Why's Jeff Skinner labeled as small & concussion prone?

Carolinas Identity*

I'm a bad troll...
Jun 18, 2011
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first off: he is literally exactly the same size as crosby (5'11", 200 lbs)

second: i am in no way insinuating anything about their talent level, crosby is obviously better

but, from reading the trade board for as long as i have, i am legitimately curious why skinner, who has missed less time due to concussions than crosby has, is consistantly treated like he is one hit away from spending his life eating through a straw, while there are simultaneously threads espousing that crosby might be the 5th best player of all time

i am obviously a carolina fan, but i am throwing that out the door for this thread, i am just curious why this is such a held belief, when really it should not be

5'11" is not short

200 lbs is pretty much the nhl average, give or take, and 20 pounds heavier than the average dude

and he has missed, by my count, 16 games over the past four seasons, 11 of which were 2013-2014, and only 5 in the past two seasons, and he played all 82 last year

he also has two 30+ goal seasons in five years, and was two away from hitting 30 last year

yet he seems to be the catalyst for profound vitriol on the trade board

just curious to hear a few reasons from other teams' fans why this is?
 

Woll Smoth

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If a man builds 1,000 bridges and suffers 1 concussion, they don't call him a bridge-builder... they call him small and concussion prone.
 

dechire

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Are you comparing the amount of time Crosby missed with an undiagnosed broken neck to the amount of time Skinner missed with concussions
 

Carolinas Identity*

I'm a bad troll...
Jun 18, 2011
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Calgary, AB
If a man builds 1,000 bridges and suffers 1 concussion, they don't call him a bridge-builder... they call him small and concussion prone.

most of us hurricanes fans, though we may not say it on the trade board, just find it amusing how often his name comes up in trade threads, only to be ripped apart for the reasons i mentioned above

if he is so injury prone (which he isn't), why are there so many threads about him?

yet, it is never one of us who starts any of the threads, it has gotten to the point that our board has made a drinking game out of it, if you dare check out forum #26

but i am just legit curious as to the reasoning of some fans?
 

Sens Rule

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Sep 22, 2005
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At one point Patrice Bergeron was considered super concussion prone. Now... No one really talks about it. Crosby as well (but to a lesser degree).

If Skinner has a big year this season and plays 80 games... People will talk about it less and less.

Another reason why Skinner is considered concussion prone is that he is pretty reckless and fearless. Which is a great thing to score goals... Unless you get too reckless and get nailed hard and already have a history of concussions.
 

Siludin

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He's concussion-prone so fans of other teams can offer low-ball packages in exchange for him in trade discussions.
 

Machinehead

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Jan 21, 2011
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1) this is the internet

2) this is sports

Reputations are the hardest thing to get rid of.

-As recently as last year people thought Dan Girardi was good
-People still think the Rangers can't score
-People still think Philly has garbage goaltending
-People still think Brent Seabrook is good at ice hockey
-Jack Johnson still somehow -some ****ing how- made team USA
-Fun fact: the Bruins have been one of the physically smaller teams in the league for quite some time
 

Senor Catface

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Jul 25, 2006
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Jeff Skinner has gotten a concussion in 3 of his 6 seasons.


That seems like something he's prone to. Doesn't make him less of a player though.
 

blankall

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1) He's below average size.

2) He's had multiple concussion and is only 24.

Also 5'll my ass. He's clearly more like 5'8''...5'9'' tops. Patrick Kane is also listed at 5'11''. Not a chance. It doesn't help that these guys are surrounded by guys like Eric Staal, who are a legit 6'3'' or so, but they definitely exaggerate. The smaller the player, the more they exaggerate. They are trying to mitigate what could be perceived as a serious short coming (Zing!).
 
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DonskoiDonscored

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Oct 12, 2013
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but, from reading the trade board for as long as i have, i am legitimately curious why skinner, who has missed less time due to concussions than crosby has, is consistantly treated like he is one hit away from spending his life eating through a straw, while there are simultaneously threads espousing that crosby might be the 5th best player of all time

Crosby is just as concussion-prone as Skinner, and talks of injury often creep into Crosby conversations.

The reason why Crosby's concussions are talked about less is because he's the best player in the world and therefore his value is incredibly high no matter what injury issues he has had.

It also doesn't help that Crosby has some grit and nastiness to him while Skinner is comparatively soft.

Crosby might be the 5th best player of all time. Concussions don't change that. I'm not really sure what you're getting at.
 

KlefDown

I adore Soli
May 2, 2014
9,915
8,427
1) this is the internet

2) this is sports

Reputations are the hardest thing to get rid of.

-As recently as last year people thought Dan Girardi was good
-People still think the Rangers can't score
-People still think Philly has garbage goaltending
-People still think Brent Seabrook is good at ice hockey
-Jack Johnson still somehow -some ****ing how- made team USA
-Fun fact: the Bruins have been one of the physically smaller teams in the league for quite some time
Seabrook is bad? pls explain
 

Clamshells

¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Aug 11, 2009
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A lot of people form their opinions of players from their first 4 seasons, then decide that that's who they are for the rest of their careers, with no chance for improvement/recovery.

Add to that, Skinner doesn't make a lot of noise around the league, so the concussion thing stands out as what people remember him by.

You can add me to the list of people that didn't realize he played 82 games this year, and was back to his expected scoring rate.

Reputations are the hardest thing to get rid of.

-As recently as last year people thought Dan Girardi was good
-People still think the Rangers can't score
-People still think Philly has garbage goaltending
-People still think Brent Seabrook is good at ice hockey
-Jack Johnson still somehow -some ****ing how- made team USA
-Fun fact: the Bruins have been one of the physically smaller teams in the league for quite some time

-Rinne ranked as a top 8 goalie
-Karlsson bad defensively

the list goes on and on
 

Regal

Registered User
Mar 12, 2010
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Vancouver
by my count, he has missed 34 games in five seasons

most of which, were not concussion related

that is p good for anybody tbh

The number of concussions is more important than the time missed. Every head injury can be a big deal, and typically compound any problems, and he's had three in six seasons. His measurements are also clearly exaggerated, and despite being listed as 200 pounds, he's definitely a slight guy who generally doesn't avoid the dirty areas, so there's basis for concern going forward. There was a lot of talk about him being done after his poor 14-15 season after his third concussion, but he obviously bounced back last year. The 'Canes didn't seem to get a lot of press last year though, so I'm sure many people didn't even realize the type of year he's had.

I'm sure his name gets brought up on the trade board because people always hope for home-run trades. They figure Skinner's history makes his value lower than it should be, and they can get him for cheap and hope he stays healthy and productive going forward. Unfortunately, not enough people seem to realize it takes two teams to make a trade, and it makes no sense for Carolina to trade him for less, when they can just keep him and hope he keeps building on last year and stays injury free.
 

Pukboy5kroner

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Probably something about hating on figure-skating :sarcasm:. To be serious, I think the one concussion away from ending his career talk is ridiculous.
 

Elvs

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Jul 3, 2006
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Carolinas Identity;122071163But said:
is consistantly treated like he is one hit away from spending his life eating through a straw[/B], while there are simultaneously threads espousing that crosby might be the 5th best player of all time

There's plenty of that talk surrounding Crosby too. As for size, it could just be a thing of different skating styles or Crosby having a more upright posture. He also has a very low center of gravity, and is very strong on his skates and strong on the puck, and thus maybe people think of him as bigger.
 

thedoughboy

Registered User
Feb 22, 2015
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Tinyest of the fifty
Turn on a Hawks game sometime and you'll see for yourself. He was trash last year. Probably a #4 right now.

You're kidding right?

Guy has a career year points wise, stepped in admirably for keith when he was out for 10 games, played most of his minutes with an off handed rookie

the reason he wasn't with keith more, contrary to popular belief he was off that pair because Q didn't like having two off handed defensmen playing on the same line


No, he isn't a #1 defensmen anymore but saying he isn't a top pair defensmen is just plain wrong let a lone a #4.

/rant
 

Poignant Discussion*

I tell it like it is
Jul 18, 2003
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Crosby is just as concussion-prone as Skinner, and talks of injury often creep into Crosby conversations.

The reason why Crosby's concussions are talked about less is because he's the best player in the world and therefore his value is incredibly high no matter what injury issues he has had.

It also doesn't help that Crosby has some grit and nastiness to him while Skinner is comparatively soft.

Crosby might be the 5th best player of all time. Concussions don't change that. I'm not really sure what you're getting at.

No, no, no. Not even close
 

Chan790

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because he has heavy concussion history???

3 concussions before 23 isn't "heavy" concussion history...it's moderately-high for an adult male; about-average for a professional athlete in a high-contact sport by that age.

That's not to say that any of that is not problematic...but it's absurd to pretend that it's far out of norm or that he's china-doll fragile. In fact, there is significant evidence to suggest that 2-3 concussions by age 23 is about par for an NHL player and that most of those concussions go un-diagnosed and untreated--which is far worse. Because of close monitoring and proper treatment, it's likely that Jeff Skinner has better-than-average neurological-health for an NHL player of his age.

But, you know, never let reality get in the way of epic group-think.
 
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izzy

go
Apr 29, 2012
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3 concussions before 23 isn't "heavy" concussion history...it's moderately-high for an adult male; about-average for a professional athlete in a high-contact sport by that age.

That's not to say that any of that is not problematic...but it's absurd to pretend that it's far out of norm or that he's china-doll fragile. In fact, there is significant evidence to suggest that 2-3 concussions by age 23 is about par for an NHL player and that most of those concussions go un-diagnosed and untreated--which is far worse. Because of close monitoring and proper treatment, it's likely that Jeff Skinner has better-than-average neurological-health for an NHL player of his age.

But, you know, never let reality get in the way of epic group-think.

So everyone else has undiagnosed concussions by 23 but not Skinner
 

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