Voting Record - ResilientBeast, Kyle McMahon, ehhedler

[Theokritos]

Technical shortcomings. Would have to see videos. Did you provide videos? No!

This goes to pretentious. Creating a strawman issue-technical shortcomings. You want the last word, be my guest.

Gee, he was merely asking a question. You can also answer "I don't know" without acting as if he did anything malicious.

 

[Kyle McMahon]

Girlfriend is not a poor cook, she just likes to eat out.

Ask the obvious question Kyle. Why didn't other defensemen use a very long stick.

Sticks were heavier then than they are today. Johnson was bigger and stronger than most other players; perhaps he was the only one strong enough to maintain dexterity with a longer, heavier stick. Pure speculation, but so is assuming he must have used it because he was a weak skater. I play defense in rec hockey, and use the longest stick I can find at the sports store. I'm also an above-average skater relative to the other players in the league. I'm not trying to mask a skating weakness by using a long stick, it's just a personal preference. Maybe it was for Moose too.

 

[sr edler]

Zdeno Chara plays with a longer stick than his peers are even allowed to use. Such a fraud he must be.

 

[Michael Farkas]

Also a poor skater. Same with Olli Maatta.

 

[sr edler]

There's no also here for my liking until someone produces sufficient evidence that Johnson was (or became, more or less over night while moving from Montreal to New Westminster) a poor skater. Drawing those conclusions only by looking at someones stick is lazy detective work.

Chara is a suspect skater because of his flamingo physique. Johnson, while relatively heavy for his era, had a different frame to work with.

 

[Canadiens1958]

Perhaps I can deduce. Read the extensive list of leg injuries suffered by Moose Johnson pre 1916. Not beneficial to skating. Many players in hockey history suffered leg injuries that impacted skating.

Moose Johnson - Wikipedia

Moose, also wore a helmet at times.

Calculating his variable stick length is easy given the provided info.

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

Also a poor skater. Same with Olli Maatta.

Also 6'9".

 

[TheEye]

Sticks were heavier then than they are today. Johnson was bigger and stronger than most other players; perhaps he was the only one strong enough to maintain dexterity with a longer, heavier stick. Pure speculation, but so is assuming he must have used it because he was a weak skater. I play defense in rec hockey, and use the longest stick I can find at the sports store. I'm also an above-average skater relative to the other players in the league. I'm not trying to mask a skating weakness by using a long stick, it's just a personal preference. Maybe it was for Moose too.

To reiterate your point, there is no correlation between using shorter/longer sticks and skating ability. Defensemen often use longer sticks for valid reason. Players often experiment with shorter/longer sticks and various lies. It's a common theme that choice of stick length and lie is essentially defined by your playing style, not by your skating ability. There is a general consensus if one wields a stick which is considerably too long, it may be detrimental to many facets of their game.

I think it's prudent to say there isn't anyone alive who's qualified to comment on Moose Johnson's skating ability. The best one can do is regurgitate what they discover in old newspaper clippings. If we suggest he was an inferior skater because he wielded a long stick, we may as well infer his IQ as the highest in the league because he wore a helmet. It's fascinating to note that Wikipedia suggests he was one of the few skaters who could skate backwards and simultaneously engage the play during his time. That's definitely an interesting tidbit when considering the general skill of the skaters during that era. It apparently also suggests he was a better overall skater than most in his heyday.

I had a look at the provided picture of Moose Johnson with the Portland Rosebuds, and my initial thought was that his stick didn't appear to be remarkably long, maybe up to his chin on skates. I did observe the players to the far right are wielding shorter sticks, relative to modern standards. See picture below:

I did some quick digging into the newspaper clippings, and discovered an article which states, “his stick from handle to heel is five feet one inch.” This measures his stick at 61 inches. See picture below:

Using a modern-day example, a current Bauer senior retail stick measures at 60 inches from the heel to handle. If Moose Johnson measured at 5 feet, 11 inches, this would have placed his stick at about chin height while on skates. I’d use Nick Lidstrom’s stick length as a comparable example and a maximum estimation of his stick length, while on skates. See picture below:

Johnson’s equipment styling in combination with his unique (at the time) skating ability may lend credence to his 'clever' moniker. It appears that he was a little ahead of his time in both regards. It also suggests that ehhedler was a little clever to include him in his list, as well.

 

[sr edler]

... I like this Eye guy, not only because he called me clever but because I like diagrams and photo analysis and stuff. Interesting the newspaper text above also mentions the push check. I can't remember if I've come across that description before, but I know I've heard of the sweep check with Moose Johnson. With Walker/Nighbor I've heard of the hook check and and the poke check. So many different checks my head's getting all dizzy. Almost like figure skating with the single, double, triple and quadruple Axel.

As for skating backwards, I know I've read Cyclone Taylor could do it, and he was considered a great skater at the time. When it comes to skating during this era it's probably wise to try to make a distinction between players just being able to skate fast and players being able to skate fast and/or using his skating in a more technical fashion. There were quite many players at the time (usually rovers) who either had a background in or simultaneously competed in speed-skating. Some examples of the lot includes Jack Brannen (Shamrocks), Max Hornfeck (New York AC, etc.) and Ken Mallen (the latter worked as a skating instructor teaching speed-skating in Ottawa and skating for the London Skating Club in London, Ontario after retiring from hockey).

 

[Canadiens1958]

Date of the Moose Johnson article?