What has Brewer done wrong?

[Jacques Plante]

I've been hearing alot of Brewer bashing but I don't really hear any solid points on what he's doing wrong.

The only mistake I saw Brewer make was not passing to St Louis on that rush. It was no big deal. He's a defenceman scoring isn't his job. (especially on this team) Also, the game was already over by that point.

I just want to hear from the Brewer Bashers what has he done wrong?

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[Tuggy]

Brewer is a good offensive defenseman but his defensive game needs much improvement. His +/- year after year proves that.

That is the biggest problem right there. People think he is an offensive defenseman but he is not. He is more effective as a stay at home type guy.

 

[MrMastodonFarm*]

Brewer is a good offensive defenseman but his defensive game needs much improvement. His +/- year after year proves that.

Well, considering Eric Brewer is now 25 years old and his highest point total ever is 29 points I hesitate to call him an offensive defencemen.

He didn't earn his way onto this team, he has Kevin Lowe to thank for that. Sure he has played well the last two games, but Phillips, McCabe, Morris, Souray, Stuart etc could all probably do better.

 

[Oil_slick9416*]

Well, Being an Oiler fan, the only two 'things' brewer has done wrong is:

1) Be Slightly out of postion on a few goals.

2) Being named to the team, fans in Toronto are all made because he was picked over mcabe. Which isn't really his fault, he just had his foot in the door with his previous exprience had the world Championships and the 02' olympics. oh and having Kevin lowe on the mangement side doesn't hurt either

 

[Malefic74]

To be honest I'm not a huge Brewer fan, but really has not looked out of place all that much. He's been hitting, has played pretty effectively and safely with the puck (last night's goal was a result that his pass went off a skate, he was trying to go up the boards) and has generally done what was asked of him. A big reason why he was picked again is chemistry. Gretzky and Quinn have both said it was important to them to keep a lot of returnees on the team. No big conspiracy theory there.

Here's a concept: Stop complaining that the defenceman you had picked isn't there and cheer for the guys who are wearing the Maple Leaf on their chests. They deserve that at the very least.

 

[kerrly]

Brewer is a good offensive defenseman but his defensive game needs much improvement. His +/- year after year proves that.

Plus/minus is a very finicky stat at best. I am not one to let stats dictate someone's worth to me. I look at how they play and thats it.

It just goes to show the lack of hockey judgement on here. People only think you're good if you're putting points on the board. Brewer hasn't played perfect, but he has played very good I think. Just watch, if Brewer pots a couple goals, all of a sudden everyone will be talking about how good he is, just watch.

 

[victor]

Brewer is a good offensive defenseman but his defensive game needs much improvement. His +/- year after year proves that.

Yes, playing 24+ minutes against the other teams best players, on a team with weak goaltending that may or may not squeak into the playoffs, would have little to no effect on +/-.

Brewer is not an offensive defenseman - but he's a damn good defenseman. Does he deserve to be at the world championship? I don't know, and quite frankly, don't care. He's there now, not injured, and playing well.

What more can you ask?

 

[Fincan]

I love how some people will state or imply that Brewer is there because of Lowe and then go on to say how Quinns McCabe or Getz's Morris are more deserving. I guess K. Lowe has much more pull than these two then hey.

 

[Mountain Dude]

People just randomly hate him for no reason whatsoever, he was making some really crisp passes, didn't give any huge give aways, made some big hits, he joined a few rushes, and he's played for Canada 8 times, that alone says something pretty big.

 

[DutchLeafsfan]

Well, I am not the msot qualified person to say this, but what I think it comes down to is the following:

Quite a few posters think Brewer should not be on Team Canada (based on performance prior to the WC). They feel that while he is a pretty good defenseman, he has also received a great deal of (possibly undeserved) hype based on perceived upside and solid play at a young age. He got onto the Olympics team (some probably think Kevin Lowe had something to do with it as well), and is by some considered to have been living off this hype, whereas his game hasn't improved as much as it should based on upside.

While some of this is a bit overblown, I do personally think there are some better defenseman for Canada out there, although Brewer does also benefit form his willingness to play for Canada in the World Championships the past few years.

 

[Owen]

Brewer is a good offensive defenseman but his defensive game needs much improvement. His +/- year after year proves that.

 

[kerrly]

I love how some people will state or imply that Brewer is there because of Lowe and then go on to say how Quinns McCabe or Getz's Morris are more deserving. I guess K. Lowe has much more pull than these two then hey.

Very good point.

 

[Joey24]

I have no problem with Brewer being on the team. None as I am sure everyone else who is complaning about the same thing I am in that there are more deserving players out there that IMO and the opinion of many others deserve to be on this club more then Eric Brewer, Jay-Bo, and about 3-4 other players, but the team is picked and they (so far) are playing well so there is really no need to complain about who's there and who's not. It just makes wonder when people say McCabe does not deserve to be on the team when there are guys like Brewer, Regehr and Hannan make it before a guy who finished 4th in Norris votes. Other guys I don't think are as deserving to be on the team include Kirk Maltby, Kris Draper,and even Brenden Morrow though I do like Morrow.

 

[Lexicon Devil]

It was hard to see from the very back row of the Bell Centre, so there's a good chance I'm wrong on this, but didn't Brewer cost Canada the goal against vs. Slovakia? I never did see the highlights.

 

[oil slick]

It was hard to see from the very back row of the Bell Centre, so there's a good chance I'm wrong on this, but didn't Brewer cost Canada the goal against vs. Slovakia?

Well, the way I saw it... Brewer had the puck in the corner, and tried to get the puck out along the boards. The puck hit a Slovak skate and went towards the Canadian goal, and at that point Canada was screwed... so if anyone was to blame, it was certainly Brewer, but it seemed more like a bad bounce than anything. Maybe you can say he should have gotten the puck up, but I think its the type of play you see ten times a game without incident.

 

[Kickabrat]

Who knows who is "deserving" or not deserving to be there? These players were not picked just on stats. The guys in charge know a lot more about these players then a bunch of fans like us looking at their stats. I can't compare Brewer after watching him play a handful of times versus another player I watch all the time. I can't say if he "deserves" to be there more than another player. As far as I'm concerned he's there so he deserves to be there, and he deserves as much spport as any other Team Canada player.

 

[Vyse64]

according to some people the fact that Brewer was born is reason enough

 

[Wolfpack]

I would like to point out a fact to those who are complaining that Brewer shouldn't be there, that he is only there because of Lowe.

So he's only scored 29 points as a career high. So his +/- is unimpressive. Those kinds of stats mean squat in a 3 week tournament.

Brewer has always played well in international competitions.

In fact, even with limited NHL playoff experience, when you consider all the huge games he has played for Team Canada, Brewer - at the ripe old age of 25 - has played in more big, pressure-packed games in the last 7 years than every d-man on Team Canada except for Foote and Neidermeyer.

That, by the way, is also way more than McCabe, Aucoin, Morris, etc.

 

[GTF]

I think the reason many people don't like Brewer, or don't think he should be on Canada, is b/c there is so much hype around him. Management absolutely loves Brewer. They go on and on about him. I guess some people are just unable to see what Gretzky et al. see in him.

Plus, people mistakingly label him as an offensive defenseman. NHLers, management, media, fans, etc. They all talk about his offensive abilities, but he's never been much of an offensive player, save for one season in junior. Perhaps the potential is there, as he's a great skating defensemen who joins the rush and has a hard, accurate shot, but he's never proven that he is. If people stop referring to him as an offensive defenseman and appreciate him for his other abilities, they'll realize he's a good defenseman.

I think he's a pretty solid defender. He's not perfect, and he definitely has things to work on, but he's good. I think management sees that Brewer can be a part of Team Canada for years to come and wanted to expose him to that experience well in advance ... much like Jay Bouwmeester. To me, Brewer quietly does his job. He's not flashy or outlandish. Since he's not flashy, I think he's overlooked by many, b/c he does his job so quietly and doesn't attract attention. He just does his job. I like a guy who can simply get it done!

Sure, he makes mistakes, but even the most seasoned veterans make mistakes. Brodeur let in a weak goal against Slovakia the other night. It happens. McCabe, who many believe should be on the team ahead of Brewer, made a few glaring errors in the playoffs this past year. **** happens. You just hope they learn from their mistakes.

Furthermore, and it was mentioned by someone else, Brewer seems to thrive in international games. He had an awesome World Championships and a great Olympics, at the young age of 22. Management knows this. I honestly think it was more of a dream for him to play for Canada than to play in the NHL. He's a proud dude.

One of the things Brewer does need to work on is playing with more intensity and using his size for more of an advantage, but he has all the intensity in the world during international games. It makes Oilers fans wish he could play like that when he's not wearing the maple leaf. Perhaps Toronto should look into acquiring him.

 

[boxall9]

It makes Oilers fans wish he could play like that when he's not wearing the maple leaf. Perhaps Toronto should look into acquiring him.

Leaf fans have made many proposals for him, most of which involve Aki Berg and draft picks.