Roenick blasts Thrashers for Byfuglien’s move to defense
Quote:
“That might be the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard in my life. Dustin Byfuglien as a defenseman. I would love to play against Dustin Byfuglien as a defenseman. I would turn him inside out, left, right and center every single time. This kid, he made his living in front of the net scoring goals during the playoffs for the Chicago Blackhawks. Why on earth would you put him back as a defenseman? This kid is strong, he’s powerful, he’s a great skater. Put him in front of the net as a forward. That’s where you want him to do all his damage. Playing him as a defenseman? Maybe that’s why the Thrashers are 0-3 in preseason. Maybe that’s why nobody comes to watch their games. It’s crazy. What are they thinking? They already have a GM that doesn’t know the game whatsoever. But, hey, that’s just my opinion. Like me or hate me if you don’t [agree]. I’m not a big fan of Atlanta for a lot of reasons but the fact that they’re going to play Dustin Byfuglien [as a defenseman], my goodness gracious.”
Don't nessisarily dissagree with him here. Although the Thrashers probably need a big-body defenceman more than a forward at this point. They have a lot of puck movers, but their big guys like Boris Valabik, haven't shown enough. Buff brings balance there. Doesn't mean he can't play in front of the net on the PP. Enstrom and Bogosian whipping it around, Peverley on the half-boards and Buff in front of the net. He'll likely spend time at both positions, similar to how he was used by the love of JR's life, the Hawks last year.
then why even pick him up? Complete waste on defense. Roenick, despite the low blows, makes very, very good points.
Byfuglien is fine as a defenseman. And nobody was expecting Frederik Pettersson to impress as much as he has. If I have the choice between Pettersson or Byfuglien up front, I'm taking Pettersson.
Welcome to three weeks ago, JR- extremely few people think moving Buff to D is a good idea, with the notable exceptions of Buff himself and Rick Dudley.
The 0-3 in the preseason remark is just stupid. How did Chicago do last year after going 0-3 in the preseason?
Byfuglien is fine as a defenseman. And nobody was expecting Frederik Pettersson to impress as much as he has. If I have the choice between Pettersson or Byfuglien up front, I'm taking Pettersson.
while i'm still on the fence about this, buff has been the best player on the ice for us during preseason. In terms of all-around play, the Byfuglien-Oduya pairing was doing better than the Enstrom-Bogosian one. He was planting people, bodychecking guys and still playing in front of the net on the PP. One of the things mentioned a lot at camp was that Ramsey was having him not only on the blueline, but jumping in on the play. Heck, during the Carolina game (where Carolina mostly had its starters + top prospects) he even made a couple wrap-arounds and never looked winded.
I don't think Roenick's been paying too much attention.
