Blueline Is Bigger – But Will It Be Better?
Somewhere over the course of the last year or so, Thrashers general manager Don Waddell seems to have bought into the theory that bigger is better when it comes to an NHL team’s defensive corps. Since opening night last fall, the D-line has indeed seen considerable growth in its physical size and weight. When the Thrashers handed the Capitals a 7-4 defeat to open last year’s campaign, the six defenders wearing blue that night were Nic Havelid, Ron Hainsey, Zach Bogosian, Garnet Exelby, Tobias Enstrom and Mathieu Schneider. Two of those players were under six-feet tall…Enstrom, (5′-10″) and Schneider, (5′-11″)… and that unit averaged 6′-0 1/2″ and 199.17 pounds. The man in the press box that night, Nathan Oystrick, goes at 6′-0″ and 210 pounds.
Even though we celebrated John Anderson’s first ever NHL victory that evening, the defense surrendered 4 goals and 43 shots. That’s right…forty-frickin’-three.
By the time early January rolled around, Atlanta’s defense was allowing teams an average of 32.6 shots on goal and 3.65 goals per game. One of the main problems was that the lack of size on the blueline was allowing opposing team’s players to camp out in front of the net and many close-range shots were being taken.
It also didn’t help matters that the 6′-2″, 200 pound Zach Bogosian was out for most of that time with a leg injury. However, when Zach went down, the 6′-7″, 240 pound Boris Valabik was called upon to fill the void and, depending on whether he or Oystrick was playing, the average size of the blueline grew about an inch…to about six-one.
As the trade deadline came and went, gone where the 5′-11″, 195 pound Schneider and the 6′-0″, 200 Nic Havelid. The defensive corps got younger…and it got bigger as well. When the Thrashers walloped the Lightning 6-2 in the season finale last April, the starting defenders in that game…Hainsey, Bogosian, Exelby, Enstrom, Oystrick and Valabik…averaged 6′-1.83″ and 208.33 pounds.
Those primary players, sprinkled in with nine games by the 6′-1″ Anssi Salmela, helped the Thrashers defense play much more respectably in the closing months of the year. The team that was allowing 3.65 goals per game was now only surrendering about 3.15…and finish the year with an overall total GA/G of 3.40. Also, the team penalty kill went from a putrid 73.9% effective at the mid-point of the season to 76.0%…still not great, but better.
Although the average shots-per-game stat really did not shrink, (32.7 SA/G season overall), to me it appeared that less of the time Kari and Moose were facing shots from point-blank range.
While its true, “team” defense includes the input from the forwards, I have always contended that good defense begins with good defenders. And as the defense got bigger, it seemed to get better.
Now, after the Exelby for Kubina deal this summer, the Thrashers blueline…much like what Johnny said of Leon…. is getting lar-r-r-r-ger!
As such, if you consider an opening day lineup that could include Hainsey, Bogosian, Enstrom, Kubina, Valabik and Salmela, you would see a defensive lineup that had only one player, Enstrom, under 6-feet tall and averages 6′-2 1/2″ and 211.67 pounds.
That’s an overall average gain of two inches and almost twelve pounds since last season’s opener.
Hopefully, the “bigger defenders = better defense” trend will continue.
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
231 comments Add your comment
World Be Free
July 30th, 2009
1:19 pm
LAC, thanks for reminding me about my favorite subject-
The Canadian media is always whipping it up as an “us against them” thing, not just about hockey but about everything between the U.S. and Canada. So national pride or something like it is injected into the situation.
Bettman has said from the start that he does not want teams moving all over the place, unless the team does not have the ability to survive in the city. Phoenix has issues, but most of the issues are fixable.
In addition, Bettman (and the league) did not want to move a team to Hamilton. Hamilton does not deserve a team; it is not a major league city. In addition, it makes no sense to drop a team in Buffalo and Toronto’s backyards. Both teams were leery of the idea, as they were when this almost happened in the late 80’s.
There’s alotta great people and hockey fans in Canada. There are others that use the national pride and emotion to a level we don’t comprehend because we are not totally hung up on one sport. These are business decisions.
The Earl of Bud
July 30th, 2009
2:01 pm
I actually think J.R. just needs to keep the team in Phoenix long enough to get out of the lease in that arena which is quite fresh. Then he can sell them for quite a profit. Balsillie blew his chance when he didn’t own the Preds yet and was already taking ticket deposits. He has shown that he is not going to play by the rules and so that will keep him out, not the whole “we don’t want a team in Canada” thing. But considering he was the only other bidder, the 3rd one didn’t have the proper backing, it means J.R. gets it and will make quite a profit in 5-10 years.
LAC, I hear what you are saying, but it is not as bad as when the Blue Jays won the World Series and there was all the whining about an American team not winning it. If a Canadian college were to get a BCS bid over an SEC team I imagine the Confederacy would rise again.
World Be Free
July 30th, 2009
3:50 pm
EOB-cannot agree with you on this one.
Getting Phoenix to Hamilton became a national obsession in Canada. Now Jim B. is the victim of the American conspiracy to deprive Canada of a 7th team. Canada and the Canadian market is not the issue here, just not having a team in Hamilton. I’d take Winnipeg in a minute as an NHL market.
Red Light
July 30th, 2009
4:14 pm
Wow, 203 comments to a hockey blog in July in Atlanta! That’s great stuff gentlemen! I’m no great fan of the Sabres, but I do appreciate the style of play that Lindy implements and Darcy Regier for my money is the best GM in the game with very little capital resources to work with during most of his tenure. Buffalo’s AHL team always plugs the holes every time a Sabres regular goes down with an injury. They remain a young squad, play with tons of energy and have several skilled forwards. I’m not overly impressed with their “D”, but considering what they spend on the rear guard, it’s not too surprising. Montador has always been one of my pets after seeing him in the Finals several seasons ago when he was with Calgary.
Six guys on Buffalo’s roster played 79 games or more, and don’t forget that Miller missed 13 games due to the ankle injury and they missed the playoffs by two points last season. They lost nine in OT/SO, and six of those were when they took a lead into the third period, which is rather surprising.
I know many of you dislike their fans when they invade Philips, but on the ice I think they are a team that it’s difficult not to respect or to enjoy watching the way they play.
Slater is like a table you buy at Ikea. No finish! He suffers from Gene Carr Syndrome (GCS); the former Flames, Kings, Rangers and Penguins forward, who also couldn’t hit the ocean from the pier.
The Earl of Bud
July 30th, 2009
4:16 pm
World Be Free, part of what I was explaining was the whole pride thing that does exist here. Now I do agree that Winnipeg is better than Hamilton if for no other reason, you are taking a team from the West and keeping them in the West, whereas now the East is overloaded (Detroit and Columbus should be in the East but there is no room for them). Given that Buffalo has a waiting list for season tickets and Toronto is the center of the hockey universe, I would actually not have a problem with a 2nd team in Toronto. Not Hamilton as that would interfere with Buffalo more but right in Toronto. If Los Angeles can have the Ducks & Kings, why can’t Toronto handle 2 teams?
You know though that Phoenix will NEVER go to Winnipeg because that was where the Coyotes were before and putting them back there would mean someone has to admit they were wrong. But they can support it. Not to support the Canadians too much on this, but Winnipeg lost that team on a lot of hearsay as to the Canadian $ and the KT contract. The QC move was a little different story.
LAC
July 30th, 2009
4:36 pm
Hey Rawhide, what is the summer record for responses ?
We create new topics all the time here, and people say there are NO hockey fans in ATLANTA… BS !!! Great Fans here and on THIS Blog !!!!!
WBF I agree 110%, they will not let it go for some odd reason…
At least it is not about us.
lee
July 30th, 2009
4:40 pm
i agree, i think if canada wanted more teams they should of just kept winnipeg and those other teams in the first place! I agree EOB. even if the coyotes went back to winnipeg, the fans wouldn’t be as loyal.
lee
July 30th, 2009
4:42 pm
yeah, this is incredible! i never see this many comments and almost three pages full of comments! And they say canada has the most loyal and best fans when they are crying their butts off, cuz they don’t hav another team!
lee
July 30th, 2009
4:43 pm
hey rawhide, i don’t know how much bigger and better the thrashers will be, but i sure know the blog will be!
Rawhide
July 30th, 2009
4:47 pm
LAC – There were 506 comments posted in about a 24 hour period back on July 1st…the UFA Pool Party blog.
Yeah…506.
Lee – There are indeed some very smart & bright people that frequent this site, that’s for sure. 200+ comments is very nice to see, indeed.
BTW, here is the most recent blog post that I put up yesterday.
lee
July 30th, 2009
4:55 pm
wow!!! that’s a lot of comments! what was the subject???
World Be Free
July 30th, 2009
9:36 pm
Red Light-like you take on the Sabres and Slater. Sabes fans are just good fans. They are not as low budget as you might think, they just seem to freeze when it comes to paying the right players. They have a few players they have overpaid and are now stuck with.
Bif Lindy fan as a player and coach-he may walk at the end of this coming season. Would you blame him?
World Be Free
July 30th, 2009
9:49 pm
EOB-I think we are on the same page about baseball and hockey pride in each nation. I do not think NFL traditionalist really want the Bills to move to Toronto and play in that stale dome they have in Toronto. I believe Winnipeg would be a better place for an NHL relocation, because they already supported an NHL team. They just could not get the right ownership. They lost the Jets when there was no salary cap; now with the cap, they should be able to find a way to survive. Winnipeg is a great hockey town.
Hamilton is not a great sports town. They have failed to support amateur and professional sports. Supporters of Hamilton state that it is a hockey hotbed that can support another team without hurting the teams already existing in that region. I do not agree, but support your contention that Toronto, or north of Toronto is a better place to put another team. The only reason we are talking about Hamilton is that they build Copps Coliseum 20+ years ago without any commitment to place an NHL team there. NHL franchises are not an entitlement.
Good conversation.
World Be Free
July 30th, 2009
9:56 pm
LAC-you know they will get back to us at some point. By then, hopefully we will have built a winning team and rediscovered our strong fanbase.
Great participation on this blog. My wife sez I drank the hockey blog Kool Aid.
dwayne
July 31st, 2009
6:23 am
Need 4 tickets for the oct. 24th game….free.
lee
July 31st, 2009
8:20 am
WBF-yeah, i think they will. both of our new free agents are prety good!
Smoothie
July 31st, 2009
11:35 am
Oh my gosh, is this thread of conversation still going?? Nice job guys, but do you have something against Zambonis?
The Earl of Bud
July 31st, 2009
1:26 pm
Smoothie, nothing against zambonis, just different conversations on different topics. Besides, I get confused just between what people are talking about on the beat writer’s blog and what they said on the fan blog, I don’t want to jump into another conversation on, well, zambonis.
World Be Free, believe it or not, I actually supported the Bills in Toronto. By making it the Torbufchester Bills, they can compete with most markets. Now there’s talk the Raptors are going to play 1-5 games in HSBC on that same strategy.
As for Hamilton, remember there are also people still upset that Ottawa got the team in the 90’s and not Hamilton. And I heard Copps is only so-so. I tried to plan a trip home when the Wolves were playing the Bulldogs there so I could see some of our guys but the dates didn’t line up. I am still going to try to do that this year and see our boys from Chicago play in Hamilton and Rochester.
lee
July 31st, 2009
2:18 pm
EOB-cool! hav fun! that would be a great matchup.
The Earl of Bud
July 31st, 2009
2:38 pm
lee, it’s tough because since they aren’t in the same division the Wolves play at Rochester and Hamilton only once each during the year. At least they are in the same conference otherwise they probably wouldn’t make a trip there at all. At least with Hamilton they usually play the Marlies the night before or night after so you can see them twice in two nights, then throw in some junior games in Guelph, Mississauga or St. Catharines and you can make quite a trip out of it. Now if only the Thrashers were playing Buffalo the same weekend, now you got a road trip!
Hockey Biltong
July 31st, 2009
4:28 pm
Time for a new thread!!!!!
lee
July 31st, 2009
4:28 pm
yeah, i bet that is hard.
-on yahoo.com, they have the 10 most hated sports players and there was an article about how no one hates hockey player. so here goes the list…..
10. John McEnroe, Tennis player
9. Nick Saban, NCAA football coach
8. Stephan Marbury, NBA player
7. Isiah Thomas, NBA player
6. Allen Iverson, NBA player
5. Kobe Bryant, NBA player
4. T.O, NFL player
3.A-Rod MLB player
2.Manny Ramierez, MLB player
1. Michael Vick, NFL player
I don’t see whats so bad about vick. i know u think im crazy and i know he dogfighted but that doesn’t mean he can change things around and become a better player and person.
Rawhide
July 31st, 2009
5:19 pm
Hockey Biltong – Ummm…er, uh….I’ve had this new blog posted since noon Thursday. Time to catch up, buddy!
World Be Free
July 31st, 2009
9:52 pm
Lee-correct, it’s time to give Vick a break.
Also, why isn’t Donte Stallworth on this list?
Just shows you how screwed up things are.
EOB-sounds like you have a road trip planned for WNY and southern Ontario. I guess I am old school; NFL belongs in U.S., CFL belongs in Canada. Most Bills’ fans in Toronto prefer to come to Buffalo for games because it is alot less expensive and it’s an NHL atmosphere.
The Rochester Americans have gone from one of the best AHL teams to one of the worst. My wife is from ROC, so I have been to quite a few Amerks games over the years. Maybe Teddy Ballgame (hockey style) will bring back pride to Rochester. I miss Teddy with the Sabres.
lee
August 1st, 2009
10:17 am
yeah, i don’t know. he’s should.
lee
August 1st, 2009
11:30 am
guys, how good do u think the thrashers will be? because im kinda worried about them. i dont know if we can be a matchup for the others teams.
World Be Free
August 1st, 2009
12:45 pm
Lee, we are just going to have to see how they play together.
The Earl of Bud
August 1st, 2009
3:49 pm
World Be Free, I am hoping to but together a nice hockey trip to WNY/SO but it is depending on the
1) release of AHL and junior schedules top figure out who is playing who on what dates
2) who will be on the roster for the Wolves
3) if we have any key prospects playing in the juniors this year (sort of like watching Postma or Esposito play in the juniors last year) like when I saw one of our goaltending prospects play and finally
4) who the other key talent is for next year’s draft and if we can see the next Tavares play while up there. Although I didn’t get to see the Wolves last year, I did get to see both Tavares and Duchene, 2 of the 3 players picked ahead of Kane. Then again I don’t plan on being a lottery pick next year but it’s still fun to see the next big thing before they get selected #1 overall. Then there’s the other guys I saw like Ryan Ellis & Calvin De Haan (selected #11 & #12 in the first round).
World Be Free
August 1st, 2009
6:28 pm
Dounds like an incredible trip. I saw Lindros when he as in juniors.
lee
August 1st, 2009
7:01 pm
WBF-really? that must’ve been cool
World Be Free
August 1st, 2009
10:21 pm
Sure wuz