Romano will not be back next year

[cufan4ever]

[quote evilnaturedrobot]For my money, Romano was far and away the worst defensive foward on the team last year.  Not only did he add nothing as a checker, but he probably gave up the puck in his own zone, and in the neutral zone, more than any other foward.  Again, ditch the +/-, it's a useless stat!  It tells you nothing about the induvidual.[/quote]

The bashing of Romano's defense should stop. Point and Fact I am friends with one of Fathers whose son is a player on the squad. In fact my son will be attending a HEA school that the Cu Players Dad played for...
So here is the scoop from the Team Stats. The Players Dad and I are laughing at the poor sports that continue to ride something that just is not true.

1. Romano had one of the lowest number turnover rates and # of turnovers on the team, per the CU Coaching Staff stats. His turnovers were more in the 'O' zone and were more visible because he carried the puck so much. In fact he was in the lower half of puck turnovers based on all players who played regular shift.
2. He was only on for 5 goals against all season, because when he was on the ice the team was usually in the 'O' zone.
3. Romano could not check because he was playing with one shoulder and had surgery one week after the season ended.
4. The Coaching staff was not worried about his D game in fact they praised him for his small area battles and how well he moved the puck out of the 'D'
5. He led the team in most offensive catergories except for points/ game

Believe this or not, this is the complete truth. An Honest Inside scoop..

[Jacob '06]

[quote Beeeej]  Second, I'm reasonably certain (and someone can correct me if I'm wrong) that PP goals don't count toward the +/- of either team's players.[/quote]

Correct.

[dre1614]

sadly i was not?
What the hell?

Nice little cheap shot there Beeeej.  Anyways keep thinking Romano was a horrible defensive player, when in reality he was about average with the rest of the Cornell team.

[French Rage]

Oh yeah, well, I'm the love child of Ken Dryden and Ned Harkness, and I say he sucks.

[sah67]

[quote dre1614]
 Anyways keep thinking Romano was a horrible defensive player, when in reality he was about average with the rest of the Cornell team.[/quote]

Right.  But don't you have check at least a little bit to play defense?  Yeah, I can't remember Romano ever attempting even one check...he seemed mostly afraid to get physical.  But yeah, even beyond that...horrible defensive player indeed...fantastic kid though and an offensive beast; someone I would have loved to see develop through a couple seasons.

[ebilmes]

Romano only contributed to the team on the offensive side of the puck, but this was still enough to make him a player we will miss next year. Despite his small frame, painful shoulder injury, and relative inexperience, he was a talented offensive player who seemed better able to generate quality scoring chances and exciting offensive rushes than anyone else on the team. With another year of experience and a healthy shoulder, I think Romano would have put up impressive numbers this year. Like others, I question why he would leave Cornell, but he is the natural goal-scorer that this team desperately needed the past couple years (and, no, I'm not forgetting Moulson). He is not the typical defensive-minded "Schafer system" forward, but the fact that he was the exception to the rule is what made him valuable. I hope we can follow Tony's success in the alumni threads for the next few years.

[Trotsky]

Perhaps Riley will be that breakthrough scorer.  In addition to his skills, he is also reputedly a strong, tough physical player with a nasty edge -- an ideal Schafer player.

Anyway, there will be that much more ice time for other players willing to step up.  We'll survive.

[evilnaturedrobot]

[quote dre1614]Still avoiding...

If he was such a bad checker, and defender, how in the hell did he have such a good plus/minus?

You know he switched lines a few times too.[/quote]  

Once again, I think that +/- is a useless stat.  It judges the unit, not the individual, and is highly dependant on match ups.  How many times was Tony matched up against an opponent's top O-line?  There are countless examples of poor defensive players with great +/- (Marek Malik being my favorite.)  I continue to attempt to explain this too you and you keep coming back with: "but his +/- is so good."  And I'm the one that's avoiding?  You might as well tell me what his SV% was; I would consider it just as relevant.

[quote dre1614]
Oh but you would rather have a player that scores less, and gives up more goals on the ice.[/quote]

I have never said this.  Given the choice of Romano or Milo I would take Romano, you're putting words in my mouth here.

[quote dre1614]
Anyways keep thinking Romano was a horrible defensive player [/quote]

I will, because I base my opinions on my own observations, rather than irrelevant stats.

[quote cufan4ever]
The bashing of Romano's defense should stop. Point and Fact I am friends with one of Fathers whose son is a player on the squad. In fact my son will be attending a HEA school that the Cu Players Dad played for...
So here is the scoop from the Team Stats. The Players Dad and I are laughing at the poor sports that continue to ride something that just is not true.[/quote]  

What needs to stop is the assumption that because I have criticisms about Tony's game that I have some sort of agenda against him.  For crying out loud, I defended him all year!  He was probably the player that I most enjoyed watching last year.  I'm sorry to see him go, but I'd also love to see him tear it up in the OHL, as that would reflect better on this program than if he fell flat on his face (how embarrassing would it be if one of the most talented players on last year's team couldn't cut it against 19 year old junior players?)  I have nothing against Tony; in fact, I'd consider myself a fan.  That does not mean that I will blindly ignore his deficiencies.

[quote cufan4ever]
1. Romano had one of the lowest number turnover rates and # of turnovers on the team, per the CU Coaching Staff stats. His turnovers were more in the 'O' zone and were more visible because he carried the puck so much. In fact he was in the lower half of puck turnovers based on all players who played regular shift. [/quote]  

I haven't seen these stats, but I'll take your word for it.  I will say that this is hard to believe based on watching him play.  Without seeing these stats, or having any of my own, I am unable to argue this point.  What I will say is that, regardless of what the final numbers ended up with, that Tony was a dangerous player defensively.  How many times did we see him pull dekes at his own blue line?  This is the kind of thing that a good defensive player does not do...ever.  What's worse is that he wasn't just doing this as the start of the season, I saw him do it in the playoffs against Q.  He was fun to watch, but man did he make me hold my breath on a frequent basis.

[quote cufan4ever]
2. He was only on for 5 goals against all season, because when he was on the ice the team was usually in the 'O' zone. [/quote]

How many times was Tony out there against the top offensive unit?  Again, goals against are completely relative to whom you are playing against.

[quote cufan4ever]
3. Romano could not check because he was playing with one shoulder and had surgery one week after the season ended. [/quote]

I'm well aware of the shoulder injury and I agree that you could see a marked difference in his play towards the end of the season.  I don't know when exactly it happened, but I noticed a drop off in his play after the Colgate weekend.  Even so, the man had two fully functional shoulders during the first half of the season, but he didn't do anymore checking then than he did at the end.

[quote cufan4ever]
4. The Coaching staff was not worried about his D game in fact they praised him for his small area battles and how well he moved the puck out of the 'D' [/quote]

I'm completely shocked by this.  I've already outlined how dangerous I found Tony to be at his own blue line, and I can't believe that Schafer would be happy with his habits there either.  I will agree that Tony's physicality did improve over the course of the season, which I found encouraging.

[quote cufan4ever]
5. He led the team in most offensive categories except for points/ game [/quote]  

No one has questioned Tony's offensive abilities.  Though I do think he squandered a lot of possessions by over stick handling, but that's not surprising considering the lower level junior league that he jumped up from.  


Again, I'm a Romano fan.  I'm not looking to bash him here; I'm merely giving my opinions.  For all the negative things I've said about his defense, I also think that Tony had the best puck skills of anyone that I saw play in the ECAC last year, and he was probably one of the fastest too.  I've never wanted him off the team, I'm actually really sorry to see him go.  With time and work he could have shored up his defensive issues to the point where he wasn't a liability (and I don't care what the numbers say, my eyes tell me that he was dangerous out there), and he could have been one of the most dangerous offensive players to come through Lynah in some time.  Alas, now it will for sure not happen, I think it's a shame.

well that was exhausting, I'm going to bed now.

[RichH]

My take on the most pointless fan-fight since "Scrivens or Davenport":

I'm a fan of Romano.  Not only for the offensive potential, but because of having the most fun name to shout in scoring announcement echoes since Sancimino himself.  I can't comment on his defensive play, because frankly, I can't remember it.  I guess his D play never made an impression on me one way or another if it was poor or solid.  

Offensively, he was our Kobe Bryant.  Immense talent and speed, but I can't count how many times I shouted in my head "PASS THE F*&*ING PUCK!!!"  The coast-to-coast deke-fest that he kept trying over and over may have worked splendidly in juniors or at the pick-up rec sessions vs. guys like me during holiday breaks, but at this level, it doesn't fly.  Only once-in-a-generation talents can be trusted to do that multiple times.  At this level, opponents will let you take it to the blue-line, then drop the hammer.  Tony would try to make the cut to the crease and often get ridden to the corner by 3-4 defenders.  Pass the puck, and it's not a broken rush.  Even work on a simple give-and-go and you've got more success.

That type of play had been tried before at Cornell (Jason Dailey, One-man Team!) and never really succeeded.  Didn't Pegoraro go in the doghouse because of being selfish with the puck?  I regret that we don't get to watch Tony's development firsthand.

St. Louis/Perrin worked because defenders had to cover them both.  Maybe it was a limitation of the CU team/system that Romano never found that linemate that really could've made him an ECAC superstar.  I hope he finds that in the future.

Most of us wish him all the best.  CU hockey will survive, but I think we're a worse team without that weapon.

[Trotsky]

[quote RichH]we're a worse team without that weapon.[/quote]

We're a worse team without that weapon, if successfully deployed.  Whether the obstacle was attitude or lack of communication, Romano was not making strides towards becoming a complete player while here.  He counts as a Cornell hockey alumnus, therefore, I wish him well, and perhaps a different enivornment will speed his development.

[Al DeFlorio]

[quote RichH]Offensively, he was our Kobe Bryant.  Immense talent and speed, but I can't count how many times I shouted in my head "PASS THE F*&*ING PUCK!!!"  The coast-to-coast deke-fest that he kept trying over and over may have worked splendidly in juniors or at the pick-up rec sessions vs. guys like me during holiday breaks, but at this level, it doesn't fly.[/quote]
Sometimes it takes awhile to learn that lesson.  

Another Cornell forward whose name ended in a vowel, Carlo Ugolini, had the same problem as a sophomore.  By senior year, he had long given that crap up while becoming an outstanding feeder as well as scorer (25 goals, 44 assists in 29 games).  Should have been the east All-American center in 1973.

[Josh '99]

[quote evilnaturedrobot][quote dre1614]What i find odd about people saying he is horrible defensively, and is a liability on the ice.

Well why did he have the second best +/- on the team with a +9 behind only Jared Seminoff?[/quote]

Because +/- is the most misleading stat in all off sports.  +/- is a unit stat, not an induvidual stat.  Marek Malik has lead the Rangers (and at times the NHL) in +/-...has anyone here seen Marek Malik play defense?[/quote]I've seen Marek Malik play enough defense to know that he's not NEARLY as bad as he gets scapegoated for.

[Josh '99]

[quote sah67][quote dre1614]
 Anyways keep thinking Romano was a horrible defensive player, when in reality he was about average with the rest of the Cornell team.[/quote]

Right.  But don't you have check at least a little bit to play defense?  Yeah, I can't remember Romano ever attempting even one check...he seemed mostly afraid to get physical. [/quote]Which was the case, as has been pointed out, because his shoulder was injured.

[evilnaturedrobot]

[quote Josh '99][quote evilnaturedrobot][quote dre1614]What i find odd about people saying he is horrible defensively, and is a liability on the ice.

Well why did he have the second best +/- on the team with a +9 behind only Jared Seminoff?[/quote]

Because +/- is the most misleading stat in all off sports.  +/- is a unit stat, not an induvidual stat.  Marek Malik has lead the Rangers (and at times the NHL) in +/-...has anyone here seen Marek Malik play defense?[/quote]I've seen Marek Malik play enough defense to know that he's not NEARLY as bad as he gets scapegoated for.[/quote]

Malik's not Sandis Ozolinsh clueless in his own end, it's rather that he's good for atleast 3-4 bonehead moves a game.  So while he's not an awful defender all the time, he is personally responcible for more goals allowed as any defensemen I've ever seen at the NHL level.

[Josh '99]

[quote evilnaturedrobot][quote Josh '99][quote evilnaturedrobot][quote dre1614]What i find odd about people saying he is horrible defensively, and is a liability on the ice.

Well why did he have the second best +/- on the team with a +9 behind only Jared Seminoff?[/quote]

Because +/- is the most misleading stat in all off sports.  +/- is a unit stat, not an induvidual stat.  Marek Malik has lead the Rangers (and at times the NHL) in +/-...has anyone here seen Marek Malik play defense?[/quote]I've seen Marek Malik play enough defense to know that he's not NEARLY as bad as he gets scapegoated for.[/quote]

Malik's not Sandis Ozolinsh clueless in his own end, it's rather that he's good for atleast 3-4 bonehead moves a game.  So while he's not an awful defender all the time, he is personally responcible for more goals allowed as any defensemen I've ever seen at the NHL level.[/quote]The number of gaffes committed by Malik is greatly exaggerated by how glaring a small number of them are.  I think he's a lot steadier than people give him credit for.