Ask me anything about the NHL.....

[GambleAllNight]

What do you think of Ray Emery, and the blow up this year og Martin Gerber. Do you think Emery will mold into a great, and possibly hall of fame goltender in his later years. if so, how long we talkin'

[MacGuyV]

So it's true that a team can contend with offense, defense, and goaltending? Wow

[GambleAllNight]

[ QUOTE ]
So it's true that a team can contend with offense, defense, and goaltending? Wow

[/ QUOTE ]
false.

[boxedIn]

How did you get to land this scouting job? I'm assuming you played at some level?

What do you look for when scouting a player? Let's split that into defensemen/offensivemen for obvious reasons. What is something that you see in hockey that other people do not see? (Experts at the game always see things at a different level than the casual fan ... what stands out as big differences).

4 years from now, what teams do you think have a shot at being the best? Obviously this has a lot of guessing, etc. but general rebuilding efforts/aging effects taken into account ...

[Jay845]

[ QUOTE ]
I'll re-ask my question.
How good is Jack Johnson, and will he leave college early?

Also, S. Niedermeyer is the best player I've watched extensively. My NHL history starts about 1990. Never saw much of prime Gretz / Lemieux. Who's the best player you watched? Who is a favorite that doesn't get much mainstream credit?


[/ QUOTE ]

Sorry I missed your early post. I will be honest I don't know alot about Jack Johnson, being he is an American player playing in the States. From what I have seen during the World Junior Tournaments he has played in he looks solid, and anyone taken that early in the draft always has loads of potential.

Gretzky and the Oilers for that matter were awesome in the Mid 80s. Gretzky and Lemieux were probably the 2 best players I have watched (my hockey history started in the early 80s). If Lemieux wasn't hampered by injuries and had the supporting cast that Gretzky had early in his career, Mario's stats would be right with Gretzky's in my opinion. Patrick Roy is the best goaltender I have ever seen, although Brodeur may surpase him at some point.

Scott Niedermeyer is one of the great NHL players right now (I personally think he is the best defenceman in the world right now). I guy that is a superstar, but isn't in the limelight often is Joe Sakic. For many years he wasn't even the first player talked about on the Av's (Forsberg or Roy. Other players that likely don't get enough attention are "stay at home defenceman". The casual NHL fan doesn't realize the importance of these guys, they only consider offence. Some prime examples are Jay McKee, Brendon Witt, Steve Staios, and Kyle McLaren. I personally was always a fan of Dino Ciccarelli and Claude Lemieux. Both had great careers but are often villanized. Having said that all great teams that have won in the Stanely Cup consistently need these guys (ie.e Esa Tikkanen, Ken Linesman for the Oilers, Theron Fleury for the Flames, etc)

[Jay845]

[ QUOTE ]
What do you think of Ray Emery, and the blow up this year og Martin Gerber. Do you think Emery will mold into a great, and possibly hall of fame goltender in his later years. if so, how long we talkin'

[/ QUOTE ]

Never was a fan of Martin Gerber, especially at over 4 mill a year. Right now he is playing way to deep in the crease and his angles are poor.

I think Emery has all the skills and personality to be a great goaltender. Hall of Famer? Tough call. Ottawa needs more success in the playoffs if that is to ever happen

[NhlNut]

[ QUOTE ]
Other players that likely don't get enough attention are "stay at home defenceman". The casual NHL fan doesn't realize the importance of these guys, they only consider offence. Some prime examples are Jay McKee, Brendon Witt, Steve Staios, and Kyle McLaren.

[/ QUOTE ]

I own only 1 sweater. Matty Norstrom. So I tend to agree with you on stay at home d-man.

[lozen]

Yeah and I fought John Kordic from the CDN's But it don't make me an expert on the NHL [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[Jay845]

[ QUOTE ]
How did you get to land this scouting job? I'm assuming you played at some level?

What do you look for when scouting a player? Let's split that into defensemen/offensivemen for obvious reasons. What is something that you see in hockey that other people do not see? (Experts at the game always see things at a different level than the casual fan ... what stands out as big differences).

4 years from now, what teams do you think have a shot at being the best? Obviously this has a lot of guessing, etc. but general rebuilding efforts/aging effects taken into account ...

[/ QUOTE ]

I did play hockey, but not at a extremely high level. Then went into coaching minor hockey and basically watched a ton of games and was around alot of very good hockey minds. As a player I was never the most skilled, but I had to understand the game in order to be competitive. This I think helped me understand the game as well. Eventually, I approached a team offering to scout for them. They excepted my offer.

What I look for in players:
Defenceman
1) Skating ability
2) Ice vision
3) Passing
4) Decision Making
5) Grit

Forwards
1) Skating Ability
2) Stick/puck control
3) Shot
4) Defensive awareness
5) Grit

I think the main thing that the hockey expert notices that the casual fan doesn't are the simple, but very important plays. For example, the 1st outlet pass on a breakout, the defenceman steering the winger into the corner to cut down his shooting angle, the way a player moves without the puck. Casual fans remember the hightlight reel goals, the big hits etc but miss the little things that allow this stuff to happen. In many ways it isn't any different than other sports (i.e. a offensive lineman block that allows the QB to make a TD pass)

4 years from now I think the following teams have a great chance to be the best:

1) Penguins (3 young studs, a good young goaltender)
2) Thrashers (Young scoring and good goaltending)
3) Capitals (need to find a young goaltender thou)
4) Blue Jackets (Ken Hitchcock is a winner, he will find a way to improve this team)

[Golden_Rhino]

[ QUOTE ]
Yeah and I fought John Kordic from the LEAFS But it don't make me an expert on the NHL [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

FYP

go leafs go!