Key Injuries, in a Number

Only 5 position players (Moulson, Knoepfli, Hornby, McCutcheon, Downs) have dressed for every game this season, despite being "only" 27 games in.

To give a comparison:

1996: 34 7
1997: 35 9
1998: 33 8
1999: 31 7
2000: 32 5
2001: 33 5
2002: 35 9
2003: 36 6
--------------
2004: 27 5

The only guys of those five that have contributed regularly are Moulson and Downs. I think Knoepfli has been on the bigger disappointments of the team this year. Hornby has struggled big time to sustain his identity. And McCutcheon is a non factor out there that gets bounced all over the ice and is suspect defensively. Wouldn't be surprised if Knoepfli and McCutcheon both got bounced from the lineup next year with more forward coming in than leaving. That being said, they both have the ability to much better. McCutcheon seems to just be a struggling, snake bit freshman. But still, he doesn't do the little things right that Bitz and Carefoot do. There is no explanation or excuse for Knoepfli's play this year. Especially when guys were getting hurt, he needed to step up in a big way.

Knoepfli is 5th on the team in points. While I'll admit he hasn't been making as much of an impact as he is capable of (particularly after seeing what he can do after watching a practice last year; I swear he scored on LeNeveu almost at will...), I think it's absurd to say there is "no excuse" for his play this year, or that he won't make the lineup next year. With all the injuries and shuffling of lines, it's been hard for anybody to get into a rhythm this year.

That's crazy talk that Knoepfli won't make the team next year. It's more likely that he'll be one of the captains than not make the team.

ari - i think your assessment is more than a bit harsh ... ease up a bit there killer.

I seem to have convinced myself that Knoepfli is one of our best players. I think he has logged lots of ice time on the penalty kill (which is something over 90% effective this year), and this has cost him a lot of opportunities to get 5-5 or 5-4 ice time. That said, I think he has played very well. He has shown great vision on the ice and doesn't get enough credit for his board work and his skating ability.

I believe his relatively low scoring output this season is a combination of two factors: first, I think many teams (see Union for example) have had success just packing it in in front of the net against us and have played a trapping style with success; second, I don't think we have an offensive identity this year. Though we have considerable size, we don't win nearly as many battles as we did last year and as a result haven't been able to cycle the puck and create many scoring chances.

Folks also need to remember that he has played with well over 5 line combinations this year. He started the year on the "3rd" line with Pegoraro and Hynes. Obviously, Peggy has had lots of trouble this year and that line never really clicked.

Of course, this is all just my opinion. I just get queasy when we start bashing our own guys. While it has been a strange and tough year, we may still win the ECAC regular season title if the cards fall in our favor tomorrow night.

Let's Go Red!

I remember Knoepfli really doing a great job the penalty kill weeks ago and tonight...he's had a few opportunities to take the puck and keep it in a corner or against the boards somewhere in the other team's ice and just gobbling up big portions of the 2 minutes. Just because we don't yell his name after every goal doesn't mean he's not doing a good service for the team, and that's what counts. Good for him.

A bit rough, there...he's a great penalty killer, a strong cycler, and it's no accident that he (rather than Salmela) was on the ice for the two PP goals tonight.

Knoepfli played great tonight, and he has played very well whenever I've seen him in person. He's a solid contributor.

I think Knoepfli could only be considered a disappointment if one thought he would have a major breakout year this season (I think he does have the talent to be a top all-around player in the league). But as others have mentioned, the inconsistent lineups and the inconsistent PP-time he got didn't help his cause. Not to mention that scoring for the team was down overall (compare his season to some of the stars on the 2000-2001 squad).

As for McCutcheon, I understand that Schafer knew he might get knocked around a bit this season, as everyone (including the Avs) knows that he needs to bulk up. But Schafer wanted him to get the ice time because he has good hockey sense and passing skills and because Schafer wanted him to have the experience to build on for next season.

Seems to be paying off, too. McCutcheon was completely invisible through the first half of the season -- now he's a decent player. Heck of an improvement for less than a full year. It helps that he no longer gets blown over when they open the Zamboni door.



Post Edited (03-01-04 10:13)

Interesting to see that McCutcheon was doing most of the knocking around this past weekend. The line of Varteressian-Carefoot-McCutcheon was perhaps the Red's most consistently effective on the weekend.

McCutcheon and Carefoot were both pretty impressive this weekend. Carefoot is one fast mofo. They've both definitely made huge strides since the beginning of the season. After a summer hitting the weights, they should both be solid contributors next fall.

Peggy?!
For the love of God, "Pegs" please. PEGS!