SpfldRifle Posted July 10, 2009 Report Share Posted July 10, 2009 You know, if some of the boys from Hamilton graduate up to Montreal, we may not be as "smurfy" as some would like to suggest. We do have some strong kids down there. I've never seen him play,but if you look at Shawn Belle,he's listed at 6'1" 220(+)? That on paper looks like a strong proportion. Ryan O'Byrne is another year mature,and maybe Alex Henry makes a splash.Ryan Flynn has always been a gritty player at 6' 5" 230,Chad Anderson and Dan Jancevski don't seem like little guys either. Now i've never been a Hal Gil fan as a defenseman because i think he's a liability back there,but he moves well enough for a big guy to stuff in front of the opponents net,(he and Laroque could alternate doing that). Now mix in some of the speed we've aquired and i think we have a pretty good balance to be reckoned with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mortwinkler Posted July 10, 2009 Report Share Posted July 10, 2009 I'd like to look at them more like oompa loompas. They're slightly bigger than smurfs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt-the-fan Posted July 10, 2009 Report Share Posted July 10, 2009 I cant wait to see these smurfs forecheck. AHAHAHAHHAAHA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habsessed Posted July 10, 2009 Report Share Posted July 10, 2009 The points that you make are valid, the only thing is that these guys all share something in common other than being big, they're all defencemen. In terms of our defence size has never been a problem, we had Komisarek and Souray, even Hamrlik is a decently big guy. Our main issue for years has been that our forwards have never been big, especially our centremen and then when ever we have had any big guys they haven't been the most talented with the exception of Kovalev who was a winger too. That's why in my mind it would have been good idea to get Lecavalier because he combines both skill and size, something we've really really lacked over the years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gracie12 Posted July 10, 2009 Report Share Posted July 10, 2009 The whole smurf thing has been overblown for years. Make a list of the greatest players in NHL history and aside from Mario, most werent huge. The Rocket: 5'10" 180lbs Gretzky: 6' 185lbs Bobby Orr: 6' 200lbs Our newly acquired "smurf" Scott Gomez is only 5'11" but weighs in at 200lbs. Similar build to bobby orr - built like a tank & hard to knock off the puck - plus, of course, he's increibly fast. And the OP is right, with key call ups we will only get bigger. There arent many potential call ups this year that are small. Many of our second and third year players have good size (AK, Laps, Lats, Obyrne, Gorges)... we'll be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DA_Champion Posted July 10, 2009 Report Share Posted July 10, 2009 On hockeybuzz, some posters were referring to our first line as the Hobbit line, [Hab sounds like hobbit] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlHabsFan Posted July 10, 2009 Report Share Posted July 10, 2009 The whole smurf thing has been overblown for years. Make a list of the greatest players in NHL history and aside from Mario, most werent huge. The Rocket: 5'10" 180lbs Gretzky: 6' 185lbs Bobby Orr: 6' 200lbs Our newly acquired "smurf" Scott Gomez is only 5'11" but weighs in at 200lbs. Similar build to bobby orr - built like a tank & hard to knock off the puck - plus, of course, he's increibly fast. And the OP is right, with key call ups we will only get bigger. There arent many potential call ups this year that are small. Many of our second and third year players have good size (AK, Laps, Lats, Obyrne, Gorges)... we'll be fine. Put to be honest, you cant really compare players from those eras with today's. Some of the d-men these days are downright huge. I mean mini linebacker size. 1 or 2 players on a team might get away with it (Like Marty here in Tampa. But look who his line mates are), but a whole line or 2? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColRouleBleu Posted July 10, 2009 Report Share Posted July 10, 2009 I'd like to look at them more like oompa loompas. They're slightly bigger than smurfs. less blue too On hockeybuzz, some posters were referring to our first line as the Hobbit line, [Hab sounds like hobbit] the lords of the "rink"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruuvimeisseli Posted July 10, 2009 Report Share Posted July 10, 2009 less blue too the lords of the "rink"? :lol: owned Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 10, 2009 Report Share Posted July 10, 2009 My answer to those guys are,,,,,you cant hit what you cant catch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stajan1 Posted July 10, 2009 Report Share Posted July 10, 2009 My answer to those guys are,,,,,you cant hit what you cant catch. and i say that once they miss the stars due to speed theyll see stars due to mara, gill and moen! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leafs_rock_go_mccabe Posted July 10, 2009 Report Share Posted July 10, 2009 Travis Moen brings some size to our team! Hopefully he isn't a dilly-dallier like Laraque is, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amp73 Posted July 11, 2009 Report Share Posted July 11, 2009 You know, if some of the boys from Hamilton graduate up to Montreal, we may not be as "smurfy" as some would like to suggest. We do have some strong kids down there. I've never seen him play,but if you look at Shawn Belle,he's listed at 6'1" 220(+)? That on paper looks like a strong proportion. Ryan O'Byrne is another year mature,and maybe Alex Henry makes a splash.Ryan Flynn has always been a gritty player at 6' 5" 230,Chad Anderson and Dan Jancevski don't seem like little guys either........... I believe Dan Jancevski has been gone from the Habs since 2007-2008 And I will go out on the limb and suggest that the other players you mention, aside from O'byrne may never be regulars in then NHL My answer to those guys are,,,,,you cant hit what you cant catch. I use to say that too but as we saw lat year if you don't skate then your suppose speed is useless Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montreal-mo Posted July 11, 2009 Report Share Posted July 11, 2009 I wouldn't say that the Habs are "A Team of Smurfs", however we are not the biggest team in the world. With the pick up of Cammalleri, Gomez, and Gionta, and the remaiing player like Plekanec, and S. Kostitsyn, we do have a little bit of a size issue. Sure we aren't the biggest team but with the signing of Gill, Mara, and Moen we should be allright, not to mension big Georges Laraque, Guillame Latendresse, Obyrne, and don't forget that Greg Stewart can drop the gloves and win a fight when he wants to. We are going to have a Bonecrushing Defence! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry-Launstein-Jr Posted July 11, 2009 Report Share Posted July 11, 2009 The whole smurf thing has been overblown for years. Make a list of the greatest players in NHL history and aside from Mario, most werent huge. The Rocket: 5'10" 180lbs Gretzky: 6' 185lbs Bobby Orr: 6' 200lbs Our newly acquired "smurf" Scott Gomez is only 5'11" but weighs in at 200lbs. Similar build to bobby orr - built like a tank & hard to knock off the puck - plus, of course, he's increibly fast. And the OP is right, with key call ups we will only get bigger. There arent many potential call ups this year that are small. Many of our second and third year players have good size (AK, Laps, Lats, Obyrne, Gorges)... we'll be fine. In the case of Richard, he was raised during the Great Depression, where you often worried where your next meal would come from. That will slow your growth down right there. There is no doubt that he could play today if given modern weight training and nutrition methods. But, the thing to remember with him, and Bobby Orr and Gretzky, was that they were great skaters, who were always moving, thus being very hard to hit. Howie Morenz was a smallish player, too, and was very hard to hit when he had his speed. However, when he began to slow down, that's when the other players started hitting him more, which led to the freakish injury which he ultimately died from a stroke afterward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColRouleBleu Posted July 11, 2009 Report Share Posted July 11, 2009 When all the teams have their roster completed, I think I'll take the time to look at height/weight average and see which team should really be crowned the league's smurfs. Not that it will stop people saying we're too small to play the 'big' bad bruins who were smaller and lighter than the habs in the past two seasons Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flunky Posted July 12, 2009 Report Share Posted July 12, 2009 The Smurf tag definitely fits the bill, because we are, without a doubt, the smallest team in the league, even with the addition of 6'7" Hal "No Skill" Gill to the roster. I do, however, see some light at the end of the tunnel, in terms of team size and toughness. While I question some of the B-Dogs mentioned earlier (DanJan is Dallas property, Janik now a Ranger,Flynn unlikely to be re-signed,Henry long-shot to return to NHL), I see a number of forward prospects who should provide much-needed size and strength to the future line-up. In addition to Paccioretty (6'2" -205), we have Ryan White (6'0" -200), JT Wyman (6'2"-212), Ben Maxwell (6'0"-185), and my personal favourite, Andrew Conboy (6'4"-205) all waiting in the wings. And then there's darkhorses Mike Glumac (6'2"-205) and recently signed Eric Neilson (6'1"-200), both of whom face uphill climbs to get to the bigs, but will help give the B-Dogs some extra grit. PS: Which one of the Smurfs is the most environmentally conscious? A: Smurfette, because she's the only one that's got a Blue Box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpfldRifle Posted July 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2009 aaaaargh! Its been brought to my attention that Jancevski isnt a hab anymore.Hamilton should update their roster because thats what i looked at besides the prospect profiles to see future players.(my bad) The point i was trying to make was that the Canadiens do have ears. Go ahead and keep calling them smurfs,dwarfs,midgets,...whatever. I think they will show up to play anyway. Just like winning isnt gauranteed,(see San Jose Sharks). Losing isnt either. Im not happy with the state of the Habs either,but im not gonna change my team,and i will hope for the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 13, 2009 Report Share Posted July 13, 2009 Team Heights comparison,,, using 6 feet as the benchmark for comparisons LEAFS Jason Blake 5' 10" 180 (-2) Mikhail Grabovski 5' 11" 179 (-1) Niklas Hagman 6' 0" 205 ( 0 ) Christian Hanson 6' 3" 202 (+3) Nikolai Kulemin 6' 1" 183 (+1) Brad May 6' 1" 213 (+1) Jamal Mayers 6' 1" 214 (+1) John Mitchell 6' 1" 182 (+1) Colton Orr 6' 3" 222 (+3) Alexei Ponikarovsky 6' 4" 204 (+4) Matt Stajan 6' 1" 200 (+1) Lee Stempniak 6' 0" 195 ( 0 ) Colin Stuart 6' 2" 205 (+2) Forwards Total (+14) Defencemen Francois Beauchemin 6' 0" 207 ( 0) Garnet Exelby 6' 1" 215 (+1) Jeff Finger 6' 1" 205 (+1) Tomas Kaberle "A" 6' 1" 198 (+1) Michael Komisarek 6' 4" 243 (+4) Luke Schenn 6' 2" 216 (+2) Mike Van Ryn 6' 1" 198 (+1) Defence Total (+10) Team Total (+24) inches over 6 feet HABS Mike Cammalleri 5' 9" 185 (-3) Matt D'Agostini 6' 0" 201 (0) Brian Gionta 5' 7" 175 (-5) Scott Gomez 5' 11" 200 (-1) Andrei Kostitsyn 6' 0" 208 (0) Sergei Kostitsyn 5' 11" 204 (-1) Maxim Lapierre 6' 2" 207 (+2) Georges Laraque 6' 3" 253 (+3) Guillaume Latendresse 6' 2" 230 (+2) Glen Metropolit 5' 10" 195 (-2) Travis Moen 6' 2" 215 (+2) Max Pacioretty 6' 2" 203 (+2) Tomas Plekanec 5' 11" 197 (-1) Gregory Stewart 6' 2" 200 (+2) Forwards Total (0) Defencemen Hal Gill 6' 7" 250 (+7) Josh Gorges 6' 1" 202 (+1) Roman Hamrlik 6' 2" 209 (+2) Paul Mara 6' 4" 212 (+4) Andrei Markov 6' 0" 209 (0) Ryan O'Byrne 6' 6" 228 (+6) Jaroslav Spacek 5' 11" 204 (-1) Defence Total (+19) Team Total (+19) inches over 6 feet As you can see from the comparisons above,,,,,there is a grand total of 5 INCHES in difference between team height as it stands to date. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChitownHabby Posted July 13, 2009 Report Share Posted July 13, 2009 I feel like your 'proof' kind of killed your own argument. All 19 inches are from defenceman and essentially spilt between Gill, Mara and O'Byrne. The leafs forwards are much bigger, which is what the primary concern here was. Although, playing Chipchura instead of Metropolit might help boost our size down the middle a little. The more interesting note taken from your post was: how skill-less the Leafs are up front. Without bias, I dont think anyone on their roster would be a top 6 forward on the Habs, maybe Ponikarovsky? Still, I think we will have the best team on the 401 this year including the Sens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
habs-transaction-genius Posted July 13, 2009 Report Share Posted July 13, 2009 if you look at people in the nhl right now, the smaller players,6 feet or less crosby 5'11" 103 points datsyuk 5'11" 97 points parise 5'11" 94 points backstrom 6'0" 88 points total=382 points the taller players over 6 feet malkin 6'3" 113 points ovechkin 6'2" 110 points iginla 6'1" 89 points kovalchuk 6'1" 91 points total=403 points 21 points difference and crosby missed a few games so the size doesn't affect points plus the small guys are faster and show up every game while the tall guys can be lazy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruuvimeisseli Posted July 13, 2009 Report Share Posted July 13, 2009 if you look at people in the nhl right now, the smaller players,6 feet or less crosby 5'11" 103 points datsyuk 5'11" 97 points parise 5'11" 94 points backstrom 6'0" 88 points total=382 points the taller players over 6 feet malkin 6'3" 113 points ovechkin 6'2" 110 points iginla 6'1" 89 points kovalchuk 6'1" 91 points total=403 points 21 points difference and crosby missed a few games so the size doesn't affect points plus the small guys are faster and show up every game while the tall guys can be lazy Unfair stats. All players should have a team that made the playoffs and both side need similar amount of games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spoked-b Posted July 13, 2009 Report Share Posted July 13, 2009 I feel like your 'proof' kind of killed your own argument. All 19 inches are from defenceman and essentially spilt between Gill, Mara and O'Byrne. The leafs forwards are much bigger, which is what the primary concern here was. Although, playing Chipchura instead of Metropolit might help boost our size down the middle a little. The more interesting note taken from your post was: how skill-less the Leafs are up front. Without bias, I dont think anyone on their roster would be a top 6 forward on the Habs, maybe Ponikarovsky? Still, I think we will have the best team on the 401 this year including the Sens. You can also counter that by saying that Gionta and Cammaleri bring our total down as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 13, 2009 Report Share Posted July 13, 2009 I feel like your 'proof' kind of killed your own argument. All 19 inches are from defenceman and essentially spilt between Gill, Mara and O'Byrne. The leafs forwards are much bigger, which is what the primary concern here was. Although, playing Chipchura instead of Metropolit might help boost our size down the middle a little. The more interesting note taken from your post was: how skill-less the Leafs are up front. Without bias, I dont think anyone on their roster would be a top 6 forward on the Habs, maybe Ponikarovsky? Still, I think we will have the best team on the 401 this year including the Sens. If we just look at forwards then they beat us by 14 inches. If Chipper makes the team over Metro then that number gets reduced to 10inches. Not a huge difference IMO. To boot,,, we power over them by that much on D. My point was that we are being called a TEAM of Smurfs and the numbers between us are negligible. If we look at weight of players, you will note that they have more guys under 200 pounds then we do. We arent so tiny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobCalgary Posted July 13, 2009 Report Share Posted July 13, 2009 Team Heights comparison,,, using 6 feet as the benchmark for comparisons LEAFS Jason Blake 5' 10" 180 (-2) Mikhail Grabovski 5' 11" 179 (-1) Niklas Hagman 6' 0" 205 ( 0 ) Christian Hanson 6' 3" 202 (+3) Nikolai Kulemin 6' 1" 183 (+1) Brad May 6' 1" 213 (+1) Jamal Mayers 6' 1" 214 (+1) John Mitchell 6' 1" 182 (+1) Colton Orr 6' 3" 222 (+3) Alexei Ponikarovsky 6' 4" 204 (+4) Matt Stajan 6' 1" 200 (+1) Lee Stempniak 6' 0" 195 ( 0 ) Colin Stuart 6' 2" 205 (+2) Forwards Total (+14) Defencemen Francois Beauchemin 6' 0" 207 ( 0) Garnet Exelby 6' 1" 215 (+1) Jeff Finger 6' 1" 205 (+1) Tomas Kaberle "A" 6' 1" 198 (+1) Michael Komisarek 6' 4" 243 (+4) Luke Schenn 6' 2" 216 (+2) Mike Van Ryn 6' 1" 198 (+1) Defence Total (+10) Team Total (+24) inches over 6 feet HABS Mike Cammalleri 5' 9" 185 (-3) Matt D'Agostini 6' 0" 201 (0) Brian Gionta 5' 7" 175 (-5) Scott Gomez 5' 11" 200 (-1) Andrei Kostitsyn 6' 0" 208 (0) Sergei Kostitsyn 5' 11" 204 (-1) Maxim Lapierre 6' 2" 207 (+2) Georges Laraque 6' 3" 253 (+3) Guillaume Latendresse 6' 2" 230 (+2) Glen Metropolit 5' 10" 195 (-2) Travis Moen 6' 2" 215 (+2) Max Pacioretty 6' 2" 203 (+2) Tomas Plekanec 5' 11" 197 (-1) Gregory Stewart 6' 2" 200 (+2) Forwards Total (0) Defencemen Hal Gill 6' 7" 250 (+7) Josh Gorges 6' 1" 202 (+1) Roman Hamrlik 6' 2" 209 (+2) Paul Mara 6' 4" 212 (+4) Andrei Markov 6' 0" 209 (0) Ryan O'Byrne 6' 6" 228 (+6) Jaroslav Spacek 5' 11" 204 (-1) Defence Total (+19) Team Total (+19) inches over 6 feet As you can see from the comparisons above,,,,,there is a grand total of 5 INCHES in difference between team height as it stands to date. This is something I've never understood. A player who is 5'11'' 200 lbs is considered by most to be "small", whereas a player who is 6'2'' 182 is "big". It's why size is so overrated in the NHL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.