Enforcer?

[ASHIPP]

Now that G's recruitment drive is well under way, the shape of the roster is becoming clearer...but there are still some import vacancies to be signed.

Just wondered what everyone's thoughts were on the enforcer role this season? Do we need one -or is the focus on quality hockey and minimising aggression?

Is G going to:

1. Leave the Vother as the main enforcer and expect other players to step up when neccessary (e.g. Prps, G himself etc?)

2. Recruit another power forward who can score points like Brad but take care of business.

3. Recruit a hard dman? :?

 

[Gazza272]

If we could get mcallister then i would be more than happy with that. I wouldnt however go the Belfast route of an out and out Enforcer.


Looking around the league i cant really see the need for one either. Belfast have one but i cant see Sheffield getting one, ditto nottingham and coventry. Newcastle have said they are going for more skill to bring the fans back also.


With G. Prpich, Voth we have enough in us to make sure teams know not to step to far over the mark. Any one being brought in to bring mroe toughness needs to be more skilled than mcmorrow and faster than Mciver imo.

 

[nmase20]

Tbh i think it should be left with having Voth as far as enforcer goes, i know people think we should have someone else to do the job so he can focus on his points, but the best points season whilst hes been with cardiff has been when he was the main enforcer. I don't expect him to do a lot of it, only when some member of the team need backing up, but this season i dont think thats going to be necessary very often. Belfast seem to be the only team going down that route so far.
Possibly another power forward would be good, i pretty much agree with what gazza has said really.

 

[Finny]

I agree that if we want to be challenging for silverware - then we can't afford to sign a fighter who can't play as it is a waste of an import slot.

If we can sign a defencmen who can fight but also play, or a winger who can fight whilst still score 15+ goals - then I will be very happy with that.

 

[Koop11]

You have to consider cost as well. A player that has speed, a decent points contribution and who can fight would not come cheap.

I personally would like to see a strong blueliner who will protect Lyle in front of net and if needs be drop the gloves but is not a renown fighter. A Jeff Brown style player is a good comparison. Then I’d like to see a pacey winger who can hit on the third line but can make the 30 points margin. A Danny Stewart type of guy.

I agree with Gazza in that there is no need for an out and out enforcer with the league the way it is. Voth, Pirps, Jarvis, a strong blueliner and Gerard is more than enough to stop teams taking liberties in the Elite League IMO.

 

[TheStub]

I'm not sure how much space there is for out and out enforcers in any league these days.

Looking at the NHL, most of the 'enforcers' are actually skilled players who are also willing to drop their gloves. Keeping a player on the bench just to fight isn't going to cut it any more, you have to earn your place on a team.

I think the Elite League is going to have the be that way - we just don't have the budgets to waste money on an import Sharpe. :lol:

 

[ASHIPP]

I agree that Belfast's move to sign an out and out enforcer in McMorrow seems to be going against the trend for next season. Even traditionally tough teams like Hull and Newcastle are opting for skilled players and so the suspicion is that the focus will be much more skill orientated hockey rather than agression next season. Enforcers are entertainment value but they don't win matches. A solid d and scoring goals does that! Our guys are quite capable of looking after themselves and the clubs have seen the damage that repeated match bans/too many penalties can do to team performance. In saying that, McAllister would be a fantastic addition to the Devils!....but at what cost?

 

[scottydoesntknow]

To be honest, I would be absoloutely thrilled if we signed McAllister... but I think this guy seems like the best fit for the bill ???

http://www.37hockey.com/smakway.html

would help the powerplay aswell.

come on G, you know you want to sign this guy

 

[Gazza272]

McAllister would be a fantastic addition to the Devils!....but at what cost?

While he wouldnt be extremely cheap, i cant see how much bargaining leverege he has. His AHL days look to be over, he isnt skillful enough for Europe.

He could imo get a job in the ECHL/CHL but even the Veteran rules might make that more difficult. A guy with his experience may also be able to be coaxed with an assistant coach role possibly.


I think he would be affordable for a lot of EIHL sides.

 

[Huskie442]

This is one of the most interesting questions left on our roster this year .
I feel we definately need another player who can focus on a physical/enforcing role, as we need Brad and the rest of our roster on the ice as much as possible.
This year with the extra Brits at the Devils, we are in a position where this player could bet someone that we can afford to have enforce if it means taking other players out with him and we can do this either part of a 6 man defensive unit or a 3rd line forward,
I think it comes down to the position G sees himself playing on the ice as to which position this guy will take though.

 

[ASHIPP]

If G decides to use 2 of the 4 import vacancies to sign dmen (with the remaining 2 vacancies to quality 1st liners) one of those players could act as the enforcer without compromising the d unit too much. It's a difficult one - if we sign another power forward who can rack up points and enforce, it could weaken the point scoring potential of the team. It would only take him to be match banned (or worse) and the forward lines are compromised. In the case of the defence unit, signing two d players is very useful additional cover.

With reference to McAllister - sadly still being strongly linked with Nottingham and Sheffield. :mrgreen:

Scotty mentioned Steve Makway - looks very good but Steelers apparently already linked with him too!

 

[Animal]

sorry if i have missed this elsewhere but what about Doug Maciver?

 

[ASHIPP]

sorry if i have missed this elsewhere but what about Doug Maciver?

Rumoured he is not returning next season.

p.s. love your Devils avatar! :lol:

 

[Animal]

thanks i was bored one lunch time

 

[wobpfm]

just a thought but i think the perfect type of player to sign for us would be a player like Dewale used to be.

didnt do anything flashy but could nail the checks and play the puck.

was tough enough that he could drop them but didnt. a really gem of a player in my opinion though he was awesome at the back.

but he was a rare case i believe.

 

[Rempel16]

Yet he was visibly intimidated by Maxwell every time he played him. Decent player but I think we need a guy who makes players around him feel 10foot tall. (And i don't mean because he is 3 foot 6 )

Macallister fits the bill perfectly, he dominated our rink and would be a massive presence over 30 home games IMO. He could be that player at the back who, together with Voth, makes Cardiff the worst place to come as an away team. We used to have a reputation of being a cauldron with the old ice rink and I feel we need those ruthless players who take no prisoners and show no mercy.

We need teams to know that they are going to have to work and fight for every goal they want to score at the bay. And for every goal a team wants to score Voth, Macallister and G can have big hits lined up to make sure those players don't score again, whilst our star men do the business up the other end.

 

[wobpfm]

fair enough with the first point but i have to say i though whilst he was here he was one of our most consistant defenders and why would he go with maxwell if maxwell feels the need to drop his gloves and pick up silly penalties then in my opinion thats not what we want. ( remp's dont take this as a dig at you as it isnt just saying my opinion)

we need a defender who will hit but hit fair and STAY OUT THE BOX!!

we dont need another enforcer at all in my opinion as look who we have who will fight Jarvis Hartwick, G, Prps and voth so we need a clean but hard defender.

we need some one who if he feels something has happened that he doesnt like will rattle the boards with every player on the oppositions roster.

if we could get mcallister then great but i dont honestly think we will but there are plenty of players who can fill that role out there surely

 

[Rempel16]

fair enough with the first point but i have to say i though whilst he was here he was one of our most consistant defenders and why would he go with maxwell if maxwell feels the need to drop his gloves and pick up silly penalties then in my opinion thats not what we want. ( remp's dont take this as a dig at you as it isnt just saying my opinion)

we need a defender who will hit but hit fair and STAY OUT THE BOX!!

we dont need another enforcer at all in my opinion as look who we have who will fight Jarvis Hartwick, G, Prps and voth so we need a clean but hard defender.

we need some one who if he feels something has happened that he doesnt like will rattle the boards with every player on the oppositions roster.

if we could get mcallister then great but i dont honestly think we will but there are plenty of players who can fill that role out there surely

Yes I agree for his consistency, he was laying the big hits every night and his hip check was something else. Him and Jarvis are two of a kind for me though and there is only room for one of them. I happened to ask Dewaele why he wouldn't fight Maxwell (both for his time here and with the steelers) and Kirk openly admitted that he wouldn't stand a chance. I felt a few times that the opportunity was there a few times where it was beneficial to take Maxwell out as he was one of London's top scorers at the time and was integral to them.

Jarvis and Hartwick only fought when Sharp made a fuss though and I wouldn't rely on either of them as a guy to protect our blueliners. Neither holds an intimidating presence on the ice and I honestly believe that the presence of Maciver was the reason that both of them played that bit grittier.

Macallister would be ideal of course, but you're right, there's bound to be a few around. He was very sensible with his enforcing, but he looked to drill opponents through the boards every time, his hit on Hinks was probably the best we saw in the rink last season, including G's on Rushton and Hill? on Macmillan. Add to that the guy was playing 40 mins a night with a broken foot at one point and we could barely get close to a scoring opportunity. In the one game (1-1 into overtime) we only got our goal whilst he was in the box.

For me, with the size of our ice and the way Macallister dominated it, its a no-brainer! G should be throwing a fair bit of money at him.

 

[ASHIPP]

With the Panthers signing Dominic D'Amour, maybe it's less likely that CM will be a Panthers target. He might still yet go to the Steelers, of course! Matsos says they are close to signing a left-handed player who likes to drop his gloves....? :?

Chris McAllister would be sensational at the Devils - just have the feeling he won't be with Cardiff next year. Either he's not part of the plan, or G just won't be able to persuade him to sign.
I would, of course, love to be proved wrong!

 

[Soundwave1]

With the Panthers signing Dominic D'Amour, maybe it's less likely that CM will be a Panthers target. He might still yet go to the Steelers, of course! Matsos says they are close to signing a left-handed player who likes to drop his gloves....? :?

Chris McAllister would be sensational at the Devils - just have the feeling he won't be with Cardiff next year. Either he's not part of the plan, or G just won't be able to persuade him to sign.
I would, of course, love to be proved wrong!

The Panthers press release on D'Amour suggests that they finished their blue line, so hopefully that's them out of the running. http://www.panthers.co.uk/modules/News/ ... wsItem.asp