How do we stack up???

Rempel16

Well-Known Member
Thread starter #1
Well, the Nottingham Panthers have now completed their roster, and so we can compare our team to theirs properly (on paper at least)....

Looking at the Panthers roster I feel that whilst they have a lot of depth and balance, they don't look as prolific as recent seasons.

I think the skillset of their forwards just shades ours, with Ling in particular expected to cause damage. However, in Didiomete and Faulkner we possess the extra grit.

Defensively, i wouldn't swap our 6 for theirs in a month of Sundays, we look very solid on defence this season.

And the key to the puzzle for me is the Netminder.... Kowalski has imo been the best netminder in the league over the last two seasons, but he still didn't come near to Osaer and if Osaer has improved then we are in for a treat.

Overall, in comparison to the Panthers i'm not too concerned, I think we should be defensively sound and have the physical edge over them in the BBT whilst they don't look so dominating that we can't be hopeful of taking points from the NIC.
 
#2
Serious question... Is Osaer actually that good or is it all hype? His reputation seems to be built on one shut out in a meaningless cup against a Blaze team who were poor on the night. Apart from that, I remember him being decent but nothing that special? I'm not sure how you can say he is better than KWall when they played in very different times in the EIHL?
 

Finny

Well-Known Member
#4
J.B said:
Serious question... Is Osaer actually that good or is it all hype? His reputation seems to be built on one shut out in a meaningless cup against a Blaze team who were poor on the night. Apart from that, I remember him being decent but nothing that special? I'm not sure how you can say he is better than KWall when they played in very different times in the EIHL?
:DWD

The world doesn't revolve around the Blaze you know J.B. When I think of Osaer the BK Cup shutout doesn't instantly spring to mind.

His reputation comes from the fact he played in the AHL for 4 separate seasons with great Saves percentages and GAA. After us he then went to the Norwegian league where he won several awards and a Championship title.

When the EIHL first started, we had a couple of dodgy netminders. We then had Aubry who was a massive step up - although prone to letting things get inside his head.
When Aubry wasn't re-signed a lot of fans weren't happy and were looking to pick up on any mistake Osaer made. Osaer quickly showed the Devils fans what he was about though and won them over.

For me Osaer is our best EIHL netminder. In the history of the club, I'd say he was 3rd behind Herlofsky (Team USA) and Caprice (6 NHL seasons).

I'm delighted Osaer is back and can only see Kowalski being near him at the moment in terms of challenging for the #1 title.
 
#5
Whilst Giants still have a few left to sign i think it will be them and Steelers fighting for 1st. Previously i thought Panthers would be up there or at least 3rd but now think it will be closer between Panthers, Devils and Blaze. Alot depends on Blaze's last import and our lines due to the quality of our brits for whether Blaze will be fighting for 3rd or finish last imo
 

Rempel16

Well-Known Member
Thread starter #6
J.B said:
Serious question... Is Osaer actually that good or is it all hype? His reputation seems to be built on one shut out in a meaningless cup against a Blaze team who were poor on the night. Apart from that, I remember him being decent but nothing that special? I'm not sure how you can say he is better than KWall when they played in very different times in the EIHL?
I wasn't at the BK cup game as i didn't see it as meaningful either - so for me, his reputation was watching nearly every home game during his two year stint and simply put, yes he was that good.

That 'different times in EIHL' comment can be put towards any comparison of players in the EIHL era. I always feel that Kowalski is beatable, much like every goalie in the league over the last couple of years. However, with Osaer I felt comfortable that it would take something special to beat him - much like I felt against the likes of Koenig and Lehmann to name two, and Bronsard in the very first EIHL season..... Kowalski was the best netminder (and not by much) in an EIHL dominated by netminders that were standard to poor..... Osaer was arguably the best netminder in an EIHL dominated by high quality netties, and to have progressed to another level is proof that on paper he is better..... Of course, I will wait to see but i'm ceonvinced he is the better netminder.
 
#7
J.B said:
Serious question... Is Osaer actually that good or is it all hype? His reputation seems to be built on one shut out in a meaningless cup against a Blaze team who were poor on the night. Apart from that, I remember him being decent but nothing that special? I'm not sure how you can say he is better than KWall when they played in very different times in the EIHL?
I wasn't at that game and have never heard anyone mention it when discussing Osaer. Even without that game against the Blaze, he is still the best EIHL netminder we've had!
 
#8
Think people don't give Murphy enough credit and instead say its because its the quality of our D in previous seasons, i certainly wouldn't'swap him for any other goalie in the league.

Of course the fact that he is of import standard whilst being a brit is a double bonus and gives us that extra import, we still have 4 imports to sign so hopefully a couple of quality defencemen and more firepower to compliment our current signings.
 

Lloyd

Active Member
#10
Well all things aside will Myers return. After all he did out in some bad performances 4 goals in 1 period against Hull.

surely Michael Crisp, Brabon deserves ago Or Dream if you like Craze
 
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