TEAM TOUGHNESS

[swizzey]

I disagree with your first statement. Finishing your check is one thing that should always be done - of course not late enough to be penalized but you shoudl always finish your check. It could be the difference between winning a cup and not - If you finish your checks you eventually wear them down - leading to mistakes as well.. especially against defense man .. you need to wear down the webers and charas until they're hurting..

I agree with your second statement. It is definitely about being clean and being respectful to other players because you wouldn't want it done to yourself.

I never played hockey growing up, always wanted to but played soccer. Can someone who has played at a decently high level where you can hit how soft the boards are? With updated technology in the early 2000's it was a big deal in allowing the boards to have some flex to lesson injuries and when you see player get hit into the boards you definitely see a bounce back almost like a spring that absorbs shock. So I guess my question is: How bad does it hurt when you get hit hard in the boards and then fall onto the ice with that flex and the pads you wear?

[alfstonker]

As support for EKCANUCKFAN's position, I would point out that while the Canucks are a tall team, they are not a heavy team.

Look at the number of guys who are 200 pounds or over on the Canucks and compare that to the Kings. There are only 8 players with the Canucks who are 200 pounds or more. The Kings have only 6 guys who are under 200 pounds (as do the Ducks). And they have comparable size in the height department.

Guys like Dorsett will have to play very big should the Canucks meet the Kings in the playoffs.

regards,

G.

I agree with this to an extent.

We lack a couple of exceptionally big skilful bodies on our team even with Kassian back.

Montreal have a few smaller guys but they make up for them by having some seriously big bodies in there as well. Having said that they need to have the skill and speed

I am worried that Tryamkin while big may not have the skill, MacKenzie similarly and that leaves Pedan, Cederholm, Hutton and McEneny. Others in the pipeline are tall but need to bulk up but they may well do that as they mature.

In the forwards, it's much about the same although maybe Grenier, DeFazio and Archibald could eventually give us something. Virtanen and Pettit are the only big bodies in the forward prospects.

That said we should not get carried away with size as there are plenty of 6'-0 195lbs players who play above their size in the NHL.

Stamina, speed, skill and grit are the qualities to look for imo.

I have a feeling JB will be looking seriously at bringing some more big skilful guys in at the draft.

[EdgarM]

As support for EKCANUCKFAN's position, I would point out that while the Canucks are a tall team, they are not a heavy team.

Look at the number of guys who are 200 pounds or over on the Canucks and compare that to the Kings. There are only 8 players with the Canucks who are 200 pounds or more. The Kings have only 6 guys who are under 200 pounds (as do the Ducks). And they have comparable size in the height department.

Guys like Dorsett will have to play very big should the Canucks meet the Kings in the playoffs.

regards,

G.

But........ How big is their hearts and desire to win? Much more intangibles are needed than weight alone. Chara is a tall man who started out much like Sbisa but its what comes after that in development is what counts. Chara developed a bit of a mean streak and a strong desire to win. Speed and skill are kind of important too. Much more is needed other than being a "heavy" team.

[Gollumpus]

I agree with this to an extent.

We lack a couple of exceptionally big skilful bodies on our team even with Kassian back.

Montreal have a few smaller guys but they make up for them by having some seriously big bodies in there as well. Having said that they need to have the skill and speed

I am worried that Tryamkin while big may not have the skill, MacKenzie similarly and that leaves Pedan, Cederholm, Hutton and McEneny. Others in the pipeline are tall but need to bulk up but they may well do that as they mature.

In the forwards, it's much about the same although maybe Grenier, DeFazio and Archibald could eventually give us something. Virtanen and Pettit are the only big bodies in the forward prospects.

That said we should not get carried away with size as there are plenty of 6'-0 195lbs players who play above their size in the NHL.

Stamina, speed, skill and grit are the qualities to look for imo.

I have a feeling JB will be looking seriously at bringing some more big skilful guys in at the draft.

But........ How big is their hearts and desire to win? Much more intangibles are needed than weight alone. Chara is a tall man who started out much like Sbisa but its what comes after that in development is what counts. Chara developed a bit of a mean streak and a strong desire to win. Speed and skill are kind of important too. Much more is needed other than being a "heavy" team.

In my post initial post I was agreeing with another poster about a lack of physical size on the Canucks' roster. They are not a heavy team compared to the Kings or Ducks of the NHL. This is something which is an area for concern as it could have a significant impact on the outcome of a series.

I did not address the "size of the fight in the dog" in my post, chaps, other than to say that guys like Dorsett would have to play very big for the Canucks to compensate for the lack of size. Burrows is another Canuck who plays "bigger" than his actual size. This being said, what is one of the things which people say the Canucks need on the 1st line? A big guy to protect the Sedins (who can also score etc). Burrows has tried to be that physical presence but he just doesn't have the size to really back it up.

I am well aware of "smaller" players who who have a lot of grit and play above their size. A memory which always comes back to me when this subject arises was a fight in a game between the Islanders and the Canucks. The Canucks had Bob Dailey (6' 5" and 220 lbs) vs Gary Howatt (5' 9" and 170 lbs). Howatt won the fight. Handily.

Something which is perhaps a relevant example regarding concerns over size, back in the finals against Boston, Mason Raymond was trying to play a bit bigger than he was (6' 185 lbs), and he was fairly effective as a speedy and aggressive fore-checker. He was injured from a check delivered by Boychuk (6' 2" 220 lbs) on a fairly "innocent" play where Raymond was backed into the boards. I suggest that all other factors considered, if Raymond wasn't giving away about 40 pounds in weight/strength difference then he might not have been injured as severely as he was, or perhaps he might not have been injured at all.

regards,

G.

[riffraff]

I never played hockey growing up, always wanted to but played soccer. Can someone who has played at a decently high level where you can hit how soft the boards are? With updated technology in the early 2000's it was a big deal in allowing the boards to have some flex to lesson injuries and when you see player get hit into the boards you definitely see a bounce back almost like a spring that absorbs shock. So I guess my question is: How bad does it hurt when you get hit hard in the boards and then fall onto the ice with that flex and the pads you wear?

The glass flexes. The boards do not.

Potentially any time you are moving 15-30 kmh and meet another object doing the same and come to a dead stop it's going to have a negative effect on your body. With adrenaline you can often shakeit off but the injury is still there.

Watch the toffoli cross check on burrows again. You can see burrs legs writhing momentarily after the hit when he's on the ice. That's what the pain is like.