What ties the Habs to the Swiss? Scouting staff seems to go after guys with Swiss ties more than other teams in the NHL:
Cristobal Huet (NLA star G before coming to NHL shortly before before acquired by Habs)
Tim Bozon (2 years in Swiss Junior before coming to WHL)
Robert Mayer
Yannick Weber
Alain Berger
Mark Streit
Raphael Diaz
What ties the Habs to the Swiss? Scouting staff seems to go after guys with Swiss ties more than other teams in the NHL:
Cristobal Huet (NLA star G before coming to NHL shortly before before acquired by Habs)
Tim Bozon (2 years in Swiss Junior before coming to WHL)
Robert Mayer
Yannick Weber
Alain Berger
Mark Streit
Raphael Diaz
I don't know but whoever it is is doing a pretty good job.
What ties the Habs to the Swiss? Scouting staff seems to go after guys with Swiss ties more than other teams in the NHL:
Cristobal Huet (NLA star G before coming to NHL shortly before before acquired by Habs)
Tim Bozon (2 years in Swiss Junior before coming to WHL)
Robert Mayer
Yannick Weber
Alain Berger
Mark Streit
Raphael Diaz
Not to get OT but we should also continue to probe sweden for talent. It's nice that we seem to try and corner the market in Switzerland but we should look at doing that in sweden too, such great potential. Just look at Collberg.
Anyway, Diaz is really playing well and I can't wait to see where he's at next year, seems like a late bloomer/someone who will just always be hungry to get better.
What ties the Habs to the Swiss? Scouting staff seems to go after guys with Swiss ties more than other teams in the NHL:
Cristobal Huet (NLA star G before coming to NHL shortly before before acquired by Habs)
Tim Bozon (2 years in Swiss Junior before coming to WHL)
Robert Mayer
Yannick Weber
Alain Berger
Mark Streit
Raphael Diaz
As I said in another thread: Hey, Weber, l'autre Suisse est meilleur que toi.
Avs fan coming in peace, but also someone who got to watch Diaz with EVZ for 3 years
I love Diaz and am delighted to see his transition to the NHL game going this well. Great summary of Diaz below.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TYLENOL
I love Diaz, he isn't big but he always find a way to start the attack and is a workhorse defensively and he has great hockey sense !!!! The powerplay was even better when he was with Markov, he always tries to make a smart play rather than shoot.
He was frustrating to watch on occasion for Zug as he would refuse to shoot sometimes (when he was in the best position to) but aside from that and the occasional lapse, he really is a joy to watch. He is a good skater and uses that to good effect, both defensively and offensively. I hope the Habs enjoy him as much as I did watching him in Switzerland
His problem was saying stuff on the fly. Give him 20 minutes to think about what he's going to say, he's going to make sense.
Now, Diaz is right now playing scary good. At the beginning of the season, I said that if one player could benefit from seeing how Markov plays, it's him. I guess I was right, he's playing more and more like a young Markov - although I'd like to see him shoot more.
What ties the Habs to the Swiss? Scouting staff seems to go after guys with Swiss ties more than other teams in the NHL:
Cristobal Huet (NLA star G before coming to NHL shortly before before acquired by Habs)
Tim Bozon (2 years in Swiss Junior before coming to WHL)
Robert Mayer
Yannick Weber
Alain Berger
Mark Streit
Raphael Diaz
The Swiss have had a strong NA influence and alot of NA players and coaches. Compared to other Euro countries and leagues, they play a more NA brand of hockey.
Most of European hockey looked to Russia during the 70-80:ies.
I would thing the french factor plays a part in Montreal being succesful in attracting Swiss player, Switzerland having german, french and italian as official languages.
The Swiss national team is usually fun to watch but was even more fun a 10-15 years ago when they were even more of a crash and bang team.
Rafalski was 5'8", not 5'10" but point still applies, wouldn't cut it on HF though...
Not big and doesn't fight...PASS!
I call BS, and I challenge you to provide proof, because he was listed at 5'10" in college, in Sweden, in Finland, and in the NHL, and I've seen him on the ice standing beside Nick Lidstrom and Kronwall and there's absolutely zero chance that there's as much as 4 or 5 inches difference between them. Now, I'm not sure I believe Lidstrom is quite 6'1", as listed here and there, but there's, like and inch or two difference between him and Lidstrom, and that's it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 2 Chainz
Rafalski was a very good defenseman but he's definitely not Hall of Fame material.
Completely agree. Great career playing beside some legit star defensemen, though (from Niedermayer/Stevens to Lidstrom).
I call BS, and I challenge you to provide proof, because he was listed at 5'10" in college, in Sweden, in Finland, and in the NHL, and I've seen him on the ice standing beside Nick Lidstrom and Kronwall and there's absolutely zero chance that there's as much as 4 or 5 inches difference between them. Now, I'm not sure I believe Lidstrom is quite 6'1", as listed here and there, but there's, like and inch or two difference between him and Lidstrom, and that's it.
I recall reading something in an article like 10 years ago that he was really 5'8" but they used 5'10" on the website, it just commented that teams do taht for some of the smaller players.
I recall reading something in an article like 10 years ago that he was really 5'8" but they used 5'10" on the website, it just commented that teams do taht for some of the smaller players.
Yes, I've seen plenty of cases where a 5'10" guy was listed as 6', or whatever (easy enough rounding error, as 1 ft ~= 30 cm, but 180 cm =/= 6'... 6' = 182 cm), but I don't think they were 2 inches generous listing Rafalski. Look at St. Louis (listed at 5'8") standing in a line beside his teammates. Rafalski never even looked close to the same kind of scale beside Kronwall and Lidstrom - both listed at 6'/6'1". Also realize that Rafalski, a decently fast skater, has always been listed in the 190-200 lbs range, which would be ridiculous if he was actually the same height as St. Louis (who is listed at ~175 lbs).
But put more simply, don't correct something without being able to look it up/confirm, and/or provide a link to your information.
lol
