07/08 Player Profile - #3 Wade Belak
# 3
Belak, Wade
6' 5" 221 lbs Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
7/3/1976
2006/07
GM G A PTS PIM PPG SHG GWG SH SH% +/-
65 0 3 3 110 16 - 8
Let me start by saying I had the gratification of sitting 10 rows up, second deck, the night Belak pounded ‘meathead’ in what was easily one of the most anticipated and entertaining fights in NHL history.
That said Wade Belak needs to be on that ice, his presence alone can alter the mindset of any opponent. Belak has been shifted from forward and defence throughout his tenure with the Blue and White. Wade was never able to get aquatinted to his surroundings, because as always, he had bigger fish to fry.
Belak should be a prime candidate to challenge for the 5 or 6 defensive slot, and here’s why. He is naturally a defenseman, and was drafted 12th overall in the 94 draft as such. His skill set is there, he is a very strong, quick skater at an enormous 6-5 220. His agility enables that quickness. His aggressiveness and strength are very good, which are great tools for intimidation, puck battles, and lifting opponents off the ice. Positioning can get better with coaching while utilizing his quickness. Without the puck Wade Belak is a force on the ice, with more time, and a hockey role he can only imporve.
With the puck his decision making is very poor, while again, familiarity and confidence can easily play a role in that outcome. For a stay at home defenseman his hands are average and are not a weakness. Both are areas able to be treated with a sure handed, fast puck moving defensive partner. As such, given the mindset that he is to compete for that D spot, I feel Belak can offer this team something it does not currently have, someone to fear on defence.
Since the days of Bob Rouse, then Dmitri Yushkevich, and then can opener; the Toronto Maple Leafs have yet to see a sustainable aggressive presence on the blue-line. While Hall Gill has definitely improved his standing as such a defenseman in the past year, and Kubina hopefully getting this part back in game, Belak will provide the thrid option of always having a mean defensive presense on that ice. Wade Belak can provide that presence in a faster stronger more limited role.
Belak, Wade
6' 5" 221 lbs Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
7/3/1976
2006/07
GM G A PTS PIM PPG SHG GWG SH SH% +/-
65 0 3 3 110 16 - 8
Let me start by saying I had the gratification of sitting 10 rows up, second deck, the night Belak pounded ‘meathead’ in what was easily one of the most anticipated and entertaining fights in NHL history.
That said Wade Belak needs to be on that ice, his presence alone can alter the mindset of any opponent. Belak has been shifted from forward and defence throughout his tenure with the Blue and White. Wade was never able to get aquatinted to his surroundings, because as always, he had bigger fish to fry.
Belak should be a prime candidate to challenge for the 5 or 6 defensive slot, and here’s why. He is naturally a defenseman, and was drafted 12th overall in the 94 draft as such. His skill set is there, he is a very strong, quick skater at an enormous 6-5 220. His agility enables that quickness. His aggressiveness and strength are very good, which are great tools for intimidation, puck battles, and lifting opponents off the ice. Positioning can get better with coaching while utilizing his quickness. Without the puck Wade Belak is a force on the ice, with more time, and a hockey role he can only imporve.
With the puck his decision making is very poor, while again, familiarity and confidence can easily play a role in that outcome. For a stay at home defenseman his hands are average and are not a weakness. Both are areas able to be treated with a sure handed, fast puck moving defensive partner. As such, given the mindset that he is to compete for that D spot, I feel Belak can offer this team something it does not currently have, someone to fear on defence.
Since the days of Bob Rouse, then Dmitri Yushkevich, and then can opener; the Toronto Maple Leafs have yet to see a sustainable aggressive presence on the blue-line. While Hall Gill has definitely improved his standing as such a defenseman in the past year, and Kubina hopefully getting this part back in game, Belak will provide the thrid option of always having a mean defensive presense on that ice. Wade Belak can provide that presence in a faster stronger more limited role.
posted by LEAFER at
4:57 PM
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