Rookie numbers. Back in the 90's people would drive to El Segundo from Brooklyn just for enchiladas.
Long road: How a 112-mile drive to play hockey every day in California led Zeev Buium to the Wild
Zeev Buium and his two brothers spent hours upon hours riding with their mother from San Diego to hockey practice in El Segundo, Calif.www.startribune.com
I believe the only reason he's going back at this point is because of his young age. He doesn't turn 19 until December 7th. 18 is such a tough age to make it in the NHL as a defender. I think mentally he could handle it, but physically, he is going to need the extra year. He can get some games late in the year if management deems fit, otherwise, he'll wait for the start of season 2025.
Endurance is key. IMO, we saw a few guys a few years older struggle a little down the stretch of the season because their endurance wasn’t to the level of their minutes.
I agree, but defense is just more physically challenging which is why so few undersized D men become truly great.
You start to lose me with the undersized talk and bringing Spurgeon into the conversation. Buium is 3” taller and 20lbs heavier as an 18 year old. He’s not comparable to Spurgeon in size at all.
Never said he was undersized. Just that he needs to fill out. The kid is only 18. He's not big, will benefit from another year to get more solid.
That's because Spurgeon is a paperweight. A commoner like me could go into the crease and bully that dude easily. He's a huge problem come playoff time. They should honestly consider putting him on the 3rd pairing or just not playing him at all if we do make it this year. Minimize the time he can be abused. I can't wait for the day he is no longer on this team. Maybe Billy can work some trade magic soon...
Spurgeon is far and away a better defensive player than Chisholm. I mean, it's not even close. Chisholm has to work hard to be to be even a mediocre defender in the NHL, while Spurgeon has been one of the better two way Dmen in the league for years. His understanding of how to use leverage, his stick, and just overall smarts while defending dwarfs Chisholm's abilities. That's why one has been a first pairing Dman for a decade, and the other was a waiver pickup.
You’re not following what I’m saying. I’m talking the ability to withstand physicality. There’s a reason we basically need to put Middleton next to Spurgeon. He gets abused. He’s a big part of the reason this team sucks in the playoffs.
I think Middleton with Spurgeon is more so for Middleton than it is for Spurgeon.
Middleton shouldn’t be in the top 4 at all. His sole purpose for being there to begin with was because Goligoski-Spurgeon was an extremely soft pairing.
So you’ve got Middleton as having better offensive capabilities than Chisholm? Better passing too? Better skating as well?
I have yet to listen to Russo’s podcast, but I heard that he said he doesn’t think either of Spurgeon or Brodin finish their contract here. Please let it be true for Spurgeon.
Well, he only has 3 years left and probably isn't going anywhere this year, so I'm not too worried about it. His contract will be up as Buium comes off his ELC, so no worries there.
It's not MMA. It's hockey. Size and strength are nice, but only a part of the puzzle, when defending. I'm giving Spurgeon a pass last year because he was playing on one leg(as someone who is no stranger to hip problems, I have an idea what he was going through just to stand on the ice,nvm skate), but prior to that he and Brodin are clearly our best defenders. Their combination of skating, skill, smarts, and technique are simply superior to what else we have, Faber excepted. I've lost track of how many times they have made fantastic defensive plays saving goals.
Spurgeon has been a liability for years in the playoffs. He is exhibit 1 for why this team never makes it past the 1st round.
Why don’t you give me the run down on what Middleton is better at that doesn’t take into account his size or physicality.
