Quote:
Originally Posted by Classic_Sniper
Dougie has some great raw tools, but there are a ton of issues in his game that he needs to start addressing because I've seen them since the day he arrived and it's still in his game today.
Cons:
- Takes a lot of bad obstruction penalties due to his mental lapses, being caught out of position and footwork
- Bad pinches: Leaves Gio fending off odd man rushes too often because of his frequent ill-advised pinches
- Needs to defend better down low: is not tough enough to play against in front of the net and below the hashmarks
With that said, I'd still keep Hamilton as his goal scoring ability is as good as it gets from the back end and I think he can be a 20+ goal defensemen and that could cover up for his gaffes. I don't mind his lack of physicality as it's not in his nature, but the bad penalties need to stop ASAP because this team is going to have a hard time winning consistently by constantly being one of the most penalized teams every year.
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It seems that there is some sort of magic formula for team success in having a 20 - goal scoring D-man (Actually 17)
Hamilton scored as many goals as rookie 3rd line centre. Jankowski outscored Hamilton 13-11 at even strength and 2-0 while short handed.
Jankowski did not spend 90% of his ES ice time playing with Gio on the ice.
Jankowski actually got to kill penalties because he reads and understands the game better than Hamilton.
If people really believe that Hamilton has some sort of magic scoring talent he should be played at RW where his goal expectation should be 30-40 goals.
As for the Norris votes last year.... Sportswriters looking at the pts scoring summary voted for Hamilton at close to the same rate as they voted for Gio. If they voted for Hamilton over Gio they should have their vote taken away for life.
If Hamilton gets 1 vote this year based on his 17 goals the writer voting for him needs to be identified and severely mocked.
Byfuglien has scored more than 17 goals 3 out of the last 4 years. Pretty much every expert / analyst agrees that this year with his 8 goals is by far his best season as a defenseman.