very interesting that everyone commenting seems fully in support of gritty hockey.
Tkachuk, Hunter Smith, Kanzig and especially Morrison were playing like the biker gang 2004 version of the Flames.
Morrison had a close to the line edge to him that if he maintains will give him some serious consideration for the NHL roster. If Engelland were to miss some games he would be the 1st call up.
The only cautionary point was that Tkachuk looked relatively small.
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very interesting that everyone commenting seems fully in support of gritty hockey.
Tkachuk, Hunter Smith, Kanzig and especially Morrison were playing like the biker gang 2004 version of the Flames.
Morrison had a close to the line edge to him that if he maintains will give him some serious consideration for the NHL roster. If Enge
lland were to miss some games he would be the 1st call up.
The only cautionary point was that Tkachuk looked relatively small.
Yup his antics worked well against little boys his size. He will continue to grow however so it's a non issue.
Am I the only one who thinks Tkachuk would benefit from toning it down a bit? All for having a pest/agitator, but want that pest/agitator to draw more penalties than he takes. Will be interesting to see how he adjusts today/Monday. I mean seriously, you can't run a guy with your elbow up, not to mention cross checking him when he's down. Tkachuk is at his best when he's chirping and getting away with phantom slashes resulting in the opposition taking a stupid penalty in retaliation. Finish your checks, sure, but don't be running guys -- that's a recipe for suspension. Just ask Raffi Torres.
My sense is that Tkachuk is far more disciplined than what we saw last night. He treated his first game like his first day in prison. He made a statement to other players in the league. "Mess me with and I will seriously injure you." When your dad is Keith Tkachuk, I imagine this is the kind of practical advice you get about creating space for yourself on the ice as a young rookie.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cannon7
Am I the only one who thinks Tkachuk would benefit from toning it down a bit? All for having a pest/agitator, but want that pest/agitator to draw more penalties than he takes. Will be interesting to see how he adjusts today/Monday. I mean seriously, you can't run a guy with your elbow up, not to mention cross checking him when he's down. Tkachuk is at his best when he's chirping and getting away with phantom slashes resulting in the opposition taking a stupid penalty in retaliation. Finish your checks, sure, but don't be running guys -- that's a recipe for suspension. Just ask Raffi Torres.
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very interesting that everyone commenting seems fully in support of gritty hockey.
Tkachuk, Hunter Smith, Kanzig and especially Morrison were playing like the biker gang 2004 version of the Flames.
Morrison had a close to the line edge to him that if he maintains will give him some serious consideration for the NHL roster. If Engelland were to miss some games he would be the 1st call up.
The only cautionary point was that Tkachuk looked relatively small.
Am I the only one who thinks Tkachuk would benefit from toning it down a bit? All for having a pest/agitator, but want that pest/agitator to draw more penalties than he takes. Will be interesting to see how he adjusts today/Monday. I mean seriously, you can't run a guy with your elbow up, not to mention cross checking him when he's down. Tkachuk is at his best when he's chirping and getting away with phantom slashes resulting in the opposition taking a stupid penalty in retaliation. Finish your checks, sure, but don't be running guys -- that's a recipe for suspension. Just ask Raffi Torres.
It was one game.
1) in the first game of a tournament, playoffs, or any set of games, setting the tone early is key. Doesn't mean you're going to play dirty the whole time.
2) it was also his first game in a Flame uniform - he wanted to make a statement
3) he clearly has some prior issue with Lemieux (and that's not really a surprise).
I have no doubt that he will tone it down going forward. And he showed in the playoffs and Memorial Cup that he doesn't let that stuff interfere with playing hockey.
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Should Matt score more than 538 goals and over a 1000 points in his career , I suspect there will be a joyous multitude of Flames fans.
Yes, but dad also played in an era where points were easier to come by.
In order to get more points than his dad, he will have to be a much better player offensively (and I am very confident that he is, or at least will be)
very interesting that everyone commenting seems....
(RGI talk)
Huge difference between productive play-drivers bringing grit (Benn, Iginla, Marchand, Forsberg, Perry, Pronger, Chara, Weber, Doughty, Stevens etc) and unproducive role players bringing little else but grit.
Tkachuk earned the right to muck around because he was a scoring chance machine. The best player on the ice was a bully. No problem. Caroll and Lomberg were at least at this level also able to generate chances/goals. The better team was being bullies, NBD. It's unneccesssary but fun to watch in the entertainment industry. I bet you the Jets don't give a damn about Logan Stanley's "grit" after their team got destroyed though.. winning is the funnest thing to watch
No one inherently dislikes grit. But there are aesthetic elements and functional elements that need to be identified / separated and players at any given level need to bring more to the table than just grit. You need some functional grit but you don't need an aesthetic of grit. And even teams with an aesthetic of grit are often good in spite of not because of their rah rah ######yness.
The 04 Flames may have been sore losers but they backed it up by being a damn effective team the next game, even Chris Simon was more of a key goal scorer for them but people just remember a goon. They also played in an era where everyone had inefficiencies at the bottom of their roster - it was an even playing field to bring the drama. You don't have that luxury anymore, even a former 7 goal scorer like Bollig is hanging on by a thread as a 14th forward. He might have been a legit 3rd liner back then.
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Last edited by GranteedEV; 09-17-2016 at 10:55 AM.
Did Tkachuk go overboard? No question. But it's the first game of the season and it looked like he had some built up anger ready to unleash on Brendan. It was most definitely personal and you can tell by Lemieux not even having the puck...
Did Tkachuk also set the tone for the rest of the game? I honestly think he did. I can't believe all these Winnipeg D prospects are really so bad that they can't safely exit their zone. That top line was causing countless turnovers partly because the opposition was too scared of getting hit and gave up the puck anytime Tkachuk came near.
It was like 15/16 Hudler out there with that D making sketchy passes instead of skating with the puck or taking a check to make the play.
And I wonder how safe little Marner felt with Tkachuk on his line? Safe enough to win a Memorial cup.
Last edited by Bandwagon In Flames; 09-17-2016 at 11:05 AM.
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Don't think Tkachuk had any fights in junior. He's more of an in your face guy in the Perry/Kadri mold than someone like his dad or Iginla who'd fight. If Tkachuk plays like that every night he'll have the odd fight, but doubt you'll see many at all.
