Comments for 15 Players That Could Make or Break You (West 2011) at http://hockey.dobbersports.com , comment 1 to 6 out of 6 comments http://hockey.dobbersports.com Tue, 21 May 2013 06:20:42 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://hockey.dobbersports.com/index.php/columnistsarticles-mainmenu-77/amato/3990-15-players-that-could-make-or-break-you-west-2011#comment-16745 Makes sense, I appreciate your responses, thanks! - letnry Thu, 29 Sep 2011 17:37:20 +0100 http://hockey.dobbersports.com/index.php/columnistsarticles-mainmenu-77/amato/3990-15-players-that-could-make-or-break-you-west-2011#comment-16742 [b]RE: Last week's question[/b] Sorry I missed last week's question, by Thursday/Friday I generally don't revisit the article for late comments, so I'll address it now. I think I made a bit of a boo boo in labelling Dorsett as a "goon" type, he does bring a bit more to the table much like McLeod does, but with that said, I do think that he will be in a bit of a decline this year only because the team around him as changed... Last year they were frustrated every other game. They always had the talent but never seemed to be able to get over that hump, which IMO has led to more of the "physical play". With Carter, Prospal and Wisniewski on board I think they're more finesse, where they should win more games and be a bit more disciplined. Plus they have a goon in Boll already, I don't know if they'll have a need for two goons in their line up (if they are consistently winning games). If you look at their current line up, I mean you have a top 3 of Carter, Nash, Prospal... then next three of Brassard, Umberger, Johansen... then Vermette, Pahlsson, Calvert... Then you have Boll, Dorsett, Mackenzie, plus you have Huse coming back later in the year. So best case scenario for Dorsett is a 4th line role... If you look at the Avs line up, you have Hejduk, Duchene, Mueller... Stastny, Jones, Landeskog... Then it's all wide open from there McClement, O'Reilly and Galiardi could be the next three, but McLeod I think could jump in there some time. One thing that you also have to account for is last season was a bit of a down one for McLeod, he averaged only 9:46 last season... the season before 12:55 and 11:34 the season before that. If he can get back above the 10 range and stay relatively healthy he should put up much better stats. I dunno it's one of those things that it's going to be much of a muchness really. Between Dorsett and McLeod there isn't going to be night and day differences, and one won't exactly singlehandedly win you a league title... I just prefer McLeod over Dorsett - Ryan Ma Thu, 29 Sep 2011 14:45:15 +0100 http://hockey.dobbersports.com/index.php/columnistsarticles-mainmenu-77/amato/3990-15-players-that-could-make-or-break-you-west-2011#comment-16741 [b]RE: Conklin[/b] I think the difference between Detroit and St. Louis is their propensity to utilize their backup goalie if their starter struggles... Howard didn't have a great statistical season last year, and if Osgood wasn't injured for most of it. I wouldn't have been surprised to see a 50/50 split between him and Osgood. Detroit isn't a team that has an allegiance to a number one goalie, whoever plays well starts and whoever struggles becomes the backup... I don't think Detroit had much faith in MacDonald last season to give him the number one gig over Howard, but Conklin's been there done that so they have that history with him, that if Howard struggles again, I just don't think that he'll be that lucky to get away with starting 63 games while posting dismal stats with Conklin as the backup. Also I think the Blues had something to prove, they paid a "big" price to take a leap of faith in Halak, and had to justify it somehow. So they started him as much as they could to justify to trade. With Bishop and Elliott there, he too won't be so luck if he continues to post crappy stats... I'm not betting the farm that these scenarios will certainly happen... All I want to do is to make you guys aware of is that there is a possibility of it happening and just be prepared for it. They don't have complete job security like a Miller, Lundy, Brodeur, Luongo... - Ryan Ma Thu, 29 Sep 2011 14:26:13 +0100 http://hockey.dobbersports.com/index.php/columnistsarticles-mainmenu-77/amato/3990-15-players-that-could-make-or-break-you-west-2011#comment-16739 [quote]Howard caught a bit of a break because the Red Wings didn’t really have a legitimate backup to act as competition for him, but with Ty Conklin entering the fold, Howard might not be as lucky this season.[/quote] [quote]There wasn’t really a backup option for Halak, but this year the Blues have two in Brian Elliott and Ben Bishop.[/quote] Ty Conklin wasn't a legitimate backup for Halak, but he is now for Howard? Or am I misreading something there? Also, I had a late comment on your column last week regarding Dorsett, not sure if you got a chance to see it. Thanks for the great articles though, always enjoy your stuff. - letnry Thu, 29 Sep 2011 12:37:22 +0100 http://hockey.dobbersports.com/index.php/columnistsarticles-mainmenu-77/amato/3990-15-players-that-could-make-or-break-you-west-2011#comment-16725 [b]RE: Rinne[/b] I think it'll depend on the situation... Most teams have their starters pretty much sorted already, and he'll probably only be moved to a contender. Of course this is me talking 4 months before the trade deadline so it's all just speculation... Teams that are looking for a number one are generally going to be the ones that are in the bubble or are firmly entrenched as one of the top seeds. So chances are they would already have a number 1 in place or are just looking for protection heading into the stretch/post-season. So I don't think a team would pick up Rinne and just stick him as the number 1 go to guy... Teams that are completely out of it with a desperate need for a number 1 I don't think would send a top pick just to land Rinne for the future... So I dunno, it's just me speculating on what potentially could happen 4 months down the road... Rinne might be the goalie that bucks the trend and that the Preds keep for good, who knows. - Ryan Ma Wed, 28 Sep 2011 23:37:02 +0100 http://hockey.dobbersports.com/index.php/columnistsarticles-mainmenu-77/amato/3990-15-players-that-could-make-or-break-you-west-2011#comment-16724 Great Artical, only thing i dont understand is what team would trade for Rinne to be their backup? Rinne would most likely be starter anywhere he goes IMO - Gfry Wed, 28 Sep 2011 23:08:16 +0100