 

Bergeron37

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Mar 16, 2010
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He is too aggressive, he is abusing the goalie no-hit rule. Playing the puck off a dump-in is ok, but jumping in front of a forward behind your net when it's chipped from the half boards, to grab the puck in the middle of a cycle is abusing your protection, and basically a kind of reverse interference.

I think the NHL will make a rule soon where goalies can't leave crease to play puck if it originated inside their zone, this is really too ridiculous what he's doing.

To me I'd be fine with it. Him leaving the net and playing the puck so much results in at least 1 golden scoring opportunity per game for the opponent. I'd take that trade off every time.
 

Burke the Legend

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Feb 22, 2012
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Wasn't that what the trapezoid was for? Also he isn't the only goalie to do it, he is probably one of the most proficient at doing it though.

Trapezoid is so goalie can't play soft corner dump-ins. I'm talking about Bishop inserting himself into non-dump situations, cycling play in zone.
 

ThirdManIn

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Aug 9, 2009
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10 years from now we will labeling BB as a pioneer for all monster sized goalies.

Wait until NBA players choose to play hockey...

Why would someone decide to leave the NBA just to train and hope to be picked up by an NHL team? :huh:
 

Chardo

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Apr 27, 2007
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Come back to me when a tall black guy chooses hockey over basketball.
 
Jul 22, 2012
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Fun fact: I used to use the Norfolk Admirals in NHL09 in online ranked shootouts, so that I could use Ben Bishop as my goalie. He was hilariously oversized in the game, it was almost impossible to score on him. :laugh:
 

Werewolf

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Oct 29, 2013
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11141367_941843112547149_2848595056431441111_o.jpg
 

chasespace

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Jul 19, 2010
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Gator Nation
Ben Bishop has been a top 5 goalie this year. I think for the most part however he allows too many soft goals to be considered one of the best.

I wouldn't call him top-5 this year. Definitely top-5 last season. But this year he has been a top-10 goalie, took a slight step back.
 

lastcupever75

Phive cups PA.
May 14, 2009
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the pens also have a 6'7 goalie playing on their farm club. Matt Murray

he was a rookie this year and broke the record for shut outs in the A
IIRC, 13 shut outs in like 40 or so games
 

DFC

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Sep 26, 2013
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Bishop needs to stop the 'Marty Turco' impression. He gets in more trouble handling the puck.

He'll work that out. He rarely got into trouble in the regular season. I can think of two goals he has cost us with puck flubs in the entirety of his TB career, and one of those happened because of a crazy bounce off the boards. He's still getting used to the higher pressure in the playoffs, and it's resulting in miscues, but I'm okay with that.

I'd rather have him playing him game, and that includes playing the puck at every single opportunity. He has a great lead pass and a great eye for catching the other team in a change.
 

Volodya Krutov

Lost Cosmonaut
Jan 18, 2012
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You can't avoid mistakes when you play 3rd dman in the playoffs. Those thinking otherwise must be born yesterday.
 

Ishdul

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Jan 20, 2007
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Giants were coming into popularity in the past decade or so, and it's not like Bishop is that much taller than a lot of the others, nor would I consider him the best of the super tall goalies.
 

Frank Drebin

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Mar 9, 2004
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Everyone craps on Ottawa for giving the guy up for scraps, but at least they have Anderson who is just as good if not better than Bishop, who IIRC was once St.Louis blues property. Now there is a team who could use Bishop.
 

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