former players

[AZSIOUX]

Here come the Lee cheerleaders. Is it so awful that there are some Sioux fans that characterize his career here as a disappointment? Personally, I don't think he lived up to what we should expect of a number 9 overall, but I'm no expert.

i agree on the #9 pick part but i also think tats ALL on attawa for taking him there, he had no control of that as we all know, none

[THETRIOUXPER]

Here come the Lee cheerleaders. Is it so awful that there are some Sioux fans that characterize his career here as a disappointment? Personally, I don't think he lived up to what we should expect of a number 9 overall, but I'm no expert.

I wouldn't call it cheerleading. I think Lee was unfairly scapegoated for the early season tailspin the whole TEAM was in. That's the bottom line here, team. Win, lose, draw, it is a team effort. If that is tooting the horn for Brian Lee, so be it.

[Sioux-cia]

i never saw that written much, stupid really if someone ever said that, ...

I'm not going looking for it but I do remember it written.

I'm not a fan of all the players ( ) but I try my damnest to not trash them...........

[redwing77]

Here come the Lee cheerleaders. Is it so awful that there are some Sioux fans that characterize his career here as a disappointment? Personally, I don't think he lived up to what we should expect of a number 9 overall, but I'm no expert.

I don't consider finishing no worse than third on the team in defensemen scoring a disappointment.

I don't consider NHL draft position to hold any kind of affect on expectations in any other league other than the NHL (otherwise Brett Hull, Luc Robitaille, and Martin St. Louis would never have become recognizable names in hockey).

I don't think it is unfair for fans to say that Lee's game had a few flaws here and there, but I do think it is unfair to characterize his entire Sioux career by those flaws. He actually did a pretty good job even though he wasn't as dominant defensively as Taylor Chorney.

How accurate that Hockeysfuture prediction will be is yet to be seen, but I think Lee will get his shot in the show eventually. Fortunately (or unfortunately...I don't know yet) he's on a team who is pretty solid defensively at the NHL level.

[AZSIOUX]

its just reality, like it or not that draft status is held over a players head no matter what. im not saying its right or wrong but thats how it is. hull ect..... are exceptions of course and that will happen from time to time but usually when you take a player in the first round very high he is a cant miss guy, are there exceptions to that? of course but the scouts know what they are doing for the most part. i dont know if brian will live up to his draft pick status or not in with ottawa, that we will know 4-5 years down the road really. did he live up to the hype at UND? thats for every fan to decide for themselves. i have no problem with fans not liking specific players or disliking players, to each its own....will be interesting to see if lee and blood are playing side by side in 6 years.

[redwing77]

its just reality, like it or not that draft status is held over a players head no matter what. im not saying its right or wrong but thats how it is. hull ect..... are exceptions of course and that will happen from time to time but usually when you take a player in the first round very high he is a cant miss guy, are there exceptions to that? of course but the scouts know what they are doing for the most part. i dont know if brian will live up to his draft pick status or not in with ottawa, that we will know 4-5 years down the road really. did he live up to the hype at UND? thats for every fan to decide for themselves. i have no problem with fans not liking specific players or disliking players, to each its own....will be interesting to see if lee and blood are playing side by side in 6 years.

Good point.

My argument regarding hype is that of course Lee didn't live up to the hype as a Sioux. The hype was set at such an unrealistic point that posters would ignore positives entirely and only point out flaws. Instead of "He did great here but have problem at this point" we got "He blew/nearly blew the game tonight."

When draft status/hype/whatever gets to the point where a fan/poster is unable to distinguish or find positives in the hyped player's performance, then it's become too hyped.

I think that's why Oshie was let off the hook early in the season. He wasn't scoring at all, especially considering how many open nets he missed. Yet people gave him a pass. Brian gets beat once by a good move and people jump all over him, yet Oshie, not Lee, is supposed to be a star of the team.

Like them, dislike them, but do so with an understanding that not every player you dislike is always screwing up during the game. Lee did a lot of good with the Sioux regardless of his mistakes. There are some posters here who have commented negatively towards Lee that I understood and were legit. Others just flat out blasted him.

I guess to each their own is a valid point, but I just can't sit around and read post after post of people saying nasty things about players over and over again. That's not criticism, it's bashing.

[AZSIOUX]

Good point.

My argument regarding hype is that of course Lee didn't live up to the hype as a Sioux. The hype was set at such an unrealistic point that posters would ignore positives entirely and only point out flaws. Instead of "He did great here but have problem at this point" we got "He blew/nearly blew the game tonight."

When draft status/hype/whatever gets to the point where a fan/poster is unable to distinguish or find positives in the hyped player's performance, then it's become too hyped.

I think that's why Oshie was let off the hook early in the season. He wasn't scoring at all, especially considering how many open nets he missed. Yet people gave him a pass. Brian gets beat once by a good move and people jump all over him, yet Oshie, not Lee, is supposed to be a star of the team.

Like them, dislike them, but do so with an understanding that not every player you dislike is always screwing up during the game. Lee did a lot of good with the Sioux regardless of his mistakes. There are some posters here who have commented negatively towards Lee that I understood and were legit. Others just flat out blasted him.

I guess to each their own is a valid point, but I just can't sit around and read post after post of people saying nasty things about players over and over again. That's not criticism, it's bashing.

didnt the oshie have a broken hand or something like that, thats a big factor, just pointing that out, nice post

[THETRIOUXPER]

didnt the oshie have a broken hand or something like that, thats a big factor, just pointing that out, nice post

He had a broken thumb, but would probably not ever use that as an excuse as many players play through injuries. I'm sure most of these guy's are as hard or harder on themselves at times than even us fans can be.

[AZSIOUX]

He had a broken thumb, but would probably not ever use that as an excuse as many players play through injuries. I'm sure most of these guy's are as hard or harder on themselves at times than even us fans can be.

thanks, oh yeah, they are 10 times harder on themselves for sure! they actually know how hard it is to do what they do and expect so much

[redwing77]

I don't know when Oshie's thumb was injured, but it seemed like he wasn't scoring much at all from the beginning of the season until Christmas (compared to the previous year) despite being teamed up with Toews and Duncan.

I'm not saying that Oshie stunk last year. I'm not saying he should have been criticized either. I'm saying that calling out Lee for his flaws but not once calling out Oshie after seemingly nearly a half dozen empty net misses early in last season seems hypocritical.

It just shows you the predisposition some fans have over certain players before they don the Sioux jersey with regards to performance expectations.

What are fans going to say if Malone has a slow start (which I do expect his season to go similarly to Vandevelde's freshman campaign)?

What are they going to say if Trupp is still hampered by his injury and has a similar freshman campaign to Forney's? Some are even starting to label Forney as a "potential bust" rather than what he should be: a player who has been injured and not been given the full benefit of the doubt because of said injury.

What are fans going to say about LaPoint, being how his game and size is very comparable to Lee's? Will he be let off the hook solely because he wasn't a first round draft pick? He did do exceptionally well in the USHL and shouldn't those expectations follow him into UND?

Who knows. It's going to be interesting with Lee gone who is going to be the "target" of the player bashing this year. I suppose Finley is still here.

[AZSIOUX]

I don't know when Oshie's thumb was injured, but it seemed like he wasn't scoring much at all from the beginning of the season until Christmas (compared to the previous year) despite being teamed up with Toews and Duncan.

I'm not saying that Oshie stunk last year. I'm not saying he should have been criticized either. I'm saying that calling out Lee for his flaws but not once calling out Oshie after seemingly nearly a half dozen empty net misses early in last season seems hypocritical.

It just shows you the predisposition some fans have over certain players before they don the Sioux jersey with regards to performance expectations.

What are fans going to say if Malone has a slow start (which I do expect his season to go similarly to Vandevelde's freshman campaign)?

What are they going to say if Trupp is still hampered by his injury and has a similar freshman campaign to Forney's? Some are even starting to label Forney as a "potential bust" rather than what he should be: a player who has been injured and not been given the full benefit of the doubt because of said injury.

What are fans going to say about LaPoint, being how his game and size is very comparable to Lee's? Will he be let off the hook solely because he wasn't a first round draft pick? He did do exceptionally well in the USHL and shouldn't those expectations follow him into UND?

Who knows. It's going to be interesting with Lee gone who is going to be the "target" of the player bashing this year. I suppose Finley is still here.

ohsie had a broken thumb at the beginning of the season i believe so that will effect a shot big time, he played through it though and never bitched once, just speaks more on the guy!! i dont think its a big deal what others say or how they feel regarding players. i guess thats just me. lets just back off the "whos gona be the target player" stuff, lee took a lot of heat, there hasnt been a player before that that took that much right or wrong.not all fans are gona think the same way, man would that make for boring discussion as im sure we would all agree. do some take it to far? maybe, thats their thing though. his draft status had a huge part to do with what people thought and thats ottawas deal taking him where they did. oh well, lees gone, best of luck to him, i cant wait to see this D core, gona be damn good!!

and if trupps not healed then he shouldnt play or any other player, if you cant help the team your worthless on skates, let someone else have a crack at it. i think he and frattin are gona be damn good college hockey players!!

watch out for PAUL joe finley BUNYAN, hacking down all the little guys trolling the wcha ice cant wait for this season

[The Whistler]

Even though he wasn't scoring all that well in the first half (because of his broken thumb) you could NEVER fault TJ Oshie's effort.

During the first half of the season he was the Sioux's physical play. I recall Tim Hennesey discussing that you can't count on Oshie to be the only guy playing physical.

[AZSIOUX]

Even though he wasn't scoring all that well in the first half (because of his broken thumb) you could NEVER fault TJ Oshie's effort.

During the first half of the season he was the Sioux's physical play. I recall Tim Hennesey discussing that you can't count on Oshie to be the only guy playing physical.

i think everyone here would agree with this!

[THETRIOUXPER]

Imagine holding a hockey stick with a broken thumb. Then having the same thumb injury re-aggrevated every night you step out on the ice. Not making up excuses, but it sure could inhibit you from performing. As I recall there was some chatter about TJ being "snakebit" the first half of last season, so the fact that he missed a few open nets did not go unnoticed by the fans. However, I agree, the crticism of Lee was fair greater and much nastier.

[Goon]

Imagine holding a hockey stick with a broken thumb. Then having the same thumb injury re-aggrevated every night you step out on the ice. Not making up excuses, but it sure could inhibit you from performing. As I recall there was some chatter about TJ being "snakebit" the first half of last season, so the fact that he missed a few open nets did not go unnoticed by the fans. However, I agree, the crticism of Lee was fair greater and much nastier.

Heck I can't imagine holding a beer with a broken hand.

[Sioux-cia]

Heck I can't imagine holding a beer with a broken hand.

That's where straws come into play. Buuuuuuuurrrrrrrrp..........

[redwing77]

That's where straws come into play. Buuuuuuuurrrrrrrrp..........

What in tarnation are you doing with the other hand?

Triouxper- THat's precisely my point.

[THETRIOUXPER]

What in tarnation are you doing with the other hand?

Triouxper- THat's precisely my point.

As TheWhistler pointed out, TJ's effort on the ice night in and night out may be the difference as to why the fans cut him some slack. I just don't think Brian got the benefit of the doubt, and like I said before, was scapegoated for the misfortunes of the whole team.

[siouxnami]

The empty nets were really frustrating, but even when Oshie got healthy he was missing a few. I remember 2 really bad ones late in the season against Mankato. You always knew with Oshie it was never for a lack of effort. But, wow, those gaping open nets are frustrating...

[redwing77]

As TheWhistler pointed out, TJ's effort on the ice night in and night out may be the difference as to why the fans cut him some slack. I just don't think Brian got the benefit of the doubt, and like I said before, was scapegoated for the misfortunes of the whole team.

And that's what got me all riled up. I can't stand scapegoating regardless of who the player is.

[morley]

Personally, I thought that Lee was a liability on defense. How many times would he go into a corner with a puck in our defensive zone and cough it up. I would really be interested in seeing his plus/minus on even strength. He spent a lot of time on the PP and had 26 points last season. But I still think that he was our weakest defensemen. We had a better record with Scott Foyt playing D the first half, then we did when Lee was playing D the first half

[siouxnami]

Personally, I thought that Lee was a liability on defense. How many times would he go into a corner with a puck in our defensive zone and cough it up. I would really be interested in seeing his plus/minus on even strength. He spent a lot of time on the PP and had 26 points last season. But I still think that he was our weakest defensemen. We had a better record with Scott Foyt playing D the first half, then we did when Lee was playing D the first half

PP points do not factor into +/-

[The Whistler]

Heck I can't imagine holding a beer with a broken hand.

I could do it if I had to......

[Big A HG]

Lee was on the ice the same time as the DOT usually, I think that helped him out a lot in terms of getting points. Also, I think Hak knew he'd be less of a liability defensively when on the ice the same time as the DOT.

[Sioux Traveler]

No play off beard, Whats up??

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