DDRhockey
Hockeyfan since 1986
- Oct 11, 2017
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How good was Fredrik Olausson?
- Thread starter Nick Hansen
- Start date
Canadiens1958
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MXD
Original #4
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Including Red Kelly, 62. Including Ed Jovanovski (500 pts), 63.
In that list, Olausson was arguably a better player than Garry Galley. That's it.
There's also quite a few players who didn't quite reach 500 points who were superior to Olausson. Both players with partial careers (think, for totally different reasons, Kris Letang and Vladimir Konstantinov) and players with full careers (think, say, Petr Svoboda, Derian Hatcher and Barry Beck - arguably a partial career player, I know).
And those are far from the best players to not reach 500 pts.
VanIslander
A 19-year ATDer on HfBoards
Defensemen with 500+ points who played much better defensively include European NHLers like Calle Johansson, Kimmo Timonen and Lubomir Visnovsky.
Michael Farkas
Celebrate 68
DannyGallivan
Your world frightens and confuses me
seventieslord
Student Of The Game
MXD
Original #4
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Well, he didn't reach 500 pts in the first place.
Doesn't mean he isn't the better player all things considered, or that he was a better defensive player.
VanIslander
A 19-year ATDer on HfBoards
1. He has 500+ points if you include NHL playoffs.
2. He has impressed me several times despite my loathing of LA (Deadmarsh, Doughty and Visnovsky are on my 'liked despite ugh Kings' shortlist). He was a 2nd team all star in Anaheim but Pronger wasn't on the team that season so I didn't pay them any attention.
Michael Farkas
Celebrate 68
Peak and late Visnovsky was fine defensively...he wasn't as good as Timonen was defensively though...Timo was really good.
seventieslord
Student Of The Game
I'm not questioning Visnovsky's Point totals, they are a matter of public record, so they are what they are. All I'm saying is I don't think that he belongs in the same category as guys like Kimmo timonen, who was obviously a better defensive and all-around player than Fredrik Olausson. I think he's pretty much in the same tier of player. Rarely, if ever, earned significant minutes on a team that was worth a damn, aside from on the power play of course, and earned bigger minutes on teams that never went anywhere. Little to no pk usage. Scored a good deal of points because of heavy power-play usage, but was never truly considered one of the best defenseman in the league. I know he made the All-Star team that one year, but we all know he really shouldn't have.
Michael Farkas
Celebrate 68
Visnovsky is a better version of John-Michael Liles probably...that's the comparable that's in my head. And I liked both players...I once nearly bought a Kings Visnovsky jersey actually...
VanIslander
A 19-year ATDer on HfBoards
You cannot talk about the greatest Slovakian generation without talking about Visnovsky. I watched them win three world championship medals at the beginning of this century and LV was a big part of it. His skating and positional decisionmaking were heralded. He was Slovakia's top defenseman 6 of 7 years between 1999 and 2005, the last time also voted Slovakia's top player of the year. Thereafter he continued to play well, scoring in his 4th Olympics as one of the captains.
My paternal grandmother's father was Slovakian (the Valuska family had moved to Hungary in the late 19th century), so I've watched A LOT of Slovakian national team hockey games intently. Viz continually did good stuff. I was proud of him.
My paternal grandmother's father was Slovakian (the Valuska family had moved to Hungary in the late 19th century), so I've watched A LOT of Slovakian national team hockey games intently. Viz continually did good stuff. I was proud of him.
VanIslander
A 19-year ATDer on HfBoards
Coffey wasn't soft, he was awol, in his later years, away from the play, awaiting turnovers. He and Ronning did what Bure was lambasted for doing: circling vulturelike outside the blueline ready to surge on the counterattack when a teammate got them the puck.
Nick Hansen
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- Sep 28, 2017
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The Housley induction really killed all credibility, didn't it? I mean, Andreychuk was garbage too...but both of these...
I am too young to have seen or remember Housley. Who would a more recent comparable be?
Nick Hansen
Registered User
- Sep 28, 2017
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I don't know...there really isn't anyone. Maybe Marc-Andre Bergeron? Justin Schultz at Edmonton?
Some will say Karlsson and if you look at his first season it might be somewhat true, but not later on. Not at all.
Michael Farkas
Celebrate 68
There is no comparable to anyone today...no one plays like that anymore...Bergeron was just a cannon, he didn't carry the puck like Housley...
It's a stretch, but if I had to come up with something...maybe Nikita Nesterov...but no one knows who that is...
If you want to watch Phil Housley (#6 in white) and Paul Coffey (#7 in blue) play absolute dog **** defense for 13 minutes, then you'll want to watch this...
The more you watch hockey from the 80's, the more you realize the 50's was better hockey...ymmv though...
It's a stretch, but if I had to come up with something...maybe Nikita Nesterov...but no one knows who that is...
If you want to watch Phil Housley (#6 in white) and Paul Coffey (#7 in blue) play absolute dog **** defense for 13 minutes, then you'll want to watch this...
The more you watch hockey from the 80's, the more you realize the 50's was better hockey...ymmv though...
MXD
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sr edler
gold is not reality
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TheDevilMadeMe
Registered User
Housley thought offense even when his team was two men shorthanded.
I'm more impressed that you found an rare example of Housley seeing ice time shorthanded. Housley saw far less SHTOI than any other 1000+ game defenseman in history. And I believe that among 500+ defensemen, only Jason Woolley (IIRC, it was Woolley) saw a similarly low amount of SHTOI.
TheDevilMadeMe
Registered User
Housley was unique in that he combined the worst defensive awareness you've ever seen from a regular NHL defenseman, the worst defensive effort you've ever seen from a regular NHL defenseman, and was as soft as any regular NHL player to ever play. But his offense was good enough to keep him in the league for almost 1500+ games.
