brad richards

[sr edler]

hey guys

i looked at brad richards stats and i got two questions

why was he drafted so low?
how good is he defensively?

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[vadim sharifijanov]

brad richards had his amazing QMJHL year two years after he was drafted. not that he wasn't an offensive force before.

as i recall, he was considered a smallish and soft guy. for his offensive ability, albeit in an all-offense league that inflates scoring stats, 3rd round is about right for what he looked like after his rookie year in the Q.

note that he also didn't make a WJC team until he was 19. lecavalier made it as an underager at 17, and was in the NHL by 18. sure, he was completely out of his depth at first, but richards didn't have lecavalier's game breaking ability, even though he has almost certainly had the better NHL career. his hockey sense is through the roof though.

 

[MadLuke]

He had a 115 points (same number of points than Lecavalier but in more games) rookie season, probably that is production considered a little bit a product of Lecavalier.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997–98_QMJHL_season#Scoring_leaders


Juraj Kolnik, came the year's after on the trio and they were devastating
http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=43906

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

He had a 115 points (same number of points than Lecavalier but in more games) rookie season, probably that is production considered a little bit a product of Lecavalier.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997–98_QMJHL_season#Scoring_leaders


Juraj Kolnik, came the year's after on the trio and they were devastating
http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=43906

were richards and lecavalier linemates? i don't follow the Q so i have no idea. but both of course played center their entire NHL careers.

also, now that i look at the hockeydb stats, lecavalier decisively outpointed richards in the playoffs that year. not that lecavalier > richards when they were 17 is really in question here, but i think that also shows that while both had 115 points, they were not an equal 115 points. plus, as you point out, lecavalier played less games because he went to the WJC.

 

[Eisen]

If I remember correctly, Richards was at least partly seen as a product of Lecavalier

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

If I remember correctly, Richards was at least partly seen as a product of Lecavalier

I remember this being true, as well.

 

[begbeee]

If I remember correctly, Richards was at least partly seen as a product of Lecavalier

Funny how things worked. I am not saying that Lecavalier is product of Richards by any means, but Richards is still premier forward while Lecavalier gets "lazy" or "underachiever" label.

 

[Tavaresmagicalplay*]

I notice people constantly say that the only reason Richards was drafted AT ALL was because he was friends with Lecavalier. That can't be right. Who would waste a 3rd rounder on a guy just because he was their first rounders buddy?

 

[Sky04]

I notice people constantly say that the only reason Richards was drafted AT ALL was because he was friends with Lecavalier. That can't be right. Who would waste a 3rd rounder on a guy just because he was their first rounders buddy?

I agree, he still would've been drafted but certainly not as "high" as he was, 64th over all, 3rd round.. teams didn't particularly like small guys no matter no skilled they were. Tampa sure got a steal out of that pick though that's for sure.

 

[Big Phil]

I notice people constantly say that the only reason Richards was drafted AT ALL was because he was friends with Lecavalier. That can't be right. Who would waste a 3rd rounder on a guy just because he was their first rounders buddy?

I remember reading about that after the draft. Lecavalier apparently encouraged the Lightning scouts to draft Richards. It worked didn't it? They won a Cup together.

I also remember the idea that Richards was a product of Lecavalier to an extent. That was obviously just bad scouting by everyone. Its funny how Richards didn't even make the World Junior team in a year where he scored 130 points. But then the year he scores 186 he makes it and then wins the Memorial Cup.

I also think that the NHL was so obsessed with size back then that guys like him would be ignored for that very reason. It was ludicrous. Richards is a very generous 6'0" tall. But he's always been fine defensively and a good playoff performer when he makes it. I've never gotten the reason for his snub.

I'll go as far as saying this, the player most likely to make the HHOF from the 1998 draft is Pavel Datsyuk. After that your best bet is Richards for sure if we all agree he is in better shape than Lecavalier.

 

[bassassin]

IIRC Richards had questions about his skating, and that he was soft. Also seen as leaching from Vinny because they were on the same line.

He was supposed to go in the 5th round. Tampa selected him with their second pick, to keep Vinny happy. Richards would have been drafted, but not for another couple of rounds. Sure enough he sorts out his skating and dominates, the rest is history.

 

[SupersonicMonkey*]

I always loved Richards, and was one of a few players that I had always wished was a Ranger. When he was available via trade when the Lightning traded him, I was hoping the Rangers would be in on him.

Luckily we were able to get him while he's in his prime.

He's a heck of a hockey player.

He's not Datsyuk defensively, but he makes some subtle plays that you need to be paying attention to appreciate his defensive play. But he can be a turn over liability at times.

His vision is incredible. And he has very good hands. Also a sneaky shooter. And as mentioned his hockey sense/IQ is very high.

Couple that with his leadership and his willingness to rise to big game situations, which is why he's a great playoff performer.

He's a great player. And pretty underrated. Considering he's one of the top scorers (points) in the league post-lockout.