Takes and trash talk from both ALL sides of the NHL's most obscure PATHETIC* rivalry

* Thanks, Kevin Lowe!

Monday, July 10, 2006

Ominous quote of doom!

Boy, that Doug Wilson sure is optimistic, isn't he?

"(Chicago) got good players, but we’re fortunate that we have players that can fill roles. We’ve got a lot of depth in our defensive end."

Let's examine that depth, shall we?

Kyle McLaren: Good, steady, stay-at-home guy who hits like a mofo. Holds on to the puck WAY too long when he gets it and always gets his shot blocked. Has a really heavy shot but can't get it on net. Good #2/#3 guy.

Scott Hannan: Great at shutting down the opposition and has adjusted to play the non-clutch-and-grab style of play. Decent skater, but not great with the puck. Can't make a good outlet pass and can be prone to turnovers. Good #2/#3 guy.

Matt Carle: Doug Wilson's favorite person on the planet. Won the Hobey Baker award, smooth skater, good passer. Could use a little more meat on his bones, but has nowhere to go but up. Potential to be a #1/#2 defenseman, but right now he's a #4/#5.

Christian Ehrhoff: About halfway through the season, Ehrhoff finally figured it out and played terrifically down the stretch. He's still prone to bad turnovers and soft plays but skates like the wind and has a ridiculously good shot. There was a stretch right after the Olympics where he looked like the second coming of Brian Leetch. He won't ever be mistaken for Scott Stevens because of his defensive shortcomings, but he's getting better. Potential to be a #1/#2 defenseman, but right now he's a #3/#4.

Doug Murray: Big and built like a freight train, Murray hit a lot of people in a very short amount of time. That was cool. Then he got injured and we never saw him again. Potential to be a #3/#4 guy. Right now, who knows?

Josh Gorges: You know when you push a shopping cart around the grocery store? That's how the Edmonton forwards pushed Josh Gorges around. He's defensively sound, but still lacks bite. He's a #6 guy and he'll probably stay there if he even stays in the NHL.

The rest o' the crew...

Rob Davison: Rob Davison...not that good. That's all I have to say. I'm sure he's a nice guy though.

Jim Fahey: Jim Fahey...really not that good, which is weird considering how well he did his rookie year. He's probably pretty good at delivering Una Mas burritos from the concessions to Doug Wilson.

Patrick Traverse: Woo hoo, another big name free agent signing! This guy was...a mediocre defenseman...in the AHL. Yeah.

So that's it. You've got two guys with great potential (Ehrhoff/Carle), two steady vets (Hannan/McLaren), one guy who might be a #4 (Murray). The remaining four, well, let's just say that their isn't a large talent gap between them.

That's *cough cough* Doug Wilson's "depth".

By the way, for my take on the OTHER participants in the Bell deal, check out my non-California-centric blog.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

admittedly a big if here, but if you look out to the 2nd half of next season and say that Carle and Erhoff continue to progress as expected, you are looking at a very well rounded and versatile top 4 with Hannan and McLaren. Josh Gorges was a 21 year old rookie last year. He is a very good skater and has great instincts. Let's see if he has matured a bit physically by October and can take it to the next level with some added bulk and experience. if he does, to me it's a very solid D...and with the depth up front and in goal, the team to me looks like a cup contender as it's currently formed. hard to match up against for anybody. And watch out for Michalek to break through next year and pocket 35 or so goals.

Anyway, i haven't seen a lot of Mark Bell, but i like this deal. They clearly needed another top flight winger to play with ThorChoo. As you said, those two lines could very well deliver 200 goals next season. How many teams can legitimately say that? Can any?

Earl Sleek said...

To be fair, I can't name the guy 9th-deep in the Ducks' blueline system, and 7 and 8 are known pretty much by name only.