Spirko to play Friday.

[dagies]

It's crazy that Kozek is +7, but Watkins (usually on same line) is -2

But I don't know if they played on the same line as much early on, did they?

[PCM]

But I don't know if they played on the same line as much early on, did they?

I don't believe that they've played together much until the last few games.

[Kermit]

It's crazy that Kozek is +7, but Watkins (usually on same line) is -2

When thinking about plus/minus stats, it is important to consider the player's linemates and their role on the team. Prpich/Fabian/Kaip-Watkins are probably expected to forecheck hard, cycle, score an occasional goal, and defend. They have often played against the opponent's better offensive players. Kozek (for example) has spent much of his time on the "fourth" line, and they are often playing against the opponent's fourth line. That's not the whole story, obviously, but you can't really determine a player's value/performance just by looking at +/-.

[redwing77]

I whole-heartedly disagree. Though Spirko is a GREAT player, losing 2 out of 6 defensemen is NOT a good situation. We have good depth offensively, but defense isn't one place where we can afford to lose people.

This is obviously just my opinion, but Finley is a solid defenseman. Clearly he was strong enough defensively to get drafted in the 1st round. He has proven to move well, and be in good position most of the time. PLUS, having the BIG stick that he does and that reach, he can make up for a little cushion.

Also, I think Finley is MILES ahead of Smaby when he was a freshman. Maybe the team is better now (judgment call...don't have numbers) but I remember he would get toasted every few games. I rarely see Finley get burned...at least not enough to make him stand out. Smaby looked horrendous at times, and look at him now. We knew he had upside then, and he proved it.

That's the key....Finley improving every game, and I think we can agree that he's doing that.

Precisely.

You can't be poor in all those regards if his +/- is +13. That's impressive for a freshman (ok, Chorney's is 1 notch moreso).

Finley hasn't been benched yet for poor play. Smaby was. Greene was. Commodore only played in 29 games as a freshman! I think, in the comparison with defensemen that most here would agree are fine defensemen, Finley isn't doing bad at all. PLUS he's a senior in high school chronologically.

Every player gets and sometimes deserves criticism, but I would say that bad games are the only thing Finley needs to steer away from right now. The rest is coming along nicely. Even his physical play is up.

[siouxtatoo42]

Precisely.

You can't be poor in all those regards if his +/- is +13. That's impressive for a freshman (ok, Chorney's is 1 notch moreso).

Finley hasn't been benched yet for poor play. Smaby was. Greene was. Commodore only played in 29 games as a freshman! I think, in the comparison with defensemen that most here would agree are fine defensemen, Finley isn't doing bad at all. PLUS he's a senior in high school chronologically.

Every player gets and sometimes deserves criticism, but I would say that bad games are the only thing Finley needs to steer away from right now. The rest is coming along nicely. Even his physical play is up.

and to top it off, he is playing on a very young team, he doesn't have the older guys on the blue line to help every shift, he's not always on the ice with smaby.....basically 5 freshman on D most games (radke's lack of game time as freshman puts him in the group) all of which will end up in the NHL at some point or another as long as their progressions keep going at the rate they are going, this is going to be one scary defense in the future, even this time next year with those 6 (smaby stays) is going to be night and day difference than what we've seen to this point.