Sam Girard

[AvsWraith]

He so good, he makes the rest of our defensemen look like sacks of dog ****. And not the hefty durable kind, but the kind that disintegrates when you're taking it to the curb and gets on your shoes and your like "Awwww Awwwwwwwwwwwww".

 

[WarriorOfGandhi]

yeah but he wasn't an Avs fan growing up

 

[Foppberg]

yeah but he wasn't an Avs fan growing up

Maybe he was a Nordiques fan

 

[Balthazar]

Maybe he was a Nordiques fan

Too young. Was probably a Habs fan.

 

[Foppberg]

Too young. Was probably a Habs fan.

Maybe his parents were Nordiques fans and they became Av fans and he grew up as an Avs fan.

 

[Lonewolfe2015]

And he can sing Opera. What a talent.

 

[Ceremony]

yeah but he wasn't an Avs fan growing up

^^^ gets it

 

[Spilot23]

 

[Spleenless Wonder21]

Too young. Was probably a Habs fan.

Thus, making him a masochist, which fits a career with Colorado post-2003!

 

[MarkT]

I'm not sure what I love most about him...
His smooth skating...
His spin moves...
His insane passing ability...
His ability to get out of trouble in his own zone...
His ability to skate the puck through traffic...
His ability to avoid checks by the other team...
Or...
His facial expressions that make him look like he's a 15 year veteran who has seen everything before.

I think it's the last one, honestly.

 

[Pokecheque]

The big test will be Nashville. They took repeated runs at him in that playoff series, which I'm sure is why he decided to bulk up this offseason.

 

[Avs71]

EJ says he’s like his little brother, and Girard said EJ is like an older brother. I’d bet that Ronaldo beatdown by EJ went a long way to developing that.

 

[Pokecheque]

I am kinda curious, why has Bednar gone with Cole/Barrie and Girard/Johnson as his top four when it sure looked like in preseason and practice that Cole's and Zadorov's roles would be the opposite of that. Not a complaint, mind you, just kinda surprised Zads has played so sparingly.

 

[ASmileyFace]

I thought Zads would be with Barrie too. Cole has been great on that pairing in these two games though.

 

[henchman21]

I am kinda curious, why has Bednar gone with Cole/Barrie and Girard/Johnson as his top four when it sure looked like in preseason and practice that Cole's and Zadorov's roles would be the opposite of that. Not a complaint, mind you, just kinda surprised Zads has played so sparingly.

It was probably a test in the pre-season to see if he liked the Z-Barrie look over what he thought he'd get with Cole-Barrie... and he probably likes the results better with Cole up right now. I imagine there will be some variations there when the team starts to struggle.

 

[Iracundia]

Bednar was playing up Zadorov's all-round upside in the preseason, I'm wondering if he want to see Z in a more offensive role on his own pairing.

 

[The Abusement Park]

Z also seems to be a bit of a slow starter. So maybe Bednar thought it be smart to let Z run a 3rd pairing to get the rust off and then could adjust as needed.

 

[henchman21]

Z also seems to be a bit of a slow starter. So maybe Bednar thought it be smart to let Z run a 3rd pairing to get the rust off and then could adjust as needed.

But he was perfectly in shape this year!!!!

Only two games so far where the team has played very, very well. Bednar is making the right choices at the moment, and I'm sure if there are defensive struggles on the bottom pairings at some point goign forward, he will be making that adjustment quickly.

 

[Pokecheque]

I do notice he's rotating his defensive pairings a bit here and there, I believe in both games he's tried out Girard-Barrie in limited shifts. I like a coach who's willing to try different things.

 

[The Abusement Park]

But he was perfectly in shape this year!!!!

Only two games so far where the team has played very, very well. Bednar is making the right choices at the moment, and I'm sure if there are defensive struggles on the bottom pairings at some point goign forward, he will be making that adjustment quickly.

Oh absolutely. Like I said, make changes as needed

 

[Patagonia]

I'm not sure what I love most about him...
His smooth skating...
His spin moves...
His insane passing ability...
His ability to get out of trouble in his own zone...
His ability to skate the puck through traffic...
His ability to avoid checks by the other team...
Or...
His facial expressions that make him look like he's a 15 year veteran who has seen everything before.

I think it's the last one, honestly.

Girard confidence is exceptional.

Not only does he play good defence, but his steady play regardless of the pressure to getting the puck out of the zone and transition to offence. He takes control and actually QB the AVs.

Barrie (I know the supporters) carries the puck to Centre ice and always drops into the AVs zone back to a rushing Forward...usually Mackinnon or Landy. This really defeats the purpose, because the Forwards should be streaking into the attack zone getting positioning. Barrie acts like a Forward dropping the puck backwards, so what is his purpose?

 

[Cousin Eddie]

I think it’s as simple as Cole looking better and more consistent than Zadorov early on.

 

[Pokecheque]

Barrie (I know the supporters) carries the puck to Centre ice and always drops into the AVs zone back to a rushing Forward...usually Mackinnon or Landy. This really defeats the purpose, because the Forwards should be streaking into the attack zone getting positioning. Barrie acts like a Forward dropping the puck backwards, so what is his purpose?

Well, for starters, they can't streak too far because otherwise they'd be off-sides. The drop-pass thing is intended to disrupt the opposition's PK structure, it allows for MacKinnon (or Compher) to make a zone entry at full speed. I can't say I think it's the most effective way to do things but it's worked for the most part since they almost always gain the zone. I hope you're not advocating they go back to whatever the hell they did when Army ran things.

The problem isn't the zone-entry method, it's the fact that the top unit stands still too much and they're forcing things, and Rantanen is just refusing to shoot it (Landy's been pretty awful on the half-wall as well). The 2nd unit has been far more effective because they're generating way more traffic in front and just plain shooting it more.

 

[The Abusement Park]

Well, for starters, they can't streak too far because otherwise they'd be off-sides. The drop-pass thing is intended to disrupt the opposition's PK structure, it allows for MacKinnon (or Compher) to make a zone entry at full speed. I can't say I think it's the most effective way to do things but it's worked for the most part since they almost always gain the zone. I hope you're not advocating they go back to whatever the hell they did when Army ran things.

The problem isn't the zone-entry method, it's the fact that the top unit stands still too much and they're forcing things, and Rantanen is just refusing to shoot it (Landy's been pretty awful on the half-wall as well). The 2nd unit has been far more effective because they're generating way more traffic in front and just plain shooting it more.

No it’s cuz Barrie sucks and Girard is amazing.

Girard is amazing tbf though.

 

[Balthazar]

I think it’s as simple as Cole looking better and more consistent than Zadorov early on.

This. There's not much else to read into it. Z hasn't played like a top 4 guy yet this year. He's playing #6 minutes for a reason.