Quote:
Originally Posted by StrykerSteve
Carson 6'4 210
Breen 6'7 224
Babchuk 6'5 200
Lamb 6'1 215
Martin 6'1 200
Wotherspoon 6'1 196
Ramage 6'1 183
There's more to it than just size.
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You are pointing out that there are 3 guys in the Flames organization that are not small skilled defenseman, and one has NHL experience... and he plays like he has eggs in pants that he doesn't want to break.
The main point that I am attempting to make is that the Flames have been dressing 5 D-men for every game that are significantly smaller than the average NHL defenseman.
The biggest and easiest improvement the Flames have to make to their defense is to get some average sized NHL calibre defensemen. It would be better to get a couple of guys that are above average NHL size so that Gio and Wideman who are just a bit undersized can play bigger without having to do all the heavy work required by successful NHL defense corps.
Can I get an agreement that Karlson is the elite small skilled d-man in the league? He won the Norris last year and is 6' 175... He is not expected to knock people over or win puck battles in the corner.
Who were his defensive mates in his Norris season:
Kubba 6-4 235
Gonchar 6-2 206
Phillips 6-3 221
Cowen 6-5 228
This year Kuba left .... did they replace him with a 6' 195 Wideman???
No they went out and got 6-3 231 Methot.
This year with karlson being out Phillips, Cowen and Methot are putting in 20+ minutes / game protecting 6-2 206 Gonchar.
There was a reason that Ottawa had Smith playing in the minors. He was the best non-NHL d-man on lottery pick team (25th place in Smith's last year in Ottawa org) and they gave him away for a 2-way contract.
Brodie might be as good as Karlsson .... will he be able to have the artistic freedom playing with the undersized Flames?
If Brodie were carrying the Flames into the playoffs what sort of beating would he be targeted to take in a playoff series?
The only guy that would be run as much or more would be the Flames goalie.