In what's been described as a relatively thin year for U.S. college free agents, (The) Ohio State University defenceman Josh Healey is making something of a name for himself.
He’s a throwback blueliner; a big open-ice hitter of some renown.
"Old school – keep your head up when he's on the ice," one NHL executive said of the 22-year-old from Edmonton who has generated interest from almost every NHL club.
Healey is listed at 6-feet and 196 pounds. Scouts say he's a decent first-pass defenceman but his forte is open-ice hitting and playing a hard, physical game. He projects as a depth or perhaps third-pairing type defenceman. He’s not a sure bet to play in the NHL, but certainly worth a shot.
Friedman said there is some talk that the kid might play a style more suited for the NHL than the NCAA.
Ohio State qualified for the NCAA regionals so his season could be done as soon as this weekend or as late as April 8th.
Last edited by sureLoss; 03-25-2017 at 01:33 PM.
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Can he skate? Not a big fan of D that go for the big hit and get themselves out of position. I mean sure looks cool but they are a dying breed in today's game.
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Ohio State senior defenseman Josh Healey was facing a possible suspension for a game misconduct penalty for contact-to-the-head given in the semifinal of the Big Ten conference tournament last Friday.
Today, the Big Ten announced their ruling. Healey received an automatic one-game suspension for receiving his third game misconduct of the season, and the Big Ten added an additional game to his suspension.
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The way he runs around he better be a tough sob who can fight or he is going to get beaten to a pulp in the nhl. Even after clean big hits now guys get jumped. He seems a little smallish to last playing that kind of game.
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Oh God. If he really is the next Scott Stevens, 75% of the people on this site would have a mental breakdown after watching his first game.
There will never be another Scott Stevens because the rules have changed. Scott Stevens would have been thrown out of todays NHL within his first two years if he did the head shots he used to do.
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looking at that video with the "headshot", it looks more of a shoulder is contacted first and the head is barely contacted. I would be pretty pissed if that was the play that suspended me.
Edmonton’s Josh Healey, who plays at Ohio State, has been suspended for the first two games of the NCAA Tournament. That means he's now been suspeneded five times for contact-to-the-head penalties since Nov. 2015. I don’t think NHL teams are concerned, feeling some of those hits wouldn’t be penalized at the pro level. If Ohio State wins twice this weekend, he can return for the Frozen Four. If not, he’ll go to the next level. At one time, all four Western Canadian teams were interested. It sounds like Healey’s down to a short list. I think Calgary is there, although the Flames won’t comment. But they aren’t the only ones.
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