7/5 Notes
Some quick notes before I head off to class…
TSN has a Numbers Game column up by Scott Cullen regarding the Brian Rafalski signing:
Though he is approaching his mid-30s, Rafalski doesn’t have the same kind of mileage on his legs as his contemporaries because he followed up his college career by playing a lighter schedule in Europe for four seasons, so he has played just 643 games, including both regular season and playoffs, in his NHL career.
Rafalski has also been durable, playing 75 or more games in six of his seven NHL seasons. He’s undersized as a defenceman, at 5-foot-10, 195 pounds, but doesn’t play a particularly physical style of game, so as long as he has his legs, his mobility will allow him to be an asset, particularly on the power play.
While Rafalski led the Devils in turnovers last year, he also led the team in ice time, playing more than 25 minutes per game, something he may not necessarily be required to handle in Detroit, where the defence corps is a little deeper, which will allow Rafalski to focus on a puck-moving role.
Ansar Khan has his second scouting report of the offseason up and it’s about Tomas Kopecky:
He has the size and the abrasiveness to be effective around the opposition’s net and battle in the corners and along the boards. He does, however, need to bulk up more.
Kopecky played 26 games last season before breaking his clavicle in a game in Chicago on Dec. 14. It appeared his season was done after surgery, but he worked his way back and earned a spot in the lineup for the last four games of the Western Conference finals against Anaheim. He played so little in the playoffs, though, that it’s hard to assess his performance.
He averaged only 7:15 in ice time during the regular season, and that might not increase much next season, when he’ll be competing for minutes against more skilled forwards in Jiri Hudler and rookie Igor Grigorenko.
The Wings aren’t asking much from Kopecky: Just provide a physical presence without taking bad penalties and don’t be a defensive liability.
The Wings like to think of their prospect camp as a time to teach prospects proper nutrition and other important aspects. It is not a time for them to evaluate young talent.
Although there are two hours of ice time blocked out each day for workouts, the emphasis is on off-ice conditioning and teaching.
Players learn about nutrition and the team’s training techniques and conditioning levels that are the pro standard.
It’s the material the players are exposed to off the ice that’s more important than those on the ice.
“We want them to know what it takes to get to this level,” Nill said. “These are habits they can learn and take with them for the rest of their careers playing hockey.”
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2 Responses to “7/5 Notes”
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July 5th, 2007 at 10:07 pm
I wouldn’t sweat the turnover number, as those are notoriously unreliable and more of an indicator that he plays a ton and has the puck on his stick a lot. A nice “bonus” with Rafalski is that he plays 20+ minutes of solid defense without taking very many penalties, in fact ranking among the league leaders in that category:
http://forechecker.blogspot.com/2007/07/solid-defense-is-no-minor-issue.html
He even takes fewer minor penalties relative to his ice time than Nick Lidstrom. Staying out of the box is one of the more underrated ways of helping your team win.
July 6th, 2007 at 12:21 am
Thanks for the info! I must admit I’m not very knowledgeable when it comes to Rafalski because I’ve seen the Devils play once in a couple years thanks to the new schedule format. But I’m getting Center Ice so that will all change for next season! I’ll link to your piece in my next post!