adater @adater
If I had to guess Erik Johnsons next contract I would guess that it will be more than $20.00 and to be ____ amount of years. Don't you worry Avalanche fans, as you can see Adrian is on the case!
Someone can correct me if I'm forgetting one, but I don't believe the Avs have given a contract longer than 5 years to anyone in all the time they've been in Colorado.
So you'd rather have one hand on the stick on the RIGHT side and give up the middle...?
What level did you play at?
Mainly I just liked it so I could try to punch people if they cut to the middle. I couldn't do that as often on the left side. Trying to clobber people was probably about 90% of what I did as a player.
I've played hockey since I was 4. This is not true at all. Everyone has a preference and as kids right D played the left side just as often as the opposite. It's very much a Sacco thing.
I'm sorry I don't care if you've been playing since Howie Morenz, you're quite simple wrong. This is not a Sacco thing at all, as much as I don't like him. The list of left handed defenseman in the league that have played their off wing in spurts or consistently is probably twice as long as the right handed ones.
Teams used to have to scour the league looking for right handed D to trade or sign. The Avs had this problem ever since they lost Foote and Blake, and have been trying ever since to have that kind of balance. As it is (not including Elliott and Barrie since there's 7 vets ahead of them) they only have two right handed defenseman. Why would they then move a guy like O'Byrne to his off side, and then consequently have to also move a lefty to his off side?
Over the years I can think of Hannan, Clarke, Quincey, Kasparitis, Leopold, Marchment, Salei, Skrastins, Vaananen, Liles, and recently under Sacco, O'Brien, and Wilson all spending significant time on their off left side.
I can think of a couple of games where the Avs tried Foote and Morris on their off left side. That's it. Maybe some of the guys on the original Avalanche group, but I don't remember the pairings well enough from back then to say either way.
It's been the same way for pretty much every team up until the last few years, where the larger group of kids that grew up playing as righties have started to enter the league and establish themselves, and so there hasn't been quite the unbalance between lefties and right handed D in the league.
Just from a simple google search I found multiple articles talking about the same thing.
Quote:
70 percent of all N.H.L. defensemen, but those statistics were not sorted by nationality.
And the Norris Trophy is an indication of the paucity of right-shot blue-liners over the years. The award, which goes to the league's top defenseman, has been handed out since 1954 and the only righties to win it are Chris Chelios (three times), retired Shark Rob Blake and Al MacInnis.
Quote:
In a perfect world, teams would match up left and right shots on their defensive pairings. (The Sharks currently have four of each on their roster.)
"You're more comfortable getting pucks off the boards on your forehand than you would on your backhand," Sharks coach Todd McLellan said. "It also makes it easier to go back and retrieve pucks."
Just as a left-handed pitcher forces batters to adjust, a right-shot defenseman also can give a hockey team's power play a new look.
"Power plays always are set up for the left shot because there's more of them," Blake said. "That's why for most teams, the right shot becomes the offside one-timer."
Roughly 3 in 10 NHL Defensemen are right-handed shots, but given that half the available jobs are on the right side of the ice, lots of players are being asked to play on the opposite side from where they learned the game.
Quote:
“I still don't know that I feel comfortable,” Gorges said recently. “I'm still learning. I mean, I played on the left for 21 years. It's really amazing how 35 feet to the other side can change your whole outlook on the game. Everything kind of seems to happen on fast-forward.”
There are advantages: A left-handed shot on the right has his stick-blade in the centre of the ice when facing shooters, and it's easier to intercept passes.
But there are also problems, like trying to hold a puck in the offensive zone with a hard-charging opponent in your face. “That's hard enough to do on the forehand,” Gorges said.
The biggest drawback, he added, is emerging from behind the net or making dump-ins at the opposing blueline. “You're exposing your back to the middle of the ice, guys can crunch you and you might not see them coming.”
Quote:
Right-handed shots are at a premium on bluelines across the NHL. The Habs have only one righty, Ryan O'Byrne.
Quote:
In acquiring Ian White and Steve Staios, the Calgary Flames have restored balance to their corps of regular blueliners – four lefties, three righties.
But that's the exception rather than the rule. Minnesota, the Rangers and Buffalo have a similar mix, but Philadelphia, New Jersey and Florida have all-lefty defencemen.
More than a half dozen other teams have just one right-handed shot on defence – in some cases none in their top six – including Carolina, Columbus, Detroit, the Islanders and Colorado.
I'm sorry I don't care if you've been playing since Howie Morenz, you're quite simple wrong. This is not a Sacco thing at all, as much as I don't like him. The list of left handed defenseman in the league that have played their off wing in spurts or consistently is probably twice as long as the right handed ones.
Teams used to have to scour the league looking for right handed D to trade or sign. The Avs had this problem ever since they lost Foote and Blake, and have been trying ever since to have that kind of balance. As it is (not including Elliott and Barrie since there's 7 vets ahead of them) they only have two right handed defenseman. Why would they then move a guy like O'Byrne to his off side, and then consequently have to also move a lefty to his off side?
Over the years I can think of Hannan, Clarke, Quincey, Kasparitis, Leopold, Marchment, Salei, Skrastins, Vaananen, Liles, and recently under Sacco, O'Brien, and Wilson all spending significant time on their off left side.
I can think of a couple of games where the Avs tried Foote and Morris on their off left side. That's it. Maybe some of the guys on the original Avalanche group, but I don't remember the pairings well enough from back then to say either way.
It's been the same way for pretty much every team up until the last few years, where the larger group of kids that grew up playing as righties have started to enter the league and establish themselves, and so there hasn't been quite the unbalance between lefties and right handed D in the league.
You don't have to educate me on the facts about left handed D playing the left side and right handed D playing the right side. I also know full well that the vast majority of defenceman in the NHL over the last several decades have been left handed.
My point was simple. It was that left handed kids aren't being taught to play on the right hand side more often then right handed kids are being taught to play on the left hand side.
Like I said, I know the amount and quality of RD in the NHL are much lower than LD.
As someone who scouts and follow prospects, I also know that right handed D tend to be slightly more valuable than LD in many situations in a hockey organization.
I watch a ton of hockey, upwards of anywhere from 10-15 games a week and see that Sacco is a much bigger proponent of keeping D on their correct side than many coaches and staffs around the league. Our coaches in the past never had to be that rigid.
With that being said, it was much easier in the past for us with guys like Foote and Blake on the team, as you mentioned. Those two guys were locks as top 4 defenders so the team essentially only needed a mediocre 3rd pairing RD to help round out the roster. Guys like Klemm, Miller, Finger, Boughner, Morris, etc.
Johnson is our key in this area going forward, but I can guarantee the hockey operations staff is hoping one of Elliott or Barrie can fully develop into that second pairing guy on the right hand side for us in 2-3 years.
I've played hockey since I was 4. This is not true at all. Everyone has a preference and as kids right D played the left side just as often as the opposite. It's very much a Sacco thing.
Not to derail this threa any further, but I'll just add that maybe you think this because you grew up playing in BC?
I was just reading one of those articles again and apparently BC is the reverse in terms or righties and lefties from the rest of Canada.
The US also has a lot of righties hence the reason there's more recently since their development program has gotten better and there's more in the NHL now.
Quote:
Oddly, British Columbia — sometimes said to be the most American-like of the Canadian provinces — skews the other way. “The rest of the country goes 2 to 1 in favor of left sticks, but it’s reversed in B.C.,” said Marc Poirier, a customer service representative who handles Canadian orders for Warrior Sticks.
Not to derail this threa any further, but I'll just add that maybe you think this because you grew up playing in BC?
I was just reading one of those articles again and apparently BC is the reverse in terms or righties and lefties from the rest of Canada.
The US also has a lot of righties hence the reason there's more recently since their development program has gotten better and there's more in the NHL now.
Well then I can't help you then. You're just wrong based on the from stick manufacturers in Canada and from players groing up playing there.
By the way, I don't know I you've noticed this about me, but I don't care if you're tryin to be a scout or how many WHL games you cover, but it doesn't mean you're right about everything no matter how often you work that into your posts. If I ever heard Pracey act like you do without knowing what he's accomplished, I'd probably think he was a hack.
Granted I've never been to BC, but wouldn't Ontario be the closest to American? Surprisingly when I went to Manitoba it had a European feel to it. Not as much as Quebec, but there were a lot of Germans.
I think it's easier to pick up pucks, make break out passes, and cross-ice passes when your a D-man on your "proper" side, but I always found it easier to hit when I was playing on my off-side. Much easier to put your weight into a guy coming down the wall or when your catching a forward cutting across the ice from the opposite side. Plus, you always have that one timer when your on your off-side.
I think since NHL d-men often put up a lot of points growing up and in junior (even if they eventually become shutdown/stay-at-home d-men in the NHL), they usually play their "proper" side because it can be easier when you're playing offensively. Though, I'm also from BC so who knows!
I think it's easier to pick up pucks, make break out passes, and cross-ice passes when your a D-man on your "proper" side, but I always found it easier to hit when I was playing on my off-side. Much easier to put your weight into a guy coming down the wall or when your catching a forward cutting across the ice from the opposite side. Plus, you always have that one timer when your on your off-side.
I think since NHL d-men often put up a lot of points growing up and in junior (even if they eventually become shutdown/stay-at-home d-men in the NHL), they usually play their "proper" side because it can be easier when you're playing offensively. Though, I'm also from BC so who knows!
I think this is true and I've made that same argument in other threads about this issue. Defensive D switch way more then offensive guys.
However this is my fault for derailin this thread. I tend to beat a dead horse when I feel strongly about something the other person feels strongly the opposite.
So back to EJ. I hear a guy named Erik Johnson is gonna sign some kind of contract for at least a penny, for anywhere between a nano second and infinity, sometime in course of human existence.
Well then I can't help you then. You're just wrong based on the from stick manufacturers in Canada and from players groing up playing there.
By the way, I don't know I you've noticed this about me, but I don't care if you're tryin to be a scout or how many WHL games you cover, but it doesn't mean you're right about everything no matter how often you work that into your posts. If I ever heard Pracey act like you do without knowing what he's accomplished, I'd probably think he was a hack.
Alright bud. Seems like you have some sort of ill-will towards me based on what I do. Fine by me.
