Anonymous said:
Brad, word of advice: take of the f*#kin Sioux glasses. Your teams are a jokes. Interesting that 4 out of the 6 defenseman slots are from the Sioux. At least run a credible blog.
Points per game by defenseman Nationally:
1 Jack Hillen Colorado College SR D 36 6-27-33 0.92
8 Chay Genoway North Dakota SO D 30 6-16-22 0.73
17 Robbie Bina North Dakota SR D 35 2-21-23 0.66
19 Jamie McBain (CAR) Wisconsin SO D 31 3-17-20 0.65
Defenseman Scoring Conference:
1 Jack Hillen Colorado College SR D 28 0.82 4-19-23
2 Chay Genoway North Dakota SO D 23 0.78 5-13-18
3 Robbie Bina North Dakota SR D 28 0.61 1-16-17
4 Jamie McBain Wisconsin SO D 25 0.64 2-14-16
Taylor Chorney North Dakota JR D 28 0.57 2-14-16
6 Joe Finley North Dakota JR D 28 0.50 4-10-14
Points alone are not the judge of a good defenceman.
ReplyDeleteThat is why I add the stats on UND standing as far as defensive standing nationally. :)
ReplyDeleteWell, UMD's PK is #4 and defence has been one of the bright spots for tDogs this year, and NO ONE has mentioned ANY tUMD players. Jason Garrison is probably missing because he is injured, but he has 0.63 p/g, which is better than Bina, Chorney, Finley. Travis Gawryletz doesn't have very many points but he is as good of a defensive defenceman as you can get. Of course, you forget those guys are there until they 1. hit someone or 2. make a mistake. Look at Schultzy for the Wild. You may go a whole game without hearing his name, because he is DOING HIS JOB. Michigan Tech is another defence-oriented team and no one has nominated anyone from Tech either.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is that most people do not have a good enough understanding of how the game is played, so all they go on is points. A good defenceman is judged by blocked shots, hits, and positioning, and none of those are headline stats.
RWD- The thing you forget is: good defencmen no matter how good in their end, need to be able to move the puck. Both UMD and MTU d's have trouble doing this. Forwards are a part of it, but rarely do both those teams complete 3 passes up the rink. I see UND and UM (unfortunately) have d's that can make a break-out go. also, UND has Genoway,Chorney, and Bina to carry the puck from their own zone to the opposition's zone. I don't see that in the other two teams mentioned here. sorry.
ReplyDeleteThat's not true. We have forwards who can't catch beautifully set-up passes.
ReplyDeleteUMD defencemen, particularly Gawryletz, are very good at rushing the puck and breaking it out of the zone. I watched Gawryletz vs. the Gopher forwards on Saturday and every time I panicked because I thought they would have a breakaway, he was calm and poised and right there breaking it up.
I'm sure MEg could come on here and make a case for Kinrade or for another of her defencemen. But to say that the Sioux have a good defence is one thing, and I won't argue it: to say the Sioux have 4 of the 6 best defencemen in the conference is ludicrous. And to base a defenceman's worth solely on points (which, along with +/-, is the only justification people can give) is like saying you don't understand the game, and that's how SO MANY people are making their choices.
Re-reading my 2nd paragraph... I don't know why I put the positioning argument in with the rushing the puck argument. I'm not even wearing my glasses...
ReplyDeleteSo please don't think I think that "rushing the puck" means "breaking up breakaways."
I'll give you the benefit of the doubt but i've seen ND play the Dawgs 4 times this year and UMD's breakout is the worst i've seen in the league this year that's all. The Def.plays a huge role in that aspect of the game and I wasn't ever impressed with your D. Now, last year, yes! Niskanen rocked! i wish UND could've traded B.Lee for him last year.:)
ReplyDeleteIt's funny because there are many, MANY UMD fans who were critical of Niskanen's performance last year.
ReplyDeleteOVERALL, our defence has had some issues. We have 3 outstanding defencemen (1 who is currently injured and was not playing during the most recent UMD/UND series), 1 who is going to be outstanding, and then some others. And they have issues. But whatever.
My whole point isn't to argue UMD has the best defence. It's to say that UND does not have 4 of the 6 best individual defencemen. Clearly I'm using UMD's defence as an EXAMPLE. Although having the 4th best PK in the country would show that we have a pretty darn good defence.