Taking Suggestions for my Next Cage Match Article

[metaldude26]

Who would you like to see compared?

[PrairieDog]

E. Staal v. Kopitar
Seguin v. Duchene
Lucic v. Wheeler
Skinner v. Landeskog

[plug]

This is not a normal suggestion for a cage match, but something I am sure people would enjoy your thoughts on...

Bobrovsky the real deal. Vs. Bobrovsky the next Jim Carey.

[MarmotKing]

Couture v. Stepan

[metaldude26]

This is not a normal suggestion for a cage match, but something I am sure people would enjoy your thoughts on...

Bobrovsky the real deal. Vs. Bobrovsky the next Jim Carey.

This was actually one of my first pieces for DobberHockey - Autobot or Decepticon? - where I discussed how young goaltenders tend to pop up out of nowhere each year and can win you pools before disappearing into the night. I had Bob as an Autobot meaning you could count on him in the future. Obviously circumstances have changed since that piece as Bryzgalov was signed by the Flyers and eventually Bob was let go but one of the big reasons I was a fan was his history of producing at other high levels. He just strikes me as a talented goaltender and his work ethic is paying off right now.

But to answer your question better without this spinning too far out of control I would like to propose my theory that at any given point in time there are somewhere around 100 goaltenders on Earth playing in various leagues with the capability of being a quality NHL starter and thus productive fantasy option. What they need to achieve that is a combination of:

-Skill - obviously the most important as it is the crux of the theory and this covers not just physical and technical skills but mental skill as well. There are plenty of talents who don't have the mental stability to handle starting for an extended stretch.
-Opportunity - obviously you can't succeed without first getting the chance.
-Timing - you have to wind up in the right place at the right time because even the best goaltender will struggle on a bad team and more importantly you have to time the peak of your skill to take advantage of an opportunity.
-Luck - luck can control some of the other factors like opportunity and timing but even then you may also need some luck in terms of bounces, coaching, teammates, mental state/confidence.

Without everything coming together for a guy he just won't succeed and for him to continue to do so he needs to continue to get the better end of the above so:

His skills need to remain sharp mentally and physically so there can't be any confidence rattling circumstances like injuries or slumps and he needs to continue to work hard and keep his physical skills up.

He needs to continue to get put out there by the coaching staff.

He still needs to have a good enough squad in front of him or he'll see other factors erode like confidence or opportunity.

And he still needs to have enough luck on his side until he reaches the point where he has the contract and track record where the coach has no choice but to play him even through a slump but he also has to avoid injury and avoid running into the next big thing as his backup.

Bob has shown us enough multiple times to say that he can be a good goalie for stretches. We still need to see a full season but that's also the argument we hear about Tuukka Rask. At a certain point though we just have to accept that these guys are good. Let's see what happens when Bob gets a big(ger) contract this summer with some long term stability and we will see if he gets complacent. I'm optimistic about him because his history of producing is fairly extensive beyond just his NHL career and he certainly passes the eye test but we aren't out of the woods yet. Keep him in mind as a nice sleeper for next season once all the "sure things" are snapped up.

[bigbabybuda]

Granlund vrs Hub's
Tavares vrs Stamkos
OEL vrs Faulk

[plug]

Thanks man, awesome reply. I got bob off the ww this year in my keeper, its a keep 14... we have no farm so if I drop him he won't make it back to me... with only rask as a keeper goalie I am trying to decide and really leaning to go with the gut and take the chance on him.

[metaldude26]

Granlund vrs Hub's
Tavares vrs Stamkos
OEL vrs Faulk

OEL vs. Faulk

[bigbabybuda]

OEL vs. Faulk

Very nice I was away at this time looking forward to reading it now. I predict you took OEL but close I think.

Tavares vrs Stamkos is a winner

[TavesSoul]

Gallagher versus Galchenyuk
Gallagher versus Kadri

And I'll third Tavares vs. Stamkos

[GretzkysMullet]

Tavares vs Stamkos and E Staal vs Kopitar are both good suggestions.

[HockeyProphet]

I'm not too sure who would be good opponents, but Huburdeau, E.Kane and Kadri have been fairly controversial players...

[Veritas0Aequitas]

This was actually one of my first pieces for DobberHockey - Autobot or Decepticon? - where I discussed how young goaltenders tend to pop up out of nowhere each year and can win you pools before disappearing into the night. I had Bob as an Autobot meaning you could count on him in the future. Obviously circumstances have changed since that piece as Bryzgalov was signed by the Flyers and eventually Bob was let go but one of the big reasons I was a fan was his history of producing at other high levels. He just strikes me as a talented goaltender and his work ethic is paying off right now.

But to answer your question better without this spinning too far out of control I would like to propose my theory that at any given point in time there are somewhere around 100 goaltenders on Earth playing in various leagues with the capability of being a quality NHL starter and thus productive fantasy option. What they need to achieve that is a combination of:

-Skill - obviously the most important as it is the crux of the theory and this covers not just physical and technical skills but mental skill as well. There are plenty of talents who don't have the mental stability to handle starting for an extended stretch.
-Opportunity - obviously you can't succeed without first getting the chance.
-Timing - you have to wind up in the right place at the right time because even the best goaltender will struggle on a bad team and more importantly you have to time the peak of your skill to take advantage of an opportunity.
-Luck - luck can control some of the other factors like opportunity and timing but even then you may also need some luck in terms of bounces, coaching, teammates, mental state/confidence.

Without everything coming together for a guy he just won't succeed and for him to continue to do so he needs to continue to get the better end of the above so:

His skills need to remain sharp mentally and physically so there can't be any confidence rattling circumstances like injuries or slumps and he needs to continue to work hard and keep his physical skills up.

He needs to continue to get put out there by the coaching staff.

He still needs to have a good enough squad in front of him or he'll see other factors erode like confidence or opportunity.

And he still needs to have enough luck on his side until he reaches the point where he has the contract and track record where the coach has no choice but to play him even through a slump but he also has to avoid injury and avoid running into the next big thing as his backup.

Bob has shown us enough multiple times to say that he can be a good goalie for stretches. We still need to see a full season but that's also the argument we hear about Tuukka Rask. At a certain point though we just have to accept that these guys are good. Let's see what happens when Bob gets a big(ger) contract this summer with some long term stability and we will see if he gets complacent. I'm optimistic about him because his history of producing is fairly extensive beyond just his NHL career and he certainly passes the eye test but we aren't out of the woods yet. Keep him in mind as a nice sleeper for next season once all the "sure things" are snapped up.

In that case... I'd like to see a Cam Ward vs Sergei Bobrovsky

Ward has been a fairly average career starter and we've all been waiting to see him put together a season like his 10-11 campaign again. Bobrovsky is showing us big things at an early age but can he stay consistent?

[jaga86]

Price vs Lundquist/Miller

Kessel vs Giroux

Bogosian vs E.Johnson

Wheeler vs Carter?

[robmyatt]

Oshie vs Perron
oooooooooh!