He was the first player that I got a named jersey for. I honestly thought he'd retire as a Flame as an all time great. Those first 3 seasons really did feel like the sky was the limit for Dion. Who would have thought those would end up being his prime years, and he'd decline so much after that. Not really sure what happened.
His rookie season was phenomenal, and in most instances, would have earned him some hardware. However, that year, there were two other rookies named Crosby and Ovechkin.
Timing is everything.
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NHL 09 was the first year where they introduced the skill stick instead of just pressing a button to shoot or deke.
It remains the only real evolution in the EA NHL formula in the last 20 years.
They actually introduced the skill stick in 2007 when Ovechkin was first on the cover. 2009 was all about defensive additions- probably why Phaneuf was on the cover.
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They actually introduced the skill stick in 2007 when Ovechkin was first on the cover. 2009 was all about defensive additions- probably why Phaneuf was on the cover.
if this is true then I will blame the mandela effect.
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I don't think it was his game that deteriorated as much it was the game that changed on him. The game wanted to get rid of the big hit, and that was his game. I always been a big fan of Dion. Congrats to him.
It's too bad his play fell off after his hip injury and really reduced his mobility.
I recall when he signed his ELC when he was still in junior. It was during the major tsunami disaster around Christmas time and he donated a large portion of his signing bonus to tsunami relief charities. It was a pretty impressive thing for a teenager to do after getting a large sum of money.
His swagger seemed to rub some people the wrong way, but I think he is probably a good guy.
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"A pessimist thinks things can't get any worse. An optimist knows they can."
I have actually heard many, many Dion Phaneuf stories over the years and not one of them is good. Anecdotal rumoury crap of course, but hopefully now that he no longer has to work on hockey he can work on being a better person.
This guy is like the antithesis of Jarome Iginla.
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It's too bad his play fell off after his hip injury and really reduced his mobility.
I recall when he signed his ELC when he was still in junior. It was during the major tsunami disaster around Christmas time and he donated a large portion of his signing bonus to tsunami relief charities. It was a pretty impressive thing for a teenager to do after getting a large sum of money.
His swagger seemed to rub some people the wrong way, but I think he is probably a good guy.
This was definitely a big issue as I remember reading that he couldn't turn well anymore. Did he ever have surgery on it? Losing the skating can effect so many things, which is great news that Monahan had his looked after and is starting to skate better as the season moves along.
