Murphy or Russel

[Zorro]

Which rearguard would you rather own and please state why? Murphy from Florida or Russel from Columbus?? Or just forget about them and go after Franson from Nashville??
Z..

[yzerman19]

It all depends what your needs are. If you need the points this year take Murphy as he will be on the PP with Bouwmeester in Florida. Murphy had a very strong year in Europe and showed at the Worlds he can play against NHL players.

Russell and Franson are both prospects with huge upside. Russell has dominated the WHL the last couple of years. Franson is suppose to be the real deal with huge offensive abilityies, so if you can wait for him to develop I would say to pick Franson.

[hockeylifer]

Hello Zorro and Yzerman:

Murphy and Russell:

I have not seen Murphy play. From everything that I have read I would go with Murphy. He has the experience factor. He also has size compared to Russell. I really hope that I am wrong about Russell. He really is a slight player and he is not tall. He can skate like the wind and has great passing.

Franson: I think this guy is going to be a horse with Weber. Both of these guys are from Sicamous, British Columbia. Franson has a huge shot. He has not been overly physical, in his play, but when he fills out he will be huge. He reminds me of a young Pronger.

My thoughts.

[87Flyer]

ah sicamous, what an incredibly beautiful place to spend some time. clean air, nice people, so much to do it\'s endless, no wonder they make good hockey players there.

[SirKnight]

Anyone else want to hop in with an opinion on Franson. He\'s the only one I have any interest in for my keeper league. I already have Bouwmeester so Murphy doesn\'t do much for me and Russell is taken.

Thanks

[Pete]

Franson
Russell
Murphy

[Thieving Giraffe]

I\'m not sure I agree with placing Franson ahead of Russell in fantasy terms. Franson is very talented and has a great shot, but has yet to master serious bouts of inconsistency and problems with endurance during the last couple of months each season (before the postseason starts). Russell, on the other hand, keeps going strong and is made for the \'new NHL.\' He isn\'t the same size but that won\'t matter in fantasy terms (plus, Franson still needs to learn how to use his size to his advantage). I\'d rank them Russell, Franson, Murphy for keeper leagues (without a loser among the three). If you\'re looking at them for a one-year pool, I\'d revise that to read: Murphy, Russell, Franson.

Post edited by: Thieving Giraffe, at: 2007/08/10 09:04

[hockeylifer]

Hello Zorro \'et al\'

Thieving Giraffe: You seem really high on Russell. I agree that he has great wheels and fantastic passing skills. Steps up in the play quickly, with no hesitation. I hate to get caught up in this size thing, but do you not consider that the jump from the WHL to the NHL is going to be very difficult for him? I really like his play but I can see him just getting pasted to the glass.

[87Flyer]

it\'s an interesting situation. when i checked some sites on Russell he was listed as 160, yet when i went to the hockeydb site they had him down as 177. i\'m not sure if there\'s is closer to being up to date or what but if he has crept up to 180 for his height he should be somewhat built like a brick shithouse. i know with my own height if i was to add that much weight i would be lol. a lot of other players who are in the 6\'0 area also play around the 180 mark and they are more of a string bean because of the height, some survive some don\'t. i\'d like to think Russell can survive with his heart and tenacity the same way Fleury did for all his years, the true mighty mouse wasn\'t supposed to play long either. if he can put on another few pounds and not give up the speed even better.

another thing i consider is the fact that Russell will have a partner on the ice with him. as his partner they should and will develop a bond and trust for each other unlike most of the other positions. when it comes to the puck being dumped into a corner how many times do you see the guys partner cause that slight pick steering his path in front of the forward just enough to take away some of his speed, happens all the time, it\'s actually part of the problem why the forecheck isn\'t as prevailant as it used to be. it\'s part of the defensemans job to protect their partners, you don\'t help me when i go into the corner i wont help you type thing. i think if he is put with someone solid, lets say Foote, how many guys are going to be able to come in at top speed for the hammering blow and with that leads to another question, WOULD you want to knowing your going to have your face bashed in by Foote or some other goon after you creamed the little guy. not sure if he can survive but i like to think that he can with a little help from his partner.

[Nehithaw]

Thieving Giraffe wrote:

I\'m not sure I agree with placing Franson ahead of Russell in fantasy terms. Franson is very talented and has a great shot, but has yet to master serious bouts of inconsistency and problems with endurance during the last couple of months each season (before the postseason starts). Russell, on the other hand, keeps going strong and is made for the \'new NHL.\' He isn\'t the same size but that won\'t matter in fantasy terms (plus, Franson still needs to learn how to use his size to his advantage). I\'d rank them Russell, Franson, Murphy for keeper leagues (without a loser among the three). If you\'re looking at them for a one-year pool, I\'d revise that to read: Murphy, Russell, Franson.<br><br>Post edited by: Thieving Giraffe, at: 2007/08/10 09:04

I concur TG.

Small guys like Russell have had to prove people wrong their whole lives, and he thrives from it. It\'s the \"I\'ll show them\" mentality.

He\'s been impressive at every level he\'s played. As far as him getting pasted, he probably will, at times, but almost every NHL\'er gets pasted one time or another. Russell is used to getting run at, small players like him have become experts at using the spin move to deflect checks.

He\'s a give\'er with ALOT of hockey smarts, he\'ll not only do just fine, but he\'ll be an exceptional defenseman in the NHL. I wouldn\'t doubt if Russell plays a big part in Rick Nash\'s resurgance. The Jackets have never had a pp qb of Russell\'s ilk, their powerplay should improve.

Flyer87 also brings up some interesting points, well done guys.

Post edited by: Nehithaw, at: 2007/08/10 21:12

[Thieving Giraffe]

hockeylifer wrote:

I really like his play but I can see him just getting pasted to the glass.

I think that Nehithaw summed it up pretty well. Russell put on about 15 pounds but he probably won\'t get above 180 or so for a while. 5\'10\" is generous, he\'s more like 5\'9\". But the kid\'s fearless... Gionta-like even. He\'ll take on guys twice his size and isn\'t afraid to drop the gloves once in a while, either.

In all fairness he\'ll probably get knocked around a little bit during his first year, but I am not concerned about his potential in the \'new\' NHL. Particularly when it comes to offense.

Post edited by: Thieving Giraffe, at: 2007/08/10 21:44

[hockeylifer]

Hello Zorro \'et al\'

You guys have convinced me on the merits of owning Russell regardless of his physical stature. I agree that he plays with an \'edge\' but considered that Brule plays with an edge as well and we know how his career started out. My concern was whether or not he would make the CBJ team this year and would he be able to make the transition from the WHL to the NHL, this year.

You guys have convinced me, it is likely that he will make the transition.

I don\'t think that I would rank Franson ahead of Russell. Franson is a great player but his game is different than Russell\'s. Teams will want Franson to develop his physical game simply because of his stature. He is a big boy with a huge wing span. He doesn\'t always play physical though. Teams are going to want him to develop that. Teams won\'t have that expectation of Russell, so the transition for Franson might be longer than it will be for Russell. Franson is going to be a great NHL defenceman though. I consider that a big reason for Vancouver Giants not winning the WHL Championship was because of Franson incurring a broken wrist. He was back for the Memorial Cup Championship. Russell had more of a presence in the WHL Championship series than he did at the Memorial Cup Championship.
My opinion anyway.

Post edited by: hockeylifer, at: 2007/08/11 10:52