Chipchura article

[montreal]

www.habsworld.net/article.php?id=725



When the Canadiens made Kyle Chipchura their first round pick of the 2004 NHL entry draft, they knew what kind of player they were getting, a hard working character player who is a team first guy with decent offensive skills to go with his solid frame. With the Canadiens lacking size down the middle within the farm system, Chipchura adds another kind of player, as they already have a number of smallish offensively gifted forwards, it was clear to Bob Gainey that the team was lacking size and grit, especially down the middle.....

[Habs_fan_in_LA]

montreal said:

www.habsworld.net/article.php?id=725



When the Canadiens made Kyle Chipchura their first round pick of the 2004 NHL entry draft, they knew what kind of player they were getting, a hard working character player who is a team first guy with decent offensive skills to go with his solid frame. With the Canadiens lacking size down the middle within the farm system, Chipchura adds another kind of player, as they already have a number of smallish offensively gifted forwards, it was clear to Bob Gainey that the team was lacking size and grit, especially down the middle.....

We all agreed that all things being equal size matters, but I'd rather see powerforwards, (wings) in the corners and along the boards than size at center.
We could end up with Locke, Plekanec, Koivu, Ribeiro and Begin with Ribs, the tallest of our centers, Plekanec the heaviest and Begin the toughest.
Gretzky wasn't much bigger.

[blaise]

But Gretzky was backed up by Mark Messier on the second line, not a small center.