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Post by Habs_fan_in_LA on Oct 28, 2004 13:04:48 GMT -5
I know we've done this to death in the past, but I came accross an anomaly I found interesting, especially when I see the Hab's being full of talented but small forwards.
I watched a big Tampa Bay team win the cup, but in addition to their lineup on the ice the following came to my attention:
Tampa Bay 2004 draft in order:
6'5
6'3
6'2
6'3
6'2
5'10? (eigth round mistake?)
Tampa Bay top prospects (by Hockey's Future in order)
6'4
6'3
6'5
6'2
6'4
6'5
6'4
6'3
6'5
6'2
6'4
6'5
6'4
6'1
6'2
6'2
6'3
6'5
6'2
6'4
6'2
6'1
6'3
6'2
6'4
6'3
Not one guy under 6' and two TB 6'1 smurfs. This can't be a coincidence and even if most of them never make it to the NHL, the TB lineup will be big. The motels at their training camp must thein they are an NBA team.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Oct 28, 2004 14:17:52 GMT -5
Lindsay Vallis, Brent Bilodeau, David Wilkie, Terry Ryan, Matt Higgins and Eric Chouinard were all big and were all first round picks. Check out our discussion from last week on the "Nostalgia" pages to see what we think of them as picks.
In our top 20 prospects list on HF, we have five guys less than 6 feet: Higgins, Plekanec, Korneev, Locke and Halak (a goalie). The rest of the mob range all the way up to 6'5" in height, so not bad size overall. I would take any of those "small" skaters over a behemoth that has no skating abilities, hockey sense or work ethic.
The Tampa comparison is a double edged sword, because although they are the defending Cup champs, they didn't play a "big" game. They played a smooth skating, no trap style. They didn't get into fights, they weren't known for their punishing checks, they didn't maul you in the neutral zone to slow the play down with size, they just played a great all around sound style of game, and beat you with speed and skill.
So, to me, Tampa built their team intentionally around speed and skill, and likely will build their future versions around the same. St Louis, Richards and Stillman aren't the biggest guys around by any means, but I can't see Tampa going very far in the playoffs without those three guys (assuming they win their division without those guys).
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Post by M. Beaux-Eaux on Oct 28, 2004 14:35:20 GMT -5
Chad Kilger is pretty big.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Oct 28, 2004 15:41:24 GMT -5
Chad Kilger is pretty big. Patrick Traverse was really tall... |
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Post by seventeen on Oct 28, 2004 20:10:08 GMT -5
Being really stubborn, I still think the TB win was one of those anomalies. The lack of injuries was a truly quirky occurrence. And helping them out were some injuries on their opposition that made a difference. For example, if Matt Lombardi hadn't been hurt, he would have added a lot of offense to the Flames 2nd line. TB had it pretty easy in focusing on Iginla. Seven games to overcome a beaten up Flames squad. If TB had to go through the same teams Calgary did and vice versa, the Flames would probably have swept the Lightning. I don't care much about the TB size. It's nice to have strong players, whether they're 5' 11" or 6' 5". You need some size for sure, but not all your players have to be giants. Let's revisit the scouting staff again in 2 years and see which farm system you'd rather have.
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