Alumni in the Pros - February 2011

[Robb]

Many on this board kept saying how bad he was and how bad it was that Schafer kept using him in clutch situations.

I don't think it was so much "many" as a couple highly dedicated posters.    There was a similar situation with Murray and O'Byrne.  It must be something about defensemen.  

...who go on to play in the NHL.

[ebilmes]

Recall that we often criticized Brendon Nash for being too aggressive offensively. He would carry the puck deep into the zone and then be out of position to cover a rush going back the other way. Or, he would make poor shot choices from the point on the powerplay that would lead to 2x1s the other way. This same offensive-mindedness might be seen as an asset at the professional level, where teams do not necessarily have a defense-first mentality.

No one disputes that Schafer used Nash in key situations. He has size and I've seen him make plenty of nice plays to, for example, strip opponents of the puck along the boards. He also made plenty of mistakes that were not - in my opinion, at least - fitting for an All-American defenseman. Once you began to look for these mistakes, they were easy to notice. It's not like Nash was lighting up the scoresheet, so I assume that the All-America selection was made on the basis of his defensive play. I continue to believe that Colin Greening will have more of an impact at the NHL level than will Brendon Nash. Like Mitch, I wish all Cornellians success at the professional level.

[Josh '99]

Or, he would make poor shot choices from the point on the powerplay that would lead to 2x1s the other way. This same offensive-mindedness might be seen as an asset at the professional level, where teams do not necessarily have a defense-first mentality.

Teams might not have a defense-first mentality, but there isn't a coach in the NHL (or the AHL, or the ECHL) who thinks it's acceptable to take a badly chosen shot from the point and give up a shorthanded 2x1.

(Which doesn't disprove your overall point, of course.)

[Jim Hyla]

Via ECAC Website Nash gets to travel with the Canadiens out west and a piece from The Canadiens' website.

[Ronald '09]

Via ECAC Website Nash gets to travel with the Canadiens out west and a piece from The Canadiens' website.

The Habs traded a 5th round pick to Anaheim for Paul Mara, so I would think that likely leaves Nash as the odd man out, unless they go with 7 defensemen.

Also, in regards to the system he's playing in now, head coach Jacques Martin almost exclusively employs the trap in 5x5.  I'm not sure who coaches Hamilton, but I think every AHL team plays the same system as their parent club these days.

[Jeff Hopkins '82]

Via ECAC Website Nash gets to travel with the Canadiens out west and a piece from The Canadiens' website.

The Habs traded a 5th round pick to Anaheim for Paul Mara, so I would think that likely leaves Nash as the odd man out, unless they go with 7 defensemen.

Also, in regards to the system he's playing in now, head coach Jacques Martin almost exclusively employs the trap in 5x5.  I'm not sure who coaches Hamilton, but I think every AHL team plays the same system as their parent club these days.

The first article said that Subban played over 29 minutes in the Buffalo game (!).  Doubtful he can sustain that for too many games in a row, so you'd have to think Nash will get some more ice time as he gets his legs under him.

[Ronald '09]

JS Giguere left last night's game for Toronto with an injury.  With Gustavsson and Rynnas injured, they would likely call up Scrivens if they need a goalie.  They don't play until Saturday though, and Giguere may be fine.  Even if Scrivens does get called up, it would likely only be to backup Reimer, and it doesn't sound as though the Giguere injury is going to be long-term.

[RichH]

Recall that we often criticized Brendon Nash for being too aggressive offensively.

The criticism on this forum I most remember was that he seemed "uninterested" or that he "didn't care." That led to the whole debate about quantifiable "heart."  His skating style was controlled, upright, and smooth, which probably made him look slower to some. My opinion was always that he was one of the strongest skaters on the team.  In my opinion, he had more consistency in his decision-making during his first 2 seasons than his last 2 (maybe due to an increased role in the blue-line corps?), but he always had the skill-set to make it to the NHL.

I'm trying to resist doing an "I told you so" to all the "BRENDON SUCKS! Why is he getting so much ice time?" crowd, but I just failed in that effort in this very sentence.

[Kristi 97]

Colin Greening gets another emergency call-up from Binghamton to Ottawa with the Bruins (H) and Leafs (A) on the Fri-Sat schedule.

[RatushnyFan]

JS Giguere left last night's game for Toronto with an injury.  With Gustavsson and Rynnas injured, they would likely call up Scrivens if they need a goalie.  They don't play until Saturday though, and Giguere may be fine.  Even if Scrivens does get called up, it would likely only be to backup Reimer, and it doesn't sound as though the Giguere injury is going to be long-term.

Burke doesn't seem to acknowledge Scrivens as an option.........for whatever this is worth  http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/story/2011/02/17/sp-leafs-goalie.html?ref=rss#ixzz1EFB3WJkS

[cbuckser]

Colin Greening gets another emergency call-up from Binghamton to Ottawa with the Bruins (H) and Leafs (A) on the Fri-Sat schedule.

The Senators traded Jarkko Ruutu to the Ducks today. The Sens' fire sale should lead to plenty of NHL action for Colin Greening.

[jkahn]

B Nash playing again for Habs tonight.  Per CBC announcer, he's "in the lineup because Paul Mara's equipment didn't get here."

[Rita]

B Nash playing again for Habs tonight.  Per CBC announcer, he's "in the lineup because Paul Mara's equipment didn't get here."

Brendon might be getting a bit more ice time because Habs D-man Wisniewski (#20) took a puck in the face. Given the amount of blood on the ice, it might take awhile to stitch him up.

EDIT: Ouch. Edmonton just scored their 2nd goal in 15 seconds and as the CBC announcers put it "Nash was the goat on that play" (their words, not mine!). On the play, Nash got hung up at the offensive blueline and couldn't recover.

Douglas Murray will have a busy night keeping Ovechkin and the Caps in check.

[Ronald '09]

Damien Cox of the Toronto Star is reporting that Scrivens will likley start for the Marlies tonight and then be called up to backup Reimer tomorrow.

http://twitter.com/#!/DamoSpin/status/38616300536205312

[Weder]

Douglas Murray will have a busy night keeping Ovechkin and the Caps in check.

ESPN Hit of the Night.