Carruth
- Thread starter Kristoff
- Start date
Kind of does. There's a reason why the top of the +/- chart is full of Sheffield and Cardiff players. They're on the ice for a lot of goals scored and not for goals conceded. Crawford being our highest d man and our second player overall.
With him being the top scoring d man in the league, a huge 15 points ahead of the second scoring defence man, and also that he's not afraid to get a punch in the face to draw some penalties for this team, it always baffles me the criticism he gets. Fine, he's no Tyson Strachan in defence but there's no expectation for him to be. At this level, if you have a player that can offer what he does from the back, that's gold dust.
With him being the top scoring d man in the league, a huge 15 points ahead of the second scoring defence man, and also that he's not afraid to get a punch in the face to draw some penalties for this team, it always baffles me the criticism he gets. Fine, he's no Tyson Strachan in defence but there's no expectation for him to be. At this level, if you have a player that can offer what he does from the back, that's gold dust.
No it means I understand how the +/- works but as a player he doesn’t do it for me.
IMO he often makes odd decisions that leave his D partner and netminder exposed, he ices the puck often which puts pressure on the whole line, he tries to aggravate players then acts like a drama Queen which is pretty wearing to watch and I can imagine can get pretty annoying for his teammates and he can back anything up.
Each to their own but as a spectator/fan I don’t like him and as someone who’s played sport to a decent standard he’d annoy me as a team mate.
But I won’t argue with the +/- as it’s a statistic.
IMO he often makes odd decisions that leave his D partner and netminder exposed, he ices the puck often which puts pressure on the whole line, he tries to aggravate players then acts like a drama Queen which is pretty wearing to watch and I can imagine can get pretty annoying for his teammates and he can back anything up.
Each to their own but as a spectator/fan I don’t like him and as someone who’s played sport to a decent standard he’d annoy me as a team mate.
But I won’t argue with the +/- as it’s a statistic.
He's certainly a high risk high reward player, but if what you stated was correct then his +/- would not be what it is as we would have conceded a hell of a lot of goals with him on the ice. There might be the odd game where what you say is correct, but over the course of the year it balances out and then as you say, you can't argue with the stats.
Everyone sees a game differently. The stats are not subjective and are without bias, and what the stats say is that his high reward comes out on top much more than his high risk. That's why I reckon Devils fans voted him MVP.
Everyone sees a game differently. The stats are not subjective and are without bias, and what the stats say is that his high reward comes out on top much more than his high risk. That's why I reckon Devils fans voted him MVP.
Yep. Personal choice isn’t it? Not my kind of guy. I believe defence wins championships, goals win games. Regardless of the individual, I’ve never been a fan of the role he plays. Just feels like a luxury. No consideration for defending, full focus on attack and when that role is on the attack, they aren’t head down steaming towards the boards trying to save an icing or win the puck back against a 6ft plus d man and doing the dirty work, they are on the blue line with time and space and invariably end up being on the powerplay where they have even more time and space to pick passes and shoot pucks. It’s the role I’d choose if I had an ounce of ability. When that is then combined with the petulance, the needless icing, that puts us under immense pressure and the poor zone exits/passes that often put our attackers going head down into the boards at the half way… just leaves me thinking…. I’m not a fan and not a fan of that role in this team where we don’t seem to have the balance right with solid d men and offensive minded d men.
Personal choice. Clearly a brilliantly gifted attacking d man. It’s just the rest that comes with it.
Personal choice. Clearly a brilliantly gifted attacking d man. It’s just the rest that comes with it.
He is the only MVP level performer on the roster. In genuine contention for league defence man of the year. Every other player is average to their peers. I understand the criticism of his style as concerns being a bit petulant but as a D man he has had a good season. Logs around 25 mins a night, PP1, PK1, OT1, Penalty Shots.
When you consider trying to build a team to win a championship and not a popularity contest he’s one of first signatures you go for.
When you consider trying to build a team to win a championship and not a popularity contest he’s one of first signatures you go for.
Don’t be blinded by the +/- stats. Let’s be honest, as a 1st line D man, a percentage of those + figures can be attributed to goals when he didn’t even touch the puck on a shift when a goal was scored! The + doesn’t actually specify if you were directly involved in the goal, it’s given to all skaters on the ice at the time a goal was scored.
What is a glaringly obvious stat is his poor positioning and lacklustre defensive work can clearly be seen a direct result of us conceding on many occasions.
What is a glaringly obvious stat is his poor positioning and lacklustre defensive work can clearly be seen a direct result of us conceding on many occasions.
It seems to me that the problems we've had defensively are more about the overall balance of the team, not too mention chemistry between defensive partners. Of course it's really helpful if the forwards are defensively responsible, and don't needlessly given up the puck...
I've always been a fan of big stay at home defensemen who can win their puck battles, manage the zone and clear the crease. I know my views on how the game should be played are somewhat old fashioned, but I'd love use to be the sort of team that the rest of the league gets frustrated by because they have trouble entering the zone and keeping the puck there.
I've always been a fan of big stay at home defensemen who can win their puck battles, manage the zone and clear the crease. I know my views on how the game should be played are somewhat old fashioned, but I'd love use to be the sort of team that the rest of the league gets frustrated by because they have trouble entering the zone and keeping the puck there.
Really don’t get some of the negativity in this area - at all!! Crawford plays so many minutes each game, maximum effort every game we see him play and hardly ever injured (if ever), so very reliable.
As people have already alluded to, he Topped the ‘whole league’ in assists this year (as a defenceman) and the leagues defence-man top point scorer the two years he has played in this country and league (so new to the league and still fairly young). Voted 1st line defender in the EIHL team of the year last year, and will def be that too in this years votes also. And EIHL defence-man of the year.
Yes, he can be a tad petulant at times I guess, a lot of players are, but he has been in more fights than many in our team too to back that up.(against Ferguson and Kellsall to name a couple I can quickly recall) so that cannot go against him either. He’s always in peoples faces too when they’re near Bowns/Wall crease. I get somewhat that he has a high risk approach that can leave us vulnerable at times - just put a stay at home defence-man with him to counteract that and give him that freedom.
If your MVP too in the end of season awards your must be doing something right in a lot of people’s eyes and i’ll bet Pete Russell will be desperate to have him back next term. I don’t really like to slate any player on our team (we often know some of the weaker links and we can leave that to PR) but Crawford would be the last person to put in this category and I sincerely hope we do not see him in another jersey next year!!
As people have already alluded to, he Topped the ‘whole league’ in assists this year (as a defenceman) and the leagues defence-man top point scorer the two years he has played in this country and league (so new to the league and still fairly young). Voted 1st line defender in the EIHL team of the year last year, and will def be that too in this years votes also. And EIHL defence-man of the year.
Yes, he can be a tad petulant at times I guess, a lot of players are, but he has been in more fights than many in our team too to back that up.(against Ferguson and Kellsall to name a couple I can quickly recall) so that cannot go against him either. He’s always in peoples faces too when they’re near Bowns/Wall crease. I get somewhat that he has a high risk approach that can leave us vulnerable at times - just put a stay at home defence-man with him to counteract that and give him that freedom.
If your MVP too in the end of season awards your must be doing something right in a lot of people’s eyes and i’ll bet Pete Russell will be desperate to have him back next term. I don’t really like to slate any player on our team (we often know some of the weaker links and we can leave that to PR) but Crawford would be the last person to put in this category and I sincerely hope we do not see him in another jersey next year!!
I'd also consider his age. At 27 he's not the finished article (appreciate he's not a rookie either) so it's possible management and coaches are looking at how much better he can get. From memory, Fournier was a similar age when people were criticizing his turnovers and positional errors (again, appreciate that Gleason didnt have issues with being petulant). So who knows how good he could eventually end up.
Finally, I seem to recall a lot of people wanting Crandall on the bus at the start of the season and look at how that's turned out.
Finally, I seem to recall a lot of people wanting Crandall on the bus at the start of the season and look at how that's turned out.
I actually think this season has shown us how good Bowns actually is, and what he could have achieved if he’d had the chance to go N America at a young age.
Callum Booth played 90 games in ECHL and 19 in AHL. He was drafted in round 4.
Tyler Wall played 43 games in ECHL and 15 in AHL. He was drafted in round 6.
Id class that as pretty impressive for a young netminder coming to the EIHL. Yet neither have been as good as Bowns. Neither have been able to challenge him for that No 1 spot.
If both those players were deemed good enough for AHL call ups then I’m convinced Bowns would have done too.
Callum Booth played 90 games in ECHL and 19 in AHL. He was drafted in round 4.
Tyler Wall played 43 games in ECHL and 15 in AHL. He was drafted in round 6.
Id class that as pretty impressive for a young netminder coming to the EIHL. Yet neither have been as good as Bowns. Neither have been able to challenge him for that No 1 spot.
If both those players were deemed good enough for AHL call ups then I’m convinced Bowns would have done too.
I disagree. It's the difference in bowns' style that would have held him back as a young goalie in North America, and he'd have had to have changed it. His flopping around (which has been much better in the last couple of seasons) and his weakness of playing the puck would likely have concerned scouts (rightly or wrongly).
While you could watch a highlight reel of bowns' saves, it was often the case that he'd have to make them because he'd put himself out of position from an earlier save, or not controlled a rebound effectively.
All that said, bowns has been excellent this season. I'm also shocked at neither booth nor wall have been anywhere near what I expected. The best goalie I've seen this season is the one from nomads.
While you could watch a highlight reel of bowns' saves, it was often the case that he'd have to make them because he'd put himself out of position from an earlier save, or not controlled a rebound effectively.
All that said, bowns has been excellent this season. I'm also shocked at neither booth nor wall have been anywhere near what I expected. The best goalie I've seen this season is the one from nomads.
One of the stats that the NHL have that I don’t think we do, that help paint a much more useful picture as to the quality of the goalie, over and above save percentage is… where the shots are taken from and conceded and the likelihood of saving them. Paints a picture of defensive frailties but also goalie weaknesses,
Save percentage is a one of what has to be a multitude of stats to assess a goalies performance. Personally, what Bown’s has had in front of him, how poorly we exit zones, take the body when it’s available, lose battles behind the goal and our focus on offensive defense and not stay at home D, our high risk plays…. It’s a miracle Bowns has the stats he does.
Save percentage is a one of what has to be a multitude of stats to assess a goalies performance. Personally, what Bown’s has had in front of him, how poorly we exit zones, take the body when it’s available, lose battles behind the goal and our focus on offensive defense and not stay at home D, our high risk plays…. It’s a miracle Bowns has the stats he does.