AJC > Sports Thrashers > Blog > Archives > 2007 > October > 09
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
From Rawhide to Ice Man
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Hello Blueland: You know me as Rawhide.
Before we get started, I would like to give a shout to my predecessor, Dave Vecsey, for all his work and attention to this blog. It is one of the reasons I started posting in the first place. We all appreciate everything he brought to the discussion and how he conducted the forum. Well done, Dave.
As for me, I am honored and thrilled to be afforded the chance to pick up where Dave left off. What I hope to do here is simply set the stage for an open dialogue regarding our home team, one that stimulates cerebral activity and interest in our hometown combatants on the ice. For those of you from Livonia, Michigan, that means I want to simply chat about the Thrashers.
I don’t claim to be a “Stats Wizard” or “Hockey History Wonk”, there are many out there that I will rely on for those roles (Brian, Brendan, GaVaHokie, the 45 “Bobs” et. al.). What I hope to bring to the discussion is a simple observation of what I see going on with the team from the vantage point of a typical fan, nd set the table for others to offer their enlightened viewpoints as well.
I am a native of Metro Atlanta, (yes, there are still some of us around), who pulls for the home team and wants them to succeed. I have enjoyed hockey all my life, but the past 5 years I have been completely sold on this great sport. My two sons play at the local rink and I enjoy watching it at all levels.
So, without further ado,….lets cut to the meat and potatoes of this thing.
Here are three big keys I see as vital to how this team fares in the upcoming NHL campaign. Please let me know yours:
“Over / Under” shots per game = 30: I’m gonna keep track of our record every time we hold the opposing team to 30 shots a game or less. It will come as no surprise that whenever we hit the “under” we have a greater chance at winning. To do this, Le Thrash will need to be much faster on the blue line than last year. (Case in point: Opening night we gave up 40 SOGs and lost. This is un-good). I think we are faster on defense, but do we still have the muscle?
Center of attention: I did not like seeing Eric Belanger leave the team this summer. The additions of White and Perrin are good, but I still think we needed to add one more strong center man to the squad. Strength down the middle is a must in any sport. This, more than anything else, is where we will succeed or fail. Personally, I’m crossing my fingers for success here, but look for this to be a position Don Waddell is addressing come the trade deadline, if not earlier.
Balancing act: Last season Hoss notched 100 points, Kozlov had 80 and Kovy 76. Very nice, indeed. The problem is that after that the closest point total among Thrashers who played here all year was Mellanby with 36. This will not do. We need 5 guys who can bring at least 60 points to work with them this year. Yes, that’s a lot of points but last year Buffalo had seven such players. The Ducks had 8 players with 44 points or more, though none hitting the 100-point mark. During the course of a season, one or two guys can slump at the same time, but not four or five. Also, it makes it dang-near impossible for a defense to target 1 or 2 guys to shut down.
OK kids, I recall Zilla has a $5 bet on who will post first on my blog, so….
On your mark…
Get set…
(Wait for it)…
GO!
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