Quote of the Day
by Jonathan Willis on Mar 31, 2009 2:16 PM PDT
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The player in this picture is Theo Peckham, the guy who is likely the best defensive prospect currently in the Oilers' system (with all due respect to Jeff Petry). He's going to draw in tonight for the injured Ladislav Smid. Taylor Chorney's been recalled to take Peckham's spot in the pressbox.Craig MacTavish was asked about Peckham in his press conference this morning, and the exchange went like this:
Reporter: Will Peckham take all of Smid’s minutes, or is it going to increase the workload for the rest?
MacTavish: No, it’ll increase the workload for the rest. With Smid and Strudwick there’s a real comfort level defensively with those two. You don’t want to put a young defenseman in a position where he has to go against the top line or even the second line. (italics mine)
That's why the player behind Peckham is Ben Guite, who has four goals on the season and posted a career-high 22 points last season. Because matchups matter, and for a young defenseman the best place to start an NHL career is on the bottom rung - playing weak opposition.
It's also a big part of the reason why teams breaking in a bunch of young players go nowhere fast - there simply aren't enough 3rd and 4th-line forwards to match up against, so somebody ends up getting burned.
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says the man who played Ladislav Smid on the second pairing for his entire first NHL season.
by Scott on Mar 31, 2009 7:33 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
by Jonathan Willis on Mar 31, 2009 10:56 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Some lessons are more costly than others.
by raventalon40 on Mar 31, 2009 10:58 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
I think that was actually Daniel Tjarnqvist (or however that name is spelled) and that he actually did pretty well until his pubic bone flared up. I find it extremely unlikely that Smid was one of their four best defenders at the start of the season. Guys playing under him were Bergeron, Greene and Hejda with Tom Gilbert in the minors. I would think that playing Bergeron in the top four in that situation would have been the best option (after failing to convince Lowe that he needed another dman).
by Scott on Apr 1, 2009 11:19 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Either way though, I don't think anyone can argue against the facts that a) Edmonton's defense corps was ugly that season or b) Ladislav Smid was probably not ready for a top-six role in the NHL.
by Jonathan Willis on Apr 1, 2009 11:24 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
They ran Shaggy/Smith as the top pair. Staios/Smid as the second. Bergeron/Greene as the third. Hejda sat in the PB (and went to the minors briefly iirc) until Shaggy went down.
Then Staios went down. Then Bergeron got traded. Then Hejda went down. Then Bryan Young was playing in the NHL. Bisillion too I think. And Toby played some D as well.
Tarnstrom came back last year and strangely enough even though Shaggy, Smith, Hejda and Shaggy were all gone Smid ended up in the bottom pairing. Where he should have been the year before, if not the minors.
by Black Dog on Apr 1, 2009 6:18 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
by Bruce on Apr 1, 2009 7:58 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
by Jonathan Willis on Apr 1, 2009 8:03 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
by Bruce on Apr 1, 2009 8:25 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
As I recall, "Dan" Hejda spent half the year in the press box, for absolutely no adequate reason.
by Doogie2K on Apr 2, 2009 10:38 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
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