Jared Boll

[db2011]

There's a lot of pooh-poohing Boller these days, maybe exacerbated by the addition of a couple guys, D'Amigo and Gibbons, who seem capable of slotting into the 4th line as low-level scoring threats. Hjalmarsson too, maybe. As well as prospect call-ups to get NHL experience in a role not as pressurized as being in the top 6. I've heard Dano and Rychel mentioned in this way and even Wennberg (which seems wrong to me).

It's worth discussing whether that's a good use of a 4th line, though, as a kind of poor man's 3rd line. To me, any scoring from the 4th line is gravy and I don't look to it to provide offense. A lot of the prospective fourth lines being discussed here are made up of those guys, who are fast and high energy but not particularly large. Letestu, Gibbons, and Tropp are players who can flash a bit of high-end skill every now and then and get you some points.

We lost DMac and Comeau, two guys who throw the body in addition to having speed and some skill. Boller throws the body with less skill, but there's no one else like him projecting to the 4th line. I think what he brings is valuable. He's also a veteran who knows what he's doing. (I don't know much about D'Amigo aside from his listed stats, and he is bigger than the others but still a grade smaller than Boll.)

For my money, Boll should certainly be on the 4th line, not a 13th forward. I'm not conversant in advanced stats because I don't care how the sausage is made, but I feel he's good on the forecheck, which is what I think that line is for. Is anyone able to provide better possession stats for him?

I like Boll, and he wears a letter, but this isn't sentimentality. I just don't think anyone else slated for the 4th line brings what he does.

I'm sure there will be plenty of pithy rebuttals of about a sentence in length because HF. But to the valid point that the 4th line was very good last year without Boll, next year's 4th line won't be like last year's. DMac is gone and so is Comeau.

Click to read more...

 

[Fro]

I don't feel that boll is healthy...not like he can't go out there and play healthy, but like he's been hit in the head too many times healthy. Was discussing this over the weekend with some friends and its nearly the consensus is that its not that he isn't good enough (well I don't think he is, especially with the pests in the lineup currently) but that for his sake he shouldn't be out there...

 

[DJA]

The goal of any NHL team should be to ice the 12 best forwards in the organization each game. IMO, Boll is not one of the 12 best forwards in our organization. We have enough toughness in the lineup (Foligno, Dubinsky, Hartnell, Jenner) that also contributes offensively, so we have no need to trot out a one-trick pony for 5 minutes a night. Goons/fighting are going the way of the mammoth around the NHL and the new trend is having tough guys/pests who can also score. Boll doesn't fit in the lineup on a game by game basis.

 

[Jackets16]

Boll just isn't one of our best 12 forwards. It is as simple as that. I don't even think he is on of our best 15.

 

[EspenK]

But he's all ours for the next three seasons

 

[DarkandStormy]

There's a reason his nickname is Blol.

 

[thebus2288*]

Just because he's been hurt and you guys cant remember when he was effective doesn't mean he isn't or cant be effective. Frankly, all this negative Boll talk brings me back to my feelings that most of you CANT understand the effect he has on our team and our opponents. You guys are like the Jeff Rimers of hockey fans. Boll isn't just a random plug enforcer. And random plug enforcers will still be apart of the game of hockey anyway.

"BUT DERRICK MACKENZIE"?!?

All this talk about having toughness in the lineup. We have 1 other guy in Prout who can handle the bigger guys in the league. And it seems most of you want him as the #7-8 anyway. Foligno, Dubinski, Hartnell and Wiz can all muck it up and drop the gloves with almost anybody in the league, besides the highest tier of guys. Other than 1 of those guys, we shouldn't want them mixing it up with the toughest guys in the league. Remember Brassard and Neal? Just wait till 1 of our guys blows a shoulder again or breaks a leg in an awkward fight sticking up for somebody getting run at.

 

[major major]

Just because he's been hurt and you guys cant remember when he was effective doesn't mean he isn't or cant be effective. Frankly, all this negative Boll talk brings me back to my feelings that most of you CANT understand the effect he has on our team and our opponents. You guys are like the Jeff Rimers of hockey fans. Boll isn't just a random plug enforcer. And random plug enforcers will still be apart of the game of hockey anyway.

"BUT DERRICK MACKENZIE"?!?

All this talk about having toughness in the lineup. We have 1 other guy in Prout who can handle the bigger guys in the league. And it seems most of you want him as the #7-8 anyway. Foligno, Dubinski, Hartnell and Wiz can all muck it up and drop the gloves with almost anybody in the league, besides the highest tier of guys. Other than 1 of those guys, we shouldn't want them mixing it up with the toughest guys in the league. Remember Brassard and Neal? Just wait till 1 of our guys blows a shoulder again or breaks a leg in an awkward fight sticking up for somebody getting run at.

It's not just us. A lot of teams are phasing out the heavyweights. And thank goodness for it.

 

[db2011]

I don't feel that boll is healthy...

You been reading his mail?

The goal of any NHL team should be to ice the 12 best forwards in the organization each game. IMO, Boll is not one of the 12 best forwards in our organization. We have enough toughness in the lineup (Foligno, Dubinsky, Hartnell, Jenner) that also contributes offensively, so we have no need to trot out a one-trick pony for 5 minutes a night. Goons/fighting are going the way of the mammoth around the NHL and the new trend is having tough guys/pests who can also score. Boll doesn't fit in the lineup on a game by game basis.

What trick is that? Because I made it pretty clear in my post that I'm not talking about enforcement or goonery.

Boll just isn't one of our best 12 forwards. It is as simple as that. I don't even think he is on of our best 15.

By what measure? I don't even know what you mean when you say he isn't one of our best 15 forwards. It's certainly not as simple as that.

There's a reason his nickname is Blol.

There it is! Except his nickname isn't Blol, that's just what you uncleverly call him.


Someone is going to have to do better than to talk around wanting a 4th line that isn't just another, weaker scoring line. The fourth line isn't a scoring line, it's as simple as that. It's a forechecking line, and last I saw, Boll is a heckuva forechecker. It certainly helps that he's built like he is, too.

If you want young guys on your fourth line looking to score points, you can probably end up with an average fourth line. But Boll isn't going to miss the net and send the puck back the other way very often.

 

[db2011]

It's not just us. A lot of teams are phasing out the heavyweights. And thank goodness for it.

Boll's 3 year contract doesn't quite constitute phasing out. Maybe management sees him differently.

 

[Fro]

You been reading his mail?

i don't even know what that means? He wasn't healthy last year for most of it...and i don't feel mentally he's ok from some of those injuries...

 

[Fro]

Boll's 3 year contract doesn't quite constitute phasing out. Maybe management sees him differently.

it sounds more like you are in denial over the current trend of the NHL...

 

[DJA]

What trick is that? Because I made it pretty clear in my post that I'm not talking about enforcement or goonery..

Run around and loudly check himself into the boards? If it's anything other than that, the coaches don't trust him to do whatever it is more than 5 minutes a game.

 

[Doug19]

I'd love to know what Boll brings to the table? Can he PK? Nope. Can he score? Nope. Can he be effective on the powerplay? Nope. Can he forecheck? yes, but so can the rest of our team. Can he fight? Yes, but who cares, fighting doesn't win playoff games. Look at the two Stanley cup teams and tell me how Boll would fit in on their roster. Look at Boston, he would fit their. St. Louis, nope, no use for him. Players like boll are a penny a dozen. He adds no value to a team. The one thing he can do that can be helpful is a hard forecheck, but their aren't to many players in the league who can't forecheck just as effectively as Boll if that was their role. Seriously what is this myth of Boll being a good forechecker? If he was good at it you would think he'd have a more effective +/- stat to back that up or a good corsi rating or something. Their really isn't much quantifiable evidence that shows Boll deserves a spot on this team anymore. A few years ago when he looked like he could be a 10-15 goal guy, he might have been useful, but now, not so much and everybody but a few people on this board knows it.

 

[db2011]

i don't even know what that means? He wasn't healthy last year for most of it...and i don't feel mentally he's ok from some of those injuries...

It means you're speculating. Yeah, he was hurt a lot of last year. So was Horton

it sounds more like you are in denial over the current trend of the NHL...

I didn't give him his contract. Can I make it any more clear that I'm not talking about Boll as an enforcer but as offensive zone presence?

 

[Fro]

Run around and loudly check himself into the boards? If it's anything other than that, the coaches don't trust him to do whatever it is more than 5 minutes a game.

that's my favorite Boll-ism...the miss the player, check the glass play...

 

[Fro]

It means you're speculating. Yeah, he was hurt a lot of last year. So was Horton



I didn't give him his contract. Can I make it any more clear that I'm not talking about Boll as an enforcer but as offensive zone presence?

for the process here, sure I'm speculating...b/c I don't want to get into a "who do you know" pissing match...

boll's entire role is to be an enforcer, he's never been a scorer, never been an assister, never PK'd, never on the point in a PP, so what possible presence can he have on this team? oh, yes, that's right, the fact that he goes out there and gets into a fight with the opposing team...that is all he's ever done

 

[db2011]

Run around and loudly check himself into the boards? If it's anything other than that, the coaches don't trust him to do whatever it is more than 5 minutes a game.

5 minutes a game coming off an injury. It's closer to 8 minutes, which isn't a ton of time but is significant.

 

[DJA]

I didn't give him his contract. Can I make it any more clear that I'm not talking about Boll as an enforcer but as offensive zone presence?

What has Boll ever done on the ice that would convince you he could ever hope to be an offensive zone presence?

The "10-15 goal potential" Boll that was mentioned earlier is long gone.

 

[thebus2288*]

that's my favorite Boll-ism...the miss the player, check the glass play...

But when Mackenzie does it? That's heart and grit boy!!!

 

[Fro]

But when Mackenzie does it? That's heart and grit boy!!!

this isn't a Mackenzie thread, but he did it FAR less than I ever notice Boll doing it...

 

[thebus2288*]

never on the point in a PP

Jesus

so what possible presence can he have on this team?

Christ


Too many years of Rimer I believe. Sure, it's being phased out with all the concussion experts out there, like our own here. But as of now he/they(tough guys) are still necessary in our sport. Just look at all the dirty plays/suspensions that are still happening and will continue to happen. I know for a fact all you guys would be on here *****ing like crazy if 1 of our guys takes a really nasty hit and is out for a while.

Also you guys saying he has no positive impact in the offensive zone are just wrong. It's on par with any 4th liner we could have in there. Its just a different presence. He's probably our best guy as of now to be used in front as a screen and I could definitely see him used on the PP OUT FRONT(not on the point). Remember how some of you claimed how good Umberger was out front on the PP and that's how he brought value? It's actually true in Boll's case..

 

[db2011]

He's not fast. I'll give you that (not that any of you actually brought that up). Or a special teams guy, which has been mentioned. My thoughts are that he's a big guy who on the 4th line could give cover to someone like Gibbons and Letestu. To use the old standard, he's a heavy. And again, no one else projected for fourth line duty plays like he does.

Maybe it's phooey, but shoddy criticisms like "one trick pony" and anecdotes about missed checks are too. It's like you guys are oblivious to his new deal and think that he missed so much time last year because he played poorly and not because he was hurt. Someone thinks well of Boll, and that someone runs the team.

I'm not even over the moon about him, but I think he brings size, grit, and veteran chops to the 4th line. Y'all are just saying "he's bad" without fleshing it out.

 

[db2011]

for the process here, sure I'm speculating...b/c I don't want to get into a "who do you know" pissing match...

boll's entire role is to be an enforcer, he's never been a scorer, never been an assister, never PK'd, never on the point in a PP, so what possible presence can he have on this team? oh, yes, that's right, the fact that he goes out there and gets into a fight with the opposing team...that is all he's ever done

I don't know anybody and couldn't care less who you know, but if you have information then that's pertinent.

I think you're really making a cartoon character out of the guy. My thoughts are that he's good at keeping the puck in the zone and wearing down the other team in a way small guys can't. There's a place for a forward who doesn't score but can help to establish possession, isn't there? Am I way off thinking that could describe Boll?

 

[thebus2288*]

What has Boll ever done on the ice that would convince you he could ever hope to be an offensive zone presence?

The "10-15 goal potential" Boll that was mentioned earlier is long gone.

Ok you got 4 or 5 guys on the ice. Only 3 can be credited with a point if you score a goal. So the 1 or 2 guys that are not credited with a point had nothing to do with the goal?

How many goals do you think the Red Wings scored that Holmstrom was mainly responsible for that he didn't receive any credit for on the scoresheet? You better believe he got credit in the locker room. The same credit you better believe Boll gets for doing what he does on the ice. There's a reason the 'A' is put where it's put.