The Best Offence is a Good Defence
For the good of the game, and the Toronto Maple Leafs, today, defence is a healthy part of the growth of the team and the game itself.Go to any basketball court and you can hear the fans chant; D – Fence, D – Fence. In football, much has been written about the great Steel Curtain Defence. Gold Gloves are awarded in baseball, and in soccer, arguably the greatest Soccer Nation and league in the world, the Italian Seria A, has been built with a defence first mentality, defence is respected and carried out with a passion by its players. The MMA has also combined many fighting disciplines that stress the importance of self defence.
Only in hockey, do we hear the media discuss how boring defence is and how it is not respected by the average fan, which is bull, and only caters to the clueless hockeyfan.
As for those who think defensive hockey is boring, I suggest you learn a bit more about the game being played.
The ability to play hockey at the highest level humanly possible, with the best coaches, strategy, and best players in the world is what makes the NHL so exciting. The run and gun style is just that, there is no substance to all that skill involved, proof to this notion is how easily it can be broken down and countered by a simple trap. Therefore it doesn’t appeal to me. It is already played in over a million rinks every night, free to watch, but they call it shinny.
I would rather watch Hockey. Defensive battles are something that I have been clamouring for since the lockout. Watching a team play good strong intelligent defensive hockey is exciting to watch, it generates much more offence the given credit for through a transition game that can result in solid end to end action. It creates much more contact, hitting and puck battles, and in my books a good smashmouth battle for the puck between two players is just as exciting as a PP goal. This style forces an opponent to do spectacular things to try and beat the system, through a great pass, shot, or done with incredible hands and speed, and hig speed hard hitting fore-checking. If the system fails, or is permeable, the goalie is forced to make a spectacular save or a goal is scored, either way, its exciting HOCKEY. The best players playing, the best game in the world, at the highest possible level, it is what should be expected and more importantly appreciated every night.The only way a defensive battle becomes boring, is if the players are not competing to try and beat it, but that’s a whole different blog.
In the day in age, through a pathetic attempt to grow the game to an audience that does not appreciate the sport, only in hockey do we hear analysts, commentators and subsequently fans talk about how defence has put a damper on our beloved game. For any true sport enthusiast and athlete, defence is the lifeblood that sport is built on, and for anyone in the know, defence is the foundation that all good offence is built from. Defence is a discipline that may not be as flashyvas offence, but it is far from boring when you understand the importance and difficulty in carrying out this discipline with continued success.
It was brought to my attention that a great tactician and former Leafs coach and Hall of Famer Roger Neilson was the first to implement the trap. The trap is simply a tactic that is within the rules to stagnate an offensive rush. It was later perfected in the late 90`s by the great New Jersey Devils. The Devils were a team that won many championships with this system, a bruising defence, and a world class goaltender. This team stymied the high flying Maple Leafs on many occasions, and in some playoff games they even held my team to under ten shots. As much as I hated that Devils team, I loved and respected their game and discipline, work ethic and shear force to continue to upset our offence time and time again. People around town would complain it was boring hockey, but that is because the Leafs lost, but I have never seen better hockey in my life, whether it was with my team having to battle through that impenetrable wall, or through the Devils counter attack. Jacques Lemaire, brought this system that was fashioned in championship winning teams in Montreal, and he has now brought it, along with success to his team in Minnesota.
In the past two weeks, the Toronto Maple Leafs have welcomed back into the fold two defensemen that are instrumental in the success of the team, Carlo Colaiacovo and Bryan McCabe. Colaiacovo is a sure skating player with an excellent first pass and an on ice vision that is equal to the greats. What sets him apart is his ability to be just as effective defensively; constantly thwarting opponents with timely poke checks, either standing or through his soon to be trademarked diving poke check. In a true testament of great Canadian defensive hockey, Colaiacovo pays the price to sustain his defensive prominence with a reckless abandon, this individual throws his weight all around the ice all the while imposing fear into the opponent. Joining the season so late, Carlo has yet to regain is full speed and steam, but it is getting better each game.
Bryan McCabe, while his stature has taken a hit in the past few seasons, his return to the lineup Thursday night hit home is true importance to this team. McCabe is a true heart and soul guy, he may not be the most talented, but he is a true character guy with a solid work ethic and determination which is what brought him to this league and it is what has kept him here. In the old NHL he was gritty and played with sandpaper each and every night; he took pride in not getting scored on and it showed as he constantly created havoc for the attacking offence. With the new rules and quicker pace of the new NHL McCabes tactics were no longer legal, he was forced to learn the game all over, and in the process he had acquired an amazing shot and one-timer, and an ability to play the point on the PP. This new focus on scoring caused his D game to suffer. The problem has been he was never able to combine both aspects of the game at the same time. From what I saw in the games leading up to his hand injury, he put away his goal scoring stick, picked up his sword, and was very effective in his own end for the first time in a long time, he was not forcing the play out of his own end through a rushed first pass or in attempting to stickhandle it out. He then began hitting again, blocking shots, getting his nose dirty and it was paying off. This team needs more of that type of player, while McCabe needs to focus on this aspect in order to have success down low, even at the expensive of his offence. If he can focus on his D 5on5, and offence on the PP, on D is where I want this long time Leaf. If he gets into another defensive slump, I know we got the players to replace him, and his amazing shot and skill can be serviceable and effective on the wing.
Kaberle Kubina
McCabe Colaiacovo
Gill Stralmen
Only in hockey, do we hear the media discuss how boring defence is and how it is not respected by the average fan, which is bull, and only caters to the clueless hockeyfan.
As for those who think defensive hockey is boring, I suggest you learn a bit more about the game being played.
The ability to play hockey at the highest level humanly possible, with the best coaches, strategy, and best players in the world is what makes the NHL so exciting. The run and gun style is just that, there is no substance to all that skill involved, proof to this notion is how easily it can be broken down and countered by a simple trap. Therefore it doesn’t appeal to me. It is already played in over a million rinks every night, free to watch, but they call it shinny.
I would rather watch Hockey. Defensive battles are something that I have been clamouring for since the lockout. Watching a team play good strong intelligent defensive hockey is exciting to watch, it generates much more offence the given credit for through a transition game that can result in solid end to end action. It creates much more contact, hitting and puck battles, and in my books a good smashmouth battle for the puck between two players is just as exciting as a PP goal. This style forces an opponent to do spectacular things to try and beat the system, through a great pass, shot, or done with incredible hands and speed, and hig speed hard hitting fore-checking. If the system fails, or is permeable, the goalie is forced to make a spectacular save or a goal is scored, either way, its exciting HOCKEY. The best players playing, the best game in the world, at the highest possible level, it is what should be expected and more importantly appreciated every night.The only way a defensive battle becomes boring, is if the players are not competing to try and beat it, but that’s a whole different blog.
In the day in age, through a pathetic attempt to grow the game to an audience that does not appreciate the sport, only in hockey do we hear analysts, commentators and subsequently fans talk about how defence has put a damper on our beloved game. For any true sport enthusiast and athlete, defence is the lifeblood that sport is built on, and for anyone in the know, defence is the foundation that all good offence is built from. Defence is a discipline that may not be as flashyvas offence, but it is far from boring when you understand the importance and difficulty in carrying out this discipline with continued success.
It was brought to my attention that a great tactician and former Leafs coach and Hall of Famer Roger Neilson was the first to implement the trap. The trap is simply a tactic that is within the rules to stagnate an offensive rush. It was later perfected in the late 90`s by the great New Jersey Devils. The Devils were a team that won many championships with this system, a bruising defence, and a world class goaltender. This team stymied the high flying Maple Leafs on many occasions, and in some playoff games they even held my team to under ten shots. As much as I hated that Devils team, I loved and respected their game and discipline, work ethic and shear force to continue to upset our offence time and time again. People around town would complain it was boring hockey, but that is because the Leafs lost, but I have never seen better hockey in my life, whether it was with my team having to battle through that impenetrable wall, or through the Devils counter attack. Jacques Lemaire, brought this system that was fashioned in championship winning teams in Montreal, and he has now brought it, along with success to his team in Minnesota.
In the past two weeks, the Toronto Maple Leafs have welcomed back into the fold two defensemen that are instrumental in the success of the team, Carlo Colaiacovo and Bryan McCabe. Colaiacovo is a sure skating player with an excellent first pass and an on ice vision that is equal to the greats. What sets him apart is his ability to be just as effective defensively; constantly thwarting opponents with timely poke checks, either standing or through his soon to be trademarked diving poke check. In a true testament of great Canadian defensive hockey, Colaiacovo pays the price to sustain his defensive prominence with a reckless abandon, this individual throws his weight all around the ice all the while imposing fear into the opponent. Joining the season so late, Carlo has yet to regain is full speed and steam, but it is getting better each game.
Bryan McCabe, while his stature has taken a hit in the past few seasons, his return to the lineup Thursday night hit home is true importance to this team. McCabe is a true heart and soul guy, he may not be the most talented, but he is a true character guy with a solid work ethic and determination which is what brought him to this league and it is what has kept him here. In the old NHL he was gritty and played with sandpaper each and every night; he took pride in not getting scored on and it showed as he constantly created havoc for the attacking offence. With the new rules and quicker pace of the new NHL McCabes tactics were no longer legal, he was forced to learn the game all over, and in the process he had acquired an amazing shot and one-timer, and an ability to play the point on the PP. This new focus on scoring caused his D game to suffer. The problem has been he was never able to combine both aspects of the game at the same time. From what I saw in the games leading up to his hand injury, he put away his goal scoring stick, picked up his sword, and was very effective in his own end for the first time in a long time, he was not forcing the play out of his own end through a rushed first pass or in attempting to stickhandle it out. He then began hitting again, blocking shots, getting his nose dirty and it was paying off. This team needs more of that type of player, while McCabe needs to focus on this aspect in order to have success down low, even at the expensive of his offence. If he can focus on his D 5on5, and offence on the PP, on D is where I want this long time Leaf. If he gets into another defensive slump, I know we got the players to replace him, and his amazing shot and skill can be serviceable and effective on the wing.
Kaberle Kubina
McCabe Colaiacovo
Gill Stralmen
posted by LEAFER at
6:41 AM
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