Versteeg

[SectionNDeserter]

Anyone have any clue why Sutter insists on playing this 5'10 120lb forward, with absolutely zero defensive skills back on the point? He watched the Tigers score 3 goals tonight, literally, standing there doing nothing. :burningma Its like the other team has a power play every shift that he is out there on defense. I don't buy into the theory that he is a puck hog, or generally a selfish player, he is just one of about 3 players on our team that can or are willing to actually CARRY THE PUCK. His huge offensive talent is being wasted game in and game out by putting him back there, as he is totally ineffective, and is the absolute worst player that they could put back there (Unless we still had Wick).

Also scoring some low marks tonight was Mihalik, who despite having no opposition players within 30 feet of him, and about 50 feet of clear ice and 3 forwards ahead of him to pass to, skated about 12 feet up ice from behind the net, and then sent the puck back behind the net to a puzzled Mike Berube who had already started to leave his man behind the net and join the rush. He scrambled to recover, but lost the battle for the puck and was -1.

The Sutter boys were dangerous as always, and I liked what I saw from Cunning, he went out there and hit everything that moved, but more importantly, he didn't try to handle the puck, so he didn't turn it over every shift. I was kind of shocked when he lambaisted Darren Helm, and there was no reaction whatsoever from the Tigers. I was quite dissapointed that they didin't at least give the 3rd star to Tigers pocket referee Derek Herman. He made a number of baffling calls early on, then the non-call on Baldwin dropping his stick, and both-hands tackling Knackstedt to the ice after he had blown past him and was about to take a point blank shot on goal, and then the eventual total non-call of all the interference in the latter part of the game (except against the Rebels).

[Tiger Trauma]

Anybody know why guys like..Robertson and maxwell for the tigers were sitting out?

[tiger fan 4 life]

Robertson is still out with a groin injury and Maxwell has the chicken pox.

[SectionNDeserter]

Maxwell has the chicken pox.Ouch, thats a bad thing to get at his age. :(

[Tinner]

To get back to your rant on Versteeg, your right, he has no defensive skills and shouldn't be on the the pp, except he is skilled offensively, thats why he is there. Now, who else is left. I think they should put Brett Sutter on the point with Mihalik. What you say......I know he might be a liability, but if the pp players can set him up, he's got the hard shot from the point and everyone knows it, so they give him a little move room.

[SectionNDeserter]

I think they should put Brett Sutter on the point with Mihalik. What you say......I know he might be a liability, but if the pp players can set him up, he's got the hard shot from the point and everyone knows it, so they give him a little move room.I agree, or Cunning, or Knackstedt, or Lepp.... ANYONE but Versteeg.

[playa]

I have nothing really bad to say about the guy, I think he's a good player. I DON'T however, think he's a good defenceman. I think he's a skilled forward and he could really help generate some offense if we let him go up front. What's wrong with using Lamoreaux on defense?

[SectionNDeserter]

What's wrong with using Lamoreaux on defense?He was terrible on defense earlier in the season, but 100x better than Versteeg back there, I think he should get another chance back there.

[hockey4]

Im thinking you guys need to give this a rest. You've watched him play defense for one game. ONE GAME. Now if you guys would still like to take a closer look at this "dilemna", maybe consider the fact that we need a fast offensive defensman. Do any of you see that in our natural d. No. He may not be the best defensive defensemen out there, but is it really going to hurt right now in the season. What we were doing before sure the hell wasnt working so quit looking for things to complain about.

[SectionNDeserter]

Im thinking you guys need to give this a rest. You've watched him play defense for one game. ONE GAME.Actually, he has been moved back to the point full-time since before Christmas, and has played on the point on the power play since the start of the season, and far more goals are scored when he is there (shorthanded, because of him) than scoring chances created by it.

Now if you guys would still like to take a closer look at this "dilemna", maybe consider the fact that we need a fast offensive defensman.I agree, but an offensive defenseman at least has some shred of definsive ability, Versteeg has ZERO defensive ability. If his man gets past him, he puts his stick on his knees and coasts, or goes to the bench. While one of the forwards skate like hell to try to break up the play. Even the most offensive defensemen will do the latter.

What we were doing before sure the hell wasnt working so quit looking for things to complain about.This IS what we were doing before, he has been back on the point for the powerplay since the start of the season, and every powerplay that he is out there, the other team usually gets a shorthanded breakaway. I am complaining about it, because after watching this team for the last 3-4 months, it is obvious that Sutter has addressed as many of the teams needs/problems as humanly possible, but for some reason this huge problem still continues. I am willing to bet that if the other teams didn't get so many breakaways (especially shorthanded), that we wouldn't have lost so many of those one goal games that we have this season.

[bandwagonboy]

I was quite dissapointed that they didin't at least give the 3rd star to Tigers pocket referee Derek Herman. He made a number of baffling calls early on, then the non-call on Baldwin dropping his stick, and both-hands tackling Knackstedt to the ice after he had blown past him and was about to take a point blank shot on goal, and then the eventual total non-call of all the interference in the latter part of the game (except against the Rebels).

I find this to be entirely inaccurate. Herman doesn't even watch the games he officiates so I don't know how he could favour one team or the other.

[Tinner]

Hockey4 quote; Im thinking you guys need to give this a rest. You've watched him play defense for one game.


Versteeg has played the point on the power play since he's got here and has played D as a position player to fill in when needed. Sutter has mentioned him on numerous occasions for his play.

[SectionNDeserter]

Tonight's game was a prime example of what I am talking about. Versteeg was still at center ice when the penalty shot infraction took place in front of the goal, and the game winning goal was scored by Versteeg's defensive assignment, while he was 20-30 feet away. Would a defenseman have made this mistake? Possibly... But I think he would have been a stride or 2 closer to being in position. Aside from those blunders, I think he looked pretty good the rest of the game, and actually generated some scoring chances tonight from the point.

[hockey4]

So if you guys are convinced that versteeg should not be on the point, please share who you think should be. Umm, Cunning aint fast enough, the sutters are better down low and their shots arent as powerful, most of our d are too young to be a quarterback. Versteeg has speed and can shoot the puck well. A player needs to be able to get the puck up the ice quick on a powerplay. Also, you need 2 powerplay lines so i dont think sutter will take him off the point.

[SectionNDeserter]

So if you guys are convinced that versteeg should not be on the point, please share who you think should be. Umm, Cunning aint fastVersteeg doesn't look very fast either, coasting with his stick on his knees while the other team is on all those breakaways.

the sutters are better down low and their shots arent as powerfulI would put Brett up at the point, having a powerful shot is nice, but it hasn't done anything for Versteeg back there so far, as most (or all) of our powerplay goals have been stuffed in from the side of the net.

most of our d are too young to be a quarterback.So when they get a year older, they will magically become a powerplay quarterback? If they do not get time on the powerplay, they will never become good on the powerplay.

Versteeg has speed and can shoot the puck well. A player needs to be able to get the puck up the ice quick on a powerplay. Also, you need 2 powerplay lines so i dont think sutter will take him off the point.I think that despite all the shorthanded breakaways and odd man rushes, we can still benefit from him being back there on the powerplay, just get him back up to forward when we are at even strength and I think our chances of winning will increase.

[frontrow fan]

I have to agree that I don't like to watch him back on Defense... He may be a semi-talented forward...( haven't even seen alot of that either) but as a d-man... I think there has to be someone else...its just plain hard to watch him out there! I watched at least two pucks go bye him on friday nite, and he just kinda "watched" them go bye... My sons peewee team tries harder to stop them at the blue line than he does...he also tries to get the puck absolutely "perfect" on his stick, and ends up wasting valuable time trying,
I don't really know if HE even enjoys being out on defense!! doesn't look like he does to me...give someone else a try!!! (just my opinion!!)how much worse could it be.??

[Tinner]

our entire conversation about this topic is an issue that affects the whole team. What we are really talking about is a general lack of skill on this team. We are talking about 5 guys on a pp and we have't named anyone other than to maybe switch some guys around. Pretty sad I'd say. Maybe thats why we are losing. My rant at the start of the year about the lack of skill on this team hasn't changed, some players have, but the skill level is way below average, which equates to loses, not wins.

[hockey4]

You know rebel39, being such a diehard rebel fan, you sure dont understand the rebuilding concept very well. What were you expecting 10 16 or 17 year olds to light up the league. Go ahead and rant all you want but im pretty sure they have been trying there hardest for 85% of the games this year. They might not be scoring a whole bunch but all the games have been close which is testament to the effort they have been putting in. It's to bad that they cant score but i wasnt expecting them to score 4 goals a game. Next year we will get edleast one new euro, and our young kids like sutter, knacksted and cline will start to score more frequently. If you were expecting sutter to trade for a bunch of scorers by giving up young talent, you obviously havent been following the rebels (sutter) to closely the last 6 years

[SectionNDeserter]

Next year we will get edleast one new euro, and our young kids like sutter, knacksted and cline will start to score more frequently. If you were expecting sutter to trade for a bunch of scorers by giving up young talent, you obviously havent been following the rebels (sutter) to closely the last 6 yearsThe only concern I have for the future right now, is that we have far too many 'stay at home' defenseman, or at least defenseman who haven't consistantly shown that they can play on the power play effectively. Berube has got pretty good hands, and Mihalik has got a cannon of a slapshot, but whether or not we will have Mihalik next year, or if Berube will start to step up his game is another story altogether.

[Shinyshoes]

You know rebel39, being such a diehard rebel fan, you sure dont understand the rebuilding concept very well.
My thoughts exactly!!

*Begin Rant*

There are so many Negative fans in this forum it makes me sick. If you guys were true Diehard fans, you would be willing to suffer through a losing season in order to reap the benefits of a contender after the rebuilding process cycles through. We all know the team is young. We all know we don’t have as many highly skilled players as the fans would like, and we all know we are struggling as a team this year, but so many of you overlook the positives. Have we forgotten the 17 year old goaltender that looks as good, or better than many 18 and 19 year old tenders in the league? Have we forgotten the 16 year old rookie we have who is currently 4 points out of the 10 ten in rookie scoring, while playing on a losing team? Maybe we should be excited about the future, rather than hammering on the players every friggin game.

*End Rant*

Just my opinion……

[D.A.]

Thank you, Shiny and Hockey4, for finally speaking up. I have been inactive in here for a while for that very reason. If I wanted to hear Rebels-bashing, I'd go to the Tigers or Hitmen forums. Don't call yourself a fan if you're actually the complete opposite.

[Tinner]

Well, quite the opposite. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and a bad team is a bad team. Nobody says I'm not a fan, and I have been around hockey for a lot of years. I understand the rebuilding process. I also won't brown nose just for the sake of agreeing with anything or everything the Rebels do. This team is not a skilled team, what the heck is wrong with saying that. Its really not even a young team (8th) out of 20, so its average. These forums are to discuss and give opinions and it would seem to me that if you dare give an opinion that suggests that we are a bad team, you get all kinds of grief. Just once I'd like to hear some others say or agree that opinions are acceptable no matter what they are or tell it like it is.

If players are not good enough to perform at a level, thats one thing. If a player doesn't perform to the norm or what is expected, thats another. So that gives everyone an opportunity to give an opinion. As far as making trades, you can believe what you want, but did you ever think the reason trades weren't made, aside from 4-6 players who are untouchable, because we have nothing anybody wants!

[SectionNDeserter]

There are so many Negative fans in this forum it makes me sick. If you guys were true Diehard fans, you would be willing to suffer through a losing season in order to reap the benefits of a contender after the rebuilding process cycles through. I guess the problem I have with that, is that if they are in fact rebuilding, then why keep a rookie goalie with tons of potential on the bench for half a season, watching a 19 year old (that is half the goalie he is) out there letting everything in? And why at this stage, where we are like way out of a playoff spot are we not giving the younger defenseman more time on the powerplay? I really like what I see from our forwards, particularly our younger forwards, and I don't think we will have too much trouble in net next year, but I do have some serious concerns about our defense with all the injuries and under utilzation of them on the power play in the late stages of the season.

[hockey4]

will you please give up on the power play thing. Some players are not meant for the powerplay. Berube sees his time and spuratically egener does. We are not going to build our team around a frwakin powerplay. And Rebel 39, were do you get this fact that we are the 8th youngest team. Please show me the stats. We are only going to lose 2 legitimate players (we probably werent going to bring back the older goalie anyway). And last time i checked, Rymer has played more games than any goalie that has been here this year (21). And you say youve been around hockey for a while.

[SectionNDeserter]

I understand the rebuilding process. I also won't brown nose just for the sake of agreeing with anything or everything the Rebels do.Me either, I am a fan, but I am not a fanboy. If I see something out there that is just wrong, or clearly could be handled better (based on what I see, and from what I hear from hundreds of fans at the game), you can be guaranteed that I am going to speak up about it.

[hockey4]

As far as making trades, you can believe what you want, but did you ever think the reason trades weren't made, aside from 4-6 players who are untouchable, because we have nothing anybody wants!

What does that evn mean, we have made more trades this year than any other year. How many more trades were you looking for. But your probably right, Cline, Sutter, Sutter, Knackstedt, Poulter, Egener, Berube, Reimer, Petkau, Versteeg, Lamoreux, and Vandermeer are only 4 or 6 players that are untouchable. Get a clue. id say thats enough players to build a team around

[SectionNDeserter]

will you please give up on the power play thing. Some players are not meant for the powerplay. Berube sees his time and spuratically egener does.I never said that they weren't used at all, but rather that they are 'under utilized' on the power play.

We are not going to build our team around a frwakin powerplay.I disagree, next season with the kind of speed/potential skill we will have, I have a feeling that we will be spending a lot of time on the powerplay.

And Rebel 39, were do you get this fact that we are the 8th youngest team.Yeah, we are probably more likely in the upper half of the league in average age, but 2 of our overage players were injured (or playing injured) most of the season, so we are a lot younger team than we are on paper.

And last time i checked, Rymer has played more games than any goalie that has been here this year (21).I guess if you count Leslie as actually being here for most of the games this season, he was here for 26, which is more than 21. (but that goes back to that only on paper thing)

[Tinner]

Listen guys, you've got your opinion and I have mine. Agree to disagree and move on.

[D.A.]

I give up.

[Shinyshoes]

I give up.I'm with you...