Looking at a couple of blueliners.
by Bald Pollack on Jan 21, 2009 2:46 PM EST
8 comments
In the wake of today's painful yet unavoidable demotion let's take a look some things:
26 GP, 1G, 3A, +3, 2 PIM, 29 SOG, 19:48 TOI, 25.7 Shifts/G, 3:16 SH TOI/G, 23 Hits, 49 Blocked Shots, 34 Giveaways, 10 Takeaways
31 GP 1G, 7A, +7, 10 PIM, 19 SOG, 19:51 TOI, 25.5 Shifts/G, 3:27 SH TOI/G, 18 Hits, 44 Blocked Shots, 19 Giveaways, 5 Takeaways
One of those stat lines belongs to Karl Alzner (the 2 PIMs might have given that away), but the next two belong to a Mr. Jeff Schultz. Both players have been out of their normal routine at some point this year (Alzner due to promotion, Schultz to injury), and both haven't played with the same defensemen they did at the start of the year. Pretty comparable, no? As an addendum, here's Schultz' rookie year in '06-'07:
38 GP, 0G, 3A, +5, 16 PIM, 22 SOG, 18:12 TOI, 24.9 Shifts/G, 3:13 SH TOI/G, 27 hits, 59 Blocked Shots, 35 Giveaways, 12 Takeaways
His first game was on 12/22/06, following a calendar year where he went from Calgary to Hershey to the big club. Alzner's year (and change) before coming to the Caps saw him captain the Canada WJC to Gold and get named Major Junior Defenseman of the year. One could argue that Mr. Alzner has had a slightly better fast track to the bigs. Without question, he's definitely earned it, though Schultz' progression can't be ignored. 3rd on the backline this year in TOI, he's second in +/-, a temporary disappointment considering he led the team's blueliners last year. With all the woe surrounding Alzner's demotion, you know who's the youngest and least experienced defensemen for the Caps right now? You guessed it, Jeff Schultz, who is both 3 1/2 months younger than Mike Green, and has played 64 fewer NHL games than his newest defense partner.
Alzner's place among the big club in the future appears to be a certainty, but some people would suggest that Schultz' isn't as much, that the non-hitting bum should get run out of town. And yet when you look at career progressions of comparable large NHL defensemen, Chris Pronger needed a couple years of underperforming in Hartford before Mike Keenan gave him a collective kickstart, and Zdeno Chara played on a couple of atrocious New York Islanders clubs before blossoming in Ottawa.
Am I suggesting that Schultz is the next Pronger or Chara? I don't know, but with a 6-6 22 year old defensemen with barely two full seasons under his belt, playing among some talented players and teammates, I'd afford him a little more leeway than some might be giving him.
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Good post, and I totally agree…Schultz has done nothing but prove himself to be an NHL-caliber defenseman, and he’s only going to get better with more experience. Definitely a keeper.
by Kerry Fraser's Hairspray on Jan 21, 2009 3:29 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Agreed, and rec’d. Good stuff.
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by J.P. on Jan 21, 2009 3:40 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Stats be damned. The Jeff Shultz I know is slow, immobile, (insert pylon reference), etc… He was abused in the playoffs by Briere and all other of the Flyer’s speedy forwards. Foot speed aside, he also can’t break out of his own end with a good, smart pass. 90% of the time it’s a basketball pass off the boards and over Ovechkin et. al’s stick.
I will say this, Boudreaux and GMGM seem to have Fleischman-esque faith in him, and we all see how that’s paying off in ’09.
Still, based on what I’ve seen so far there’s no reasonable comparison between Alzner and Shultz.
by Rompy on Jan 21, 2009 4:47 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Still, based on what I’ve seen so far there’s no reasonable comparison between Alzner and Shultz.
Fair enough. My inspiration for this was frankly being sick and tired of yet another “Schultz is a cementhead/etc.” post, and those numbers were interesting. In terms of breakout ability, the day I see him start a rush and wind up in the attacking zone is the day 18 year old coeds parachute into my bedroom door. However if it were me, I’d hold onto him until I was absolutely convinced he was capped out, and I just don’t see that yet. If we agree that Alzner’s going to get better, then the same has to be considered (at the very least) for Schultz.
OK, Lost coming on now…
"Good crowd out there tonight, boys, let's really try to win this one."
by Bald Pollack on Jan 21, 2009 9:01 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I think that this is very telling.
and while I think that Alzner has been better than I expected, I’ve also seen him be victimized on a couple of occasions. He definitely will be around, and will the first guy up if the cap allows. But let him get a bit more seasoned before he becomes the pillar of the Cap’s D.
And if you remember correctly, Briere and the Flyer’s made all of our D look bad.
by Sct112 on Jan 21, 2009 4:58 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Good Stuff
Ask any fan of any particular team in the NHL (pretty much any level of hockey, really) if there’s one D-man their team should get rid of and I guarantee you their eyes will light up and foul invective will pour from their mouth about GDamn so and so. Every team has their defensive scapegoat – the guy who, justly or not, receives the lion’s share of opprobrium.
For many Caps fans, that guy is now Jeff Schultz. I think most of the reason is that he’s 6-6, 215 and yet rarely hits anyone. I can’t count the number of people in my section who constantly scream at him to hit somebody. (FWIW, these people LOVE John Erskine.) Honestly, I think Schultz is not quite his listed weight. Furthermore, he strikes me as a classic case of “growing into one’s body;” he needs time to refine his skating stride and coordinate his movement, particularly in order to speed up the release on his shot.
While I don’t think Schultz’s ceiling is as high as Alzner’s (mostly due to differences in hockey sense, leadership and skating ability), he does possess size and he’s generally responsible defensively. From a purely subjective standpoint, I feel like he makes fewer boneheaded plays than Jurcina. The concern with a guy like Schultz is that the team could let him go, only to watch him go to his new team and develop into the player they were hoping for when they drafted him.
by D'ohboy on Jan 21, 2009 9:24 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Honestly, I think Schultz is not quite his listed weight. Furthermore, he strikes me as a classic case of "growing into one’s body;" he needs time to refine his skating stride and coordinate his movement, particularly in order to speed up the release on his shot.
Word. A part of me thinks that once he’s comfortable playing at his size, then you’ve got yourself three outstanding d-men who won’t be 25, and then you’ve got the boys on the farm…
"Good crowd out there tonight, boys, let's really try to win this one."
by Bald Pollack on Jan 23, 2009 1:55 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Shultz is a twig
I agree on his weight…no way Shultz is 215lb. In that regard he reminds me of Jeff Toms, our former 4th liner who could never keep weight on, couldn’t displace Todd “Hands Of Stone” Krygier on the 3rd line, and subsequently couldn’t stay in the bigs despite decent talent. But I digress.
Shultz is a very underrated defenseman. He is rarely out of position and he gets the puck out of the zone. He’s no offensive wizard and can’t breakout to save his life, but neither can half the d-men in the NHL. What that boy needs to do is to spend his summer in DC, put on 15lbs of muscle, and learn how to be mean. (Maybe he should go work out with some of the Redskins – London Fletcher and Marcus Washington come to mind. They’d make him mean.) One summer of added “muscle + meanness” will change that kids trajectory.
by topshelf_22304 on Jan 22, 2009 9:25 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
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Southeast Standings
| GP | W | L | OTL | PT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Washington
|
72 | 48 | 14 | 10 | 106 |
|
Atlanta
|
72 | 32 | 29 | 11 | 75 |
|
Florida
|
71 | 29 | 31 | 11 | 69 |
|
Carolina
|
72 | 30 | 34 | 8 | 68 |
|
Tampa Bay
|
72 | 28 | 32 | 12 | 68 |
(updated 3.22.2010 at 9:14 AM EDT)
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