Senators go big

[yave1964]

I took a look at the Senators defense the other day after they made the trade for Coburn, this has to be the biggest size wise defense that i have seen put together in the last decade or more.

 

Coburn 6'5

Josh Brown 6'5

Gudbranson 6'5

 

All added this offseason. Holdovers on the blueline are

Jaros 6'4

Wolanin 6'2

Zaitzev 6'2

Chabot 6'2

Reilly 6'2

 

The only blueliner who is going to see time on the ice under six foot two is Brannstrom. 

 But as a TV pitch man would say, wait there is more.

 

In net they have 

Murray 6'5

Hogberg 6'5

 

Then their forwards they added are 

Watson 6'4

Stepan 6'1

Galchenyuk 6'1

Logan Shaw 6'4

Paquette 6'1

 

Add them to holdovers 

Logan Brown 6'6

Anisimov 6'4

Batherson 6'3

Norris 6'2

Nick Paul 6'4

Tkachuk 6'3

Tierney 6'1

 

This is a HUGE TEAM by any standard and especially so in the day and age where smurfs rule the day. It is clearly by design, going against the standard. Not saying it is right or wrong, just very different. I think they will be a difficult team to play against especially while protecting their net.

 

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

The Bolts had a big defense some time back.....when even their goalie, Ben Bishop was over six and a half feet tall.
That's all fine, but as TB found, those big defensemen BETTER be able to move, otherewise, they will be no more than oversized pylons.

I think the Sens have the potential to build a real competitive team over there, but I would think in order for them to really be competitive, they have a better plan than just "hey, let's build a defense as tall as NBA players" in place.

Overall team toughness in Ottawa should be pretty good, but it will remain to be seen whether that actually translates to keeping pucks out of the net, or giving up a gazillion chances against on a regular basis.

Thomas Chabot, is by far, the defenseman with the most upside, and probably their most skilled overall right now.
Brady Tkachuk, if he can reign in the Neanderthal mindset, can still be a PITA on the ice and be a guy the team can build around moving forward.

Having that overall team size isn't a bad thing, but the skilled "smurfs" of the league may make them look like giant sloths if they can't keep up.
We will see.

[WordsOfWisdom]

Here's an idea:

 

Should the NHL limit stick lengths so that taller players can't really use their reach to their advantage?  I know there's a limit on maximum stick length, but the league makes exemptions for really tall players (Chara), thus..... there's no limit. 

 

If it was like baseball, then being 7 ft tall wouldn't let you swing a 5 ft long bat... not that it would help much anyway. In hockey, the longer stick is a HUGE advantage because you can never get past anyone when their stick covers an entire region of ice. It's the same advantage you get with a taller goalie and bigger pads. 

 

If the league set a max stick length and made no exemptions, then taller players would have an arm length reach advantage yes, but the stick wouldn't compound it.  Otherwise the future of the NHL (despite the recent and temporary smurf age) is NBA sized players because why skate when you can move your stick around faster to knock pucks away right? 

 

Just thinking out loud......   

 

 

[mojo1917]

On 12/30/2020 at 1:02 AM, WordsOfWisdom said:

Should the NHL limit stick lengths so that taller players can't really use their reach to their advantage?  I know there's a limit on maximum stick length, but the league makes exemptions for really tall players (Chara), thus..... there's no limit. 

 

This would eliminate tall players. Ever play kid's scale instrument? or try to play with any kid's scale sporting gear?

If we were speaking, I would tell you this is a thought you should have kept in your bubble.

 

 

[WordsOfWisdom]

16 hours ago, mojo1917 said:

This would eliminate tall players.

 

Maybe that's not a bad thing.  Wouldn't it be interesting if a sports league favoured shorter players for a change?   

 

16 hours ago, mojo1917 said:

If we were speaking, I would tell you this is a thought you should have kept in your bubble.

 

My point is not to make the game impossible for taller players, but to make it more difficult for them. (Or at least remove some of the advantage to being taller so the game remains about skill and not just size.)

 

It would be poetic justice if taller players were at a disadvantage for the first time in pro sports history. They could still play the game with shorter sticks, but they wouldn't be able to abuse and break the game like they can now. 

 

Otherwise what's going to happen in the future is there will be TWO NHL leagues. One for "short" players and one for tall (NBA sized) players. The tall players league will be a plodding, awkward, ice clogging affair with 1-0 games and no room for anyone to move. The short players league will be a video game scoring league with high flying players, highlight reel goals, and no defence. The two products will completely diverge.

 

 

Happy New Year!