crashman
Guest
I'll admit, I might have been reaching by saying Abby was a better fighter than Tootoo, even at this point. But honestly...I couldn't care less, as I see no value in Tootoo's fighting ability. You don't need a guy that can fight well to keep other teams in check, you just need to be able to play an overall physical game, but still play smart.
Players don't think "I better behave because "x enforcer" might beat me up". You just have to make sure you're at least equaling their physicality, and fighting rarely plays a role in that anymore. In fact, it's better when you piss a guy off and refuse to drop them, then he's in your head and there's nothing you can do about it.
That's why I like the way Kronwall refuses to fight after one of his hits (especially because most of them are clean). Kronwall's not going to do well in a fight, that's not his thing, but let the other team stew on it and forget about trying to score some goals. If they want to retaliate, good, they're most likely going to get penalized.
Players don't think "I better behave because "x enforcer" might beat me up". You just have to make sure you're at least equaling their physicality, and fighting rarely plays a role in that anymore. In fact, it's better when you piss a guy off and refuse to drop them, then he's in your head and there's nothing you can do about it.
That's why I like the way Kronwall refuses to fight after one of his hits (especially because most of them are clean). Kronwall's not going to do well in a fight, that's not his thing, but let the other team stew on it and forget about trying to score some goals. If they want to retaliate, good, they're most likely going to get penalized.