Sandis Ozolinsh

[Hobnobs]

Ozolinsh and Tverdovsky are underrated defensemen. The difference between them is that Ozo played for a good team with a coach that knew how to utilize offense while Tverdovsky had to play the "dump the puck and fall back"-style.

 

[Filthy Dangles]

Who in the game today would you compare Sandis to the most?

Roman Josi maybe?

 

[Michael Farkas]

Josi is way too good defensively for Ozo...how about Shayne Gostisbehere...?

 

[MarkusKetterer]

Sandis was my favourite Shark

 

[Sentinel]

He scared me big time every time Detroit played Colorado. He was something else with the puck. Not Zubov, not Gonchar, not even Neidermayer ever scared me as much as Ozolinsh did.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

i always wish i'd seen ozolinsh's first full year in san jose. i don't think i caught him at all. but man, how does a rookie defenseman score 26 goals with almost no powerplay production? i remember reading about him after the end of the year; the writer said something like, ozolinsh finished just two goals behind macinnis for league lead, but with almost no goals on the PP. when he learns how to QB a PP, watch out.

he's still tied with bobby orr for 8th most ES goals in a single season by a defenseman.

Rk	Player	EV	Season	Age	GP	G	PTS	+/-
1	Paul Coffey*	30	1985-86	24	79	48	138	61
2	Bobby Orr*	29	1970-71	22	78	37	139	124
3	Bobby Orr*	28	1974-75	26	80	46	135	80
4	Paul Coffey*	25	1983-84	22	80	40	126	52
5	Doug Wilson	24	1981-82	24	76	39	85	1
6	Paul Coffey*	23	1984-85	23	80	37	121	57
7	Phil Housley*	23	1987-88	23	74	29	66	-17
8	Bobby Orr*	22	1971-72	23	76	37	117	83
9	Sandis Ozolinsh	22	1993-94	21	81	26	64	16

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the comparisons to karlsson and leetch upthread are valid. but i would add that ozo was a really big, strong guy. he didn't use it the way, say, rob blake used his size and strength, but you also can't discount it. i want to compare his frame to kovalev's, and ozo used it to protect the puck while carrying it in a similar way. when he had it, it was really really hard to get the puck from him.

 

[Filthy Dangles]

He put up some damn good offensive numbers from the backend but only finished top 10 in Norris voting twice, 3rd and 9th place. Was he that bad or indifferent defensively?

He seems like a poverty man's Brian Leetch.