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Originally Posted by Bruiser
I don't know if McIlrath has that much more potential than Gryba or Sdao. Considering that Sdao and Gryba are very similar players to McIlrath, it might be better to just stick with them.
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Wasn't McIlrath a late 1st rd pick? Gryba was a 3rd i think & Sdao 7th, I would assume that McIlrath has a bit more talent then those two but I hope both are working hard to become that much better & tougher to play against.
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Originally Posted by H2ODP
[The idea that 'tough' players have any kind of effect is not even a question because it is universally accepted among coaches and anyone that has extensive, heck, even a moderate knowledge of hockey that they do have an effect. I can accept if fans think Carkner or Konopka are liabilities, and that the Sens have improved skill-wise with the replacements brought in. Fine. But to say they had no effect in protecting other players on the team, or that their mere presence didn't make everyone feel an inch taller, is beyond comprehension.
The mentality of Sens fans in particular that take the approach that they have no effect, must not remember the Senators from the early 2000's during the Jacques Martin era. Most people that post here now days weren't around, but the number one thing fans wanted back then was toughness. These last few years Ottawa has had sufficient toughness, these types of players have become taken for granted. Go ask a Montreal fan how bad they want a player with toughness. You don't realize how valuable those types of players are until you lose them.
Now, I think we'll be fine with the toughness on the team, probably middle of the pack in the league. But I take exception to the idea that 'tough' players have no effect or offer no protection.
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Excellent post.
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Originally Posted by Bruiser
That is because fights are supposed to create momentum shifts and if they are picked at inopportune times then that momentum can actually work against the team. Back in 2009 the Flyers were killing the Penguins in the playoffs, then Carcillo picked a fight against Talbot when they didn't need momentum and it brought the penguins back into the series. That momentum shift actually played a big role in Pittsburgh winning the series. Essentially Talbot getting into a fight created a positive momentum shift for the Penguins.
The important thing is to have fighters on the team (or players who are simply willing to fight) that fight at the right times or for the right reasons. Carkner fighting Boyle did in fact inspire the team to compete harder, it helped boost their confidence.
Now team toughness isn't only about fighting. That appears to be a big misconception in this forum. Team toughness is about being tough to play against both physically and mentally. A tough team has sufficient amount of nastiness in the lineup. They have players that hit hard and are relentless while also trying to agitate the opposition. We saw this, this year in the playoffs with LA's relentless forechecking.
My biggest concern about team toughness for the sens is that we lack mean and nasty players. Our players, while having decent size and some having decent grit, are simply too nice. Any time Neil is out of the lineup, we stop hitting and if we are down by a couple of goals we don't have anyone to generate a momentum shift with a big hit or a fight. Like I have said before, we need more players like Neil.
The good thing is that we have players in the system to help supplement that physicality that Neil brings. We have skilled players who are also decent hitters like Zibanejad, Noesen and Stone. Then we have some nasty players like Gryba, Borowiecki, Blood, Dziurzynski and Kramer.
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Couldn't agree more & have been saying this for yrs, we have too many nice guys & need nastier players that teams hate to play against.
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Originally Posted by Stassino
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I mentioned once that i thought Stone would be a tough player in the NHL with his size & that he has had a few fights in the WHL. Of course, I was flamed for it some don't thing he is very tough at all. I guess we will see.