Here is a defenseman, a 6'2 210-lbs defensive-first good first pass, conservative smart decision maker who has been a hard-working favourite of some of us - on an otherwise shaky Habs blueline - for nearly a decade, a solid shot-blocking, positionally sound #5/#6 in an all-time context, toward the latter half of the best 1000 of all time on a minor league drafted club perhaps, or a utility depth pick
Here's a guy who could have easily gone as a third-pairing guy in the MLD and no one would bat an eye. A good, solid, all around player who is tough to play against. I have watched many Leafs-Habs matches where he performed admirably.
By the time we get this far down the list, there is so little separating the stay-at-home defensemen that just about anyone who lasted 900 NHL games would make a very legitimate pick.
By the time we get this far down the list, there is so little separating the stay-at-home defensemen that just about anyone who lasted 900 NHL games would make a very legitimate pick.
Another guy that comes to mind is Rich Pilon. I remember him being solid defensively but having to battle through a lot of injuries. He never scored much, but he was a tough player to play against.
Another guy that comes to mind is Rich Pilon. I remember him being solid defensively but having to battle through a lot of injuries. He never scored much, but he was a tough player to play against.
I remember him as: not a good player. Got 8 minutes a game, never 20 minutes.
Pilon epitomizes the career #6/#7 NHL defenseman who has NO PLACE being remembered in an all-time context unless you get really short of PIMs.
Imo.
Perhaps I missed something. Defensemen are notoriously difficult to assess, especially the less offensive-oriented ones.
Last edited by VanIslander: 03-16-2008 at 01:35 AM.
No. He earned his name. Not a good player. Got 8 minutes a game, never 20 minutes.
Pilon epitomizes the career #6/#7 NHL defenseman who has NO PLACE being remembered in an all-time context unless you get really short of PIMs.
It's an insult to put his name anywhere near a Rivet.
I must be remembering someone else and substituting that memory for Pilon. Never got see the other conference much and I was fairly young when he was around, so that's my excuse.
Here is a defenseman, a 6'2 210-lbs defensive-first good first pass, conservative smart decision maker who has been a hard-working favourite of some of us - on an otherwise shaky Habs blueline - for nearly a decade, a solid shot-blocking, positionally sound #5/#6 in an all-time context, toward the latter half of the best 1000 of all time on a minor league drafted club perhaps, or a utility depth pick
...OUCH. No thanks for Rivet... Seen him too much maybe?. Hard worker that doesn't have lots to work with. MAYBE a 7th D-Men in ML, but there would be better players in this role. Not the guy who as the character to be scratched either.
I don't know all the 7th D-Mens in the ML, but probably most, if not ALL of them, are better choices.
Here is a stanley cup champion with some impressive postseasons and enough greatness in the right line-up to be picked in the main ATD especially if re-united with his New Jersey linemates, on one of the greatest lines I've personally witnessed, he clicked for years on the A Line
Petr Sykora
623 points in 835 NHL games (49 GWGs, 97 PP goals)
a very good 59 pts in 88 NHL playoff games, incl. 17 in 23 in 2000, 22 in 25 in 2001
scored the game-winning overtime goal in the fourth-longest playoff game in NHL history on April 24, 2003 (the same postseason he led all Ducks in points with 13 in helping the Ducks reach the Stanley Cup finals)
scored 20 goals or more in six straight seasons (1998-99 through 2003-04)
on NHL all-rookie team (1996)
youngest player ever to appear in an IHL game (17 years, 71 days)
Quote:
In 2000-01, Petr led the Devils with 249 shots as the team won the Atlantic Division title with a club record of 48 wins (tied) and 111 points. Petr scored new career highs with 35 goals, 46 assists and 81 points. In the playoffs, the team won the Prince of Wales Trophy before losing to the Avalanche in the Stanley Cup final. Petr scored 22 points in 25 games.
In 2001-02, Petr finished third on the team with 48 points and 194 hits. In the playoffs, he scored one assist in four games as the Devils lost their opening-round match-up to the Hurricanes.
On July 6, 2002, Petr was traded.. to the Anaheim Mighty Ducks.. In his first season with his new team, Petr led the team with 34 goals, 15 power-play goals, five game-winning goals, and 299 shots on goal. In the playoffs, Petr first helped the Mighty Ducks win the Clarence Campbell Bowl by knocking off the Red Wings, the Stars, and the Wild. On May 10 in game one of the Western Conference final, Petr scored the overtime game-winning goal in a 1-0 victory over the Wild. In the final round, the Mighty Ducks lost to the Devils in seven games. Petr was his team's top scorer that postseason.
In 2003-04, Petr scored 52 points in 81 games, but the Mighty Ducks fell 19 points in the standings and missed the playoffs. Petr finished second on the team with 23 goals and sixth in the league with 277 shots on goal.
He may not be in the top 1000, but G Jocelyn Thibault played in the 2003 NHL All-Star Game. He has 24 more career home wins (139) than Marty Turco (115). He won 21, 25, 27, 33, and 26 games for the Blackhawks from 1998-2003.
__________________ God Bless America
"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference." Robert Frost (1874–1963)
Here is a stanley cup champion with some impressive postseasons and enough greatness in the right line-up to be picked in the main ATD especially if re-united with his New Jersey linemates, on one of the greatest lines I've personally witnessed, he clicked for years on the A Line
Petr Sykora
This was a nice pick, Van I. I think he's better than a winger taken in the top 130 in the MLD.
Here is a stanley cup champion with some impressive postseasons and enough greatness in the right line-up to be picked in the main ATD especially if re-united with his New Jersey linemates, on one of the greatest lines I've personally witnessed, he clicked for years on the A Line
Petr Sykora
623 points in 835 NHL games (49 GWGs, 97 PP goals)
a very good 59 pts in 88 NHL playoff games, incl. 17 in 23 in 2000, 22 in 25 in 2001
scored the game-winning overtime goal in the fourth-longest playoff game in NHL history on April 24, 2003 (the same postseason he led all Ducks in points with 13 in helping the Ducks reach the Stanley Cup finals)
scored 20 goals or more in six straight seasons (1998-99 through 2003-04)
on NHL all-rookie team (1996)
youngest player ever to appear in an IHL game (17 years, 71 days)
Not bad. Not 100% sold on him being a potential 2nd-liner in the MLD - he doesn't have the skillset for the 3rd or 4th lines either. He has had some great team success, though, and that looks good for him.
I believe he is also the current leader in "most 2-goal games without a hat trick". They show the graphic occasionally during Leafs games because Tucker is high on the list.
He may not be in the top 1000, but G Jocelyn Thibault played in the 2003 NHL All-Star Game. He has 24 more career home wins (139) than Marty Turco (115). He won 21, 25, 27, 33, and 26 games for the Blackhawks from 1998-2003.
I wouldn't call him MLD material. His career peak was winning 33 games and playing in the all-star game.
11 years ago, I was one of the millions of Leafs fans hating on Larry Murphy, and I liked to say he's "just another Rich Pylon" because of the sort of double entendre it created.
He earned his name. Not a good player. Got 8 minutes a game, never 20 minutes.
