crobro
Registered User
- Aug 8, 2008
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He was!!!!
Bowman converted him to centre after his 2nd season.cant remember how long it lasted I think it was 2 years
Phil Housley
- Thread starter whcanuck
- Start date
He was!!!!
Bowman converted him to centre after his 2nd season.cant remember how long it lasted I think it was 2 years
GlitchMarner
Typical malevolent, devious & vile Maple Leafs fan
When drafted he was seen as a C/D: NHL SCOUTING REPORTS
USA Today notes he was used as an occasional centre: https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nhl/2015/11/06/phil-housley-hall-of-fame/75249316/
Somewhere out there I believe there is an article saying the Sabres might be hurting his development by shuffling him between positions. Not finding it tonight though
Housley was first converted to defense by his high school coach, Doug Woog.
"I first saw him as an 11-year-old, and he was just so smooth and everything seemed to go in slow motion for him; he wouldn't jet by people, he'd move by people," Woog said. "I thought his chance of getting a scholarship and playing this game might be a reality, but it would be on defense because there was such a shortage of offensive defensemen at the time.
"I used to think the guy who was smart usually had that computer in their head and could see the whole ice and things develop before others. Phillip had that extra sense."
Housley never thought twice about making the switch from forward to defenseman. He considered it a huge honor to be playing varsity hockey at South St. Paul, a rarity for a freshman.
"I liked the ice time and the fact I was able to jump into play, lead a rush, and anticipate plays coming at me through the neutral zone," Housley said. "I learned to be an offensive threat."
Position switch propelled Housley into Hall of Fame
"I first saw him as an 11-year-old, and he was just so smooth and everything seemed to go in slow motion for him; he wouldn't jet by people, he'd move by people," Woog said. "I thought his chance of getting a scholarship and playing this game might be a reality, but it would be on defense because there was such a shortage of offensive defensemen at the time.
"I used to think the guy who was smart usually had that computer in their head and could see the whole ice and things develop before others. Phillip had that extra sense."
Housley never thought twice about making the switch from forward to defenseman. He considered it a huge honor to be playing varsity hockey at South St. Paul, a rarity for a freshman.
"I liked the ice time and the fact I was able to jump into play, lead a rush, and anticipate plays coming at me through the neutral zone," Housley said. "I learned to be an offensive threat."
Position switch propelled Housley into Hall of Fame
sr edler
gold is not reality
- Mar 20, 2010
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There were plenty of soft centers who sucked defensively. He could of been like.... Super Janney or Short Turgeon.
Hockey draft central says
'Often played forward during early years in Buffalo. He had 13 points at forward in 1983-84, 37 points at forward in 1984-85, and 18 points at forward in 1985-86'
'Often played forward during early years in Buffalo. He had 13 points at forward in 1983-84, 37 points at forward in 1984-85, and 18 points at forward in 1985-86'
I don't know if he had the pure skill of a Turgeon- although it would have been interesting to see how they would have done as forwards together in Buffalo- but he was probably a better passer than Janney (although I don't know if Janney was as much of a defensive liability)
The Panther
Registered User
I remember that he had played forward a bit... but only a bit, or now and then, probably when Buffalo had an injury or something.
You'd think at some point it would have been clear that Housley was not at his best defensively, and one of his several teams would have just said, "Phil, you play left-wing from now on, except on the power-play where you'll play defence." Should have worked.
You'd think at some point it would have been clear that Housley was not at his best defensively, and one of his several teams would have just said, "Phil, you play left-wing from now on, except on the power-play where you'll play defence." Should have worked.
Vanzig
Registered User
People do crap on HOUSLEY and yes his D game is Weak (He did have some Flaws but who doesn’t) but Offensively he was great & he was great on PowerPlay...
Now which makes me shake my head is when the HOF induct’s players and they leave out toehr’s who played in almost the exact same time frame (decade).
Like having PHIL HOUSLEY in the HOF isn’t AS controversial as some may think, One of 5 Defenceman I believe with 300+ Goals and is in the TOP 10 in Every Scoring Major Category among Defenceman (Yes the Adjuster’s can “ADJUST”) BUT having HOUSLEY in HOF & not having All Star Defenceman
JC TREMBLAY and DOUG WILSON in the HOF is Nuts/Crazy.
Now which makes me shake my head is when the HOF induct’s players and they leave out toehr’s who played in almost the exact same time frame (decade).
Like having PHIL HOUSLEY in the HOF isn’t AS controversial as some may think, One of 5 Defenceman I believe with 300+ Goals and is in the TOP 10 in Every Scoring Major Category among Defenceman (Yes the Adjuster’s can “ADJUST”) BUT having HOUSLEY in HOF & not having All Star Defenceman
JC TREMBLAY and DOUG WILSON in the HOF is Nuts/Crazy.
vadim sharifijanov
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- Oct 10, 2007
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i was just thinking, what if phil housley had ever found himself in a situation like another much derided, one dimensional, and often ineffectual but enormously talented phil, namely phil kessel?
imagine housley on the '97 red wings in larry murphy's place, only instead of pairing him with lidstrom against top competition, they hid him on the third pair behind lidstrom/rouse and fetisov/konstantinov? soft minutes teeing up stretch passes to fedorov and yzerman, manning the point opposite lidstrom with shanahan, yzerman, and fedorov up front. he could have succeeded in that role right?
or, on the other hand, maybe deadmarsh or claude lemieux squishes him like a bug and either colorado wins back to back cups or bowman banishes him to the pizza buffet line. but i do think there could have been a good "phil kessel" situation for housley.
imagine housley on the '97 red wings in larry murphy's place, only instead of pairing him with lidstrom against top competition, they hid him on the third pair behind lidstrom/rouse and fetisov/konstantinov? soft minutes teeing up stretch passes to fedorov and yzerman, manning the point opposite lidstrom with shanahan, yzerman, and fedorov up front. he could have succeeded in that role right?
or, on the other hand, maybe deadmarsh or claude lemieux squishes him like a bug and either colorado wins back to back cups or bowman banishes him to the pizza buffet line. but i do think there could have been a good "phil kessel" situation for housley.
Dennis Bonvie
Registered User
Wasn't uncommon for talented young defensemen to play some forward at that time. I recall Gord Kluzak playing wing occasional for the Bruins just to give him some ice time while trying to learn the NHL game as a teen.
KMart27
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- Jun 9, 2013
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I'm really in the middle as to whether or not Housley should be in the Hall of Fame. I was never a fan of his but 4th all time in goals and points among defensemen is a great accomplishment regardless of his weaknesses.
The Paul Coffey-lite idea I can't go along with. There is just too much of a gap between the two. Coffey was clearly a level above offensively. Coffey was better defensively. Coffey won 3 Norris Trophies and is an all time playoff great as well.
The Paul Coffey-lite idea I can't go along with. There is just too much of a gap between the two. Coffey was clearly a level above offensively. Coffey was better defensively. Coffey won 3 Norris Trophies and is an all time playoff great as well.
frisco
Some people claim that there's a woman to blame...
Guys that can produce 1200 points as d-men don't grow on trees...
My Best-Carey
Big Phil
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The thing with Housley is that it is going to be easier for him over the years to look better. Younger fans who never saw him play will just look at his raw numbers and think he was better than he was. Chris Osgood is hoping this sort of courtesy extends to goalies as well for future generations.
The problem with Housley is that you were in trouble if he was your best defenseman. Yeah you loved him on the power play but to be an elite defenseman in my opinion you need to play in all situations. He had 140 power play goals scored against while he was on the ice. Ray Bourque had 687. Heck, Paul Coffey, who gets criticized a lot for his defensive play was on for 364. Nick Lidstrom, 535. 492 for Al MacInnis. Brian Leetch 509. Scott Stevens 593. Heck, even Larry Murphy had 419. Gary Suter, never to be a HHOFer, had 392. What does this tell you? It tells you that Housley was rarely trusted to kill penalties. To me, that doesn't scream an elite defenseman. You need to be trusted in all situations. Mike Green has had 51 PPG against in his career. Even in Washington they didn't trust him to do this. Morgan Rielly kills penalties in Toronto and he may lead NHL defensemen in points this year. That's a good thing. PK Subban got more notoriety when he was killing penalties.
Doesn't it strike anyone else as odd that Housley rarely did this anywhere he went? Not to mention he was a shrinking violet in the playoffs. Got out of the 2nd round once and that was in 1998 when he wasn't even a key contributor. How about Team USA? Not much contribution in the 1984 and 1987 Canada Cups. Not sure if he was injured in 1991 or not. But he barely saw the ice in the 1996 World Cup. Can you imagine him holding up in that physical series vs. Canada? I can't. And I guess neither did coach Ron Wilson, that's why he benched him in favour of guys who will never hit the HHOF like Derian and Kevin Hatcher, Mathieu Schneider, etc. Wasn't asked for the 1998 Olympics. Played in 2002 and did surprisingly well actually.
But you just never had him on your team if you wanted to win. Coffey gets criticized on here for the way he played defense. I always thought he was fine defensively, especially when the game was on the line and in the playoffs or internationally. I always felt confident seeing Coffey with the puck on his stick. But he never looked lost in his own end like Housley. Phil Housley played defense his whole career and never really mastered his own end.
The problem with Housley is that you were in trouble if he was your best defenseman. Yeah you loved him on the power play but to be an elite defenseman in my opinion you need to play in all situations. He had 140 power play goals scored against while he was on the ice. Ray Bourque had 687. Heck, Paul Coffey, who gets criticized a lot for his defensive play was on for 364. Nick Lidstrom, 535. 492 for Al MacInnis. Brian Leetch 509. Scott Stevens 593. Heck, even Larry Murphy had 419. Gary Suter, never to be a HHOFer, had 392. What does this tell you? It tells you that Housley was rarely trusted to kill penalties. To me, that doesn't scream an elite defenseman. You need to be trusted in all situations. Mike Green has had 51 PPG against in his career. Even in Washington they didn't trust him to do this. Morgan Rielly kills penalties in Toronto and he may lead NHL defensemen in points this year. That's a good thing. PK Subban got more notoriety when he was killing penalties.
Doesn't it strike anyone else as odd that Housley rarely did this anywhere he went? Not to mention he was a shrinking violet in the playoffs. Got out of the 2nd round once and that was in 1998 when he wasn't even a key contributor. How about Team USA? Not much contribution in the 1984 and 1987 Canada Cups. Not sure if he was injured in 1991 or not. But he barely saw the ice in the 1996 World Cup. Can you imagine him holding up in that physical series vs. Canada? I can't. And I guess neither did coach Ron Wilson, that's why he benched him in favour of guys who will never hit the HHOF like Derian and Kevin Hatcher, Mathieu Schneider, etc. Wasn't asked for the 1998 Olympics. Played in 2002 and did surprisingly well actually.
But you just never had him on your team if you wanted to win. Coffey gets criticized on here for the way he played defense. I always thought he was fine defensively, especially when the game was on the line and in the playoffs or internationally. I always felt confident seeing Coffey with the puck on his stick. But he never looked lost in his own end like Housley. Phil Housley played defense his whole career and never really mastered his own end.
Newsworthy
Registered User
Such a moot point. Guy is a Hall of Fame inductee. Personally I think it was a good choice. His offensive totals cannot get overlooked.
VanIslander
A 19-year ATDer on HfBoards
VanIslander
A 19-year ATDer on HfBoards
No. Coffey was my hero when I played hockey in the early eighties. But then I saw him play in 1990 and several times in 1994-95 and my hero fell in my eyes big time. Maybe he changed his style. But watching live ( Coffey cam following a guy around the ice) he was opportunistic and irresponsible.
The Panther
Registered User
It's hardly absurd. Coffey and Karlsson are players that coaches were willing to put out in any situation. Coffey went from 1st place team to 1st place team, winning multiple Stanley Cups and Canada Cups. Karlsson was the #1 player on his team for about seven years, with four 1st-team All Star selections and two Norris trophies.
Not one of those things, even once, applied to Housley.
I will say this for Housley, though -- so far, his career goals-for vs. goals-against is looking more impressive than Karlsson's.
The Panther
Registered User
You should go back and watch Coffey at Canada Cup '91. He was awesome. I think in that series (sometimes paired with MacInnis) he struck the perfect balance of offensive and defense.
I would agree, though, that around 1988 to 1993 or something (esp. Pittsburgh and L.A. periods) he was at his weakest defensively.
Well I guess you never watched Phil then.
Off the top of my head I actually can't think of a single good defensive play I ever saw him make. Hilarious considering I probably saw him play somewhere around 250 games including most games during his 'prime' on the jets.
Coffey on the other hand? I mean his takeaway in the 84 canada cup is better defense then Housley's entire career.
Michael Farkas
Grace Personified
Karlsson (currently, the version that has played the last couple seasons) is better defensively than both of them. Early Karlsson was like Coffey, and Housley was worse than both of them by a bit...
sr edler
gold is not reality
- Mar 20, 2010
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There's a certain feeling being a defenseman if you're into offensive stuff because it feels like you own the whole rink, whether you're into stretch passes, puck carrying stuff, controlling the play, jumping into plays, etc.. It's a smorgasbord of opportunities if you're good at said stuff (Leetch, Karlsson). And you can be a bit more careful/opportunistic in picking your battles than a center, who is more obliged to go in both directions all the time. Offensive D is like a lazy and/or soft center. Fits a non-physical good skater/passer like Housley to a tee.
Housley said:
Position switch propelled Housley into Hall of Fame
See he uses the word aggressive here, but probably should have said "unnecessary dirty/violent" or something instead because that quote makes it look like he would rather not go into many heated puck battles in the corners or wherever, whatever league we're talking about. Which is also what happened in the NHL.
