Let Thorton perform his magic on Hilbert

[misterjaggers]

I think Sully had the right idea putting Hilbert on Joe's wing in the Detroit massacre. Hilbert has a hell of a shot. Trial him on the first line. If "Magic Joe" could turn Knuble into an NHL scorer, then he can turn virtually anyone (except Stock) into an NHL scorer...

Yes, ye of little faith, Hilbert looked like crapola in the 9-0 shoot-out, but he has two excuses: he didn't have his sealegs yet (post-injury) and Joe phoned the game in...









Unrelated item: Check-out http://www.puckupdate.com/, an irreverant hockey weblog.

[MeisterBruinmaker]

Thanks for the link.

A few thoughts - I think Hilbert would benefit from playing with Joe, as would almost anyone, but the question is, will Joe benefit from playing with Hilbert?

The thing I like about Knuble is that he's a big body that does the dirty work. With his size and strength combined with that of Murray's, it makes it hard for any defensive pairing to stop that line. This especially benefits Joe, who gets more room to operate. If Hilbert skated like Tanguay or Samsonov, then things may be different because he would open up more room. And if the B's had a dominant second line that caused the opponent to spread their defense thin, then it would be easier to slip Hilbert on the top line. But that's not the case.

[misterjaggers]

Originally Posted by MeisterBruinmaker

Thanks for the link.

A few thoughts - I think Hilbert would benefit from playing with Joe, as would almost anyone, but the question is, will Joe benefit from playing with Hilbert?

The thing I like about Knuble is that he's a big body that does the dirty work. With his size and strength combined with that of Murray's, it makes it hard for any defensive pairing to stop that line. This especially benefits Joe, who gets more room to operate. If Hilbert skated like Tanguay or Samsonov, then things may be different because he would open up more room. And if the B's had a dominant second line that caused the opponent to spread their defense thin, then it would be easier to slip Hilbert on the top line. But that's not the case.

I also liked Knuble on Joe's line. He goes into the corners and he screens the goalie.

I think playing with Joe gives a guy confidence that he can create offense in the NHL and many of these young guys (like Hilbert) lack that confidence.

When I coached youth hockey, I liked to put the less-skilled guys on the wings of a skilled center: it raised their play and their self-expectations.