Derek Dorsett

[egelband]

he seems to - and i hope i'm wrong - have a tendency to dole out dirty-looking hits. that one on zidlicky was borderline. i couldn't tell from how far away he came, but it looked like a charge to me. and i really don't want the rangers to be like that. i liked the hit on the defenseman in the corner. it was near the wall but he didn't knock the guy directly into the wall. that was clean. i just hate how neil and his ilk go out looking for a player with his head down rather than just playing hockey. i hope dorsett's not like that.

 

[Xoggz22]

How's his physical play, hitting/checking?

Did he play on the penalty kill for CBJ? If so, how was he at that?

Thanks.

Haven't made it through the thread yet but thought I would provide some additional insight. (CBJ season ticket holder since day 1).

Dorsett is used on the PK when he's not in the box. As you can see he piles up PIM. He is very good on the forecheck and back check. His offense is not really part of his game but if kept on the 3rd or 4th line he can chip in. He'll show you something that makes you think he can be more but he simply isn't an offensive minded player.

Good on the PK and always fights up a class. He's probably more like an agitator than enforcer and goes 100 MPH all the time. He is worthy of an "A", great in the locker room and community. if he can cut down on the offensive zone and stupid penalties he would only increase his value. He'll be a fan favorite and won't hurt you on most nights. He'll keep guys honest and help the PK (2nd or 3rd pair forward).

We'll miss him but we do have others similar but there is no one like Dorse! Good luck to him once he's healthy. It will be interesting playing against him 5 times next year.

 

[Xoggz22]

If Dorsett can continue to develop and become this teams Chris Neil, which from watching him, is entirely possible, this is a HUGE win for this team.

This is exactly who I was trying to think of. Although I think Neil has more skill and is a little more unpredictable. Never really a Neil fan and think Dorse has more personality and control. Just cut down the stupid penalties...

 

[Xoggz22]

So any word on what the Rangers medical staff has said about his clavicle? Timeframe for return to contact?

In Columbus our beat writer continued to mention possibly back for the playoffs. His style of play will require a fully healed bone. if not, he's gone again and could make things worse. I wouldn't count him out before the season end and I'm sure he'll push to play but if the Dr.'s are smart they won't listen to him and follow protocol.

 

[Xoggz22]

he seems to - and i hope i'm wrong - have a tendency to dole out dirty-looking hits. that one on zidlicky was borderline. i couldn't tell from how far away he came, but it looked like a charge to me. and i really don't want the rangers to be like that. i liked the hit on the defenseman in the corner. it was near the wall but he didn't knock the guy directly into the wall. that was clean. i just hate how neil and his ilk go out looking for a player with his head down rather than just playing hockey. i hope dorsett's not like that.

Dorse is not dirty at all. He's on the edge and loves to target players that can disrupt their games or the other team's games. He gets other teams attention and that is a good thing. He may not win a ton of fights but he certainly sets the tone and will do anything to help his team win. Boll is similar for the CBJ but with a little more skill but also a little less "hair on fire" attitude.

You got a good one and we'll miss him. Glue guy for sure but I don't see him as a dirty player. not like Avery...

 

[SnowblindNYR]

Dorse is not dirty at all. He's on the edge and loves to target players that can disrupt their games or the other team's games. He gets other teams attention and that is a good thing. He may not win a ton of fights but he certainly sets the tone and will do anything to help his team win. Boll is similar for the CBJ but with a little more skill but also a little less "hair on fire" attitude.

You got a good one and we'll miss him. Glue guy for sure but I don't see him as a dirty player. not like Avery...

I think that it was really a bad rap that Avery got that he's some sort of dirty player. He yapped a lot and acted like an idiot. Unless you think saying offensive things is dirty. I think people hate him so much that people that don't know his game just assume he was dirty.

BTW, I don't know if you'd know but how does Dorsett compare to Prust?

 

[eco's bones]

Dorse is not dirty at all. He's on the edge and loves to target players that can disrupt their games or the other team's games. He gets other teams attention and that is a good thing. He may not win a ton of fights but he certainly sets the tone and will do anything to help his team win. Boll is similar for the CBJ but with a little more skill but also a little less "hair on fire" attitude.

You got a good one and we'll miss him. Glue guy for sure but I don't see him as a dirty player. not like Avery...

There are a lot of differences of opinion on Avery here. He was definitely not loved by all Rangers fans. That being said the 'dirty player' rep was way overblown. Can't think of one player whose career he ended with a cheap or even a legal hit. There was not a long line (or even much of a line) of players who had to go to the emergency room or even a hospital because of him. His one suspension in his career wasn't for an on ice incident but for mouthing off about an ex girlfriend. He was an agitator who played a very aggressive physical game (for his size anyway) with a no holds barred mouth. He was very good if not the best at that--and sometimes he'd skate away rather than face the music. There's no doubt a lot of players hated him but it was more about hurt feelings than anything else. He wasn't Ulf Samuelsson, Darius Kasparaitis, Patrick Kaleta or Matt Cooke.

 

[Punxrocknyc19*]

There are a lot of differences of opinion on Avery here. He was definitely not loved by all Rangers fans. That being said the 'dirty player' rep was way overblown. Can't think of one player whose career he ended with a cheap or even a legal hit. There was not a long line (or even much of a line) of players who had to go to the emergency room or even a hospital because of him. His one suspension in his career wasn't for an on ice incident but for mouthing off about an ex girlfriend. He was an agitator who played a very aggressive physical game (for his size anyway) with a no holds barred mouth. He was very good if not the best at that--and sometimes he'd skate away rather than face the music. There's no doubt a lot of players hated him but it was more about hurt feelings than anything else. He wasn't Ulf Samuelsson, Darius Kasparaitis, Patrick Kaleta or Matt Cooke.

not at all... Avery was alot like Esa Tikkanen... Tikkanen

 

[Ail]

There are a lot of differences of opinion on Avery here. He was definitely not loved by all Rangers fans. That being said the 'dirty player' rep was way overblown. Can't think of one player whose career he ended with a cheap or even a legal hit. There was not a long line (or even much of a line) of players who had to go to the emergency room or even a hospital because of him. His one suspension in his career wasn't for an on ice incident but for mouthing off about an ex girlfriend. He was an agitator who played a very aggressive physical game (for his size anyway) with a no holds barred mouth. He was very good if not the best at that--and sometimes he'd skate away rather than face the music. There's no doubt a lot of players hated him but it was more about hurt feelings than anything else. He wasn't Ulf Samuelsson, Darius Kasparaitis, Patrick Kaleta or Matt Cooke.

Agreed 100%.

Anyone who uses Avery and dirty in the same sentence or breath is biased beyond all bias, and never watched Avery perform any of his antics on ice, ever. The guy was never suspended for a dirty hit, and never made anything even remotely close to what is considered a dirty play by most standards. I can't even remember him dropping an intentional slewfoot.

Avery was a pest, Avery was a cocky ****-head who played a psychological game and knew how to take people off their own. You can argue all day whether or not it was respectful of the sport, classy or anything in that vein, and probably make a good case against him. However, no one can make a legitimate case for Avery being a dirty player by any stretch of the imagination without outright lying or confusing the terms dirty and agitator.

Like him or not he's not even in the same universe as Kaleta, Cooke, Torres, etc.

Edit: On topic, I am looking forward to see what kind of game Dorsett brings and for what it is worth I hope he is in the same vein as Avery. We miss that presence.

 

[eco's bones]

Agreed 100%.

Anyone who uses Avery and dirty in the same sentence or breath is biased beyond all bias, and never watched Avery perform any of his antics on ice, ever. The guy was never suspended for a dirty hit, and never made anything even remotely close to what is considered a dirty play by most standards. I can't even remember him dropping an intentional slewfoot.

Avery was a pest, Avery was a cocky ****-head who played a psychological game and knew how to take people off their own. You can argue all day whether or not it was respectful of the sport, classy or anything in that vein, and probably make a good case against him. However, no one can make a legitimate case for Avery being a dirty player by any stretch of the imagination without outright lying or confusing the terms dirty and agitator.

Like him or not he's not even in the same universe as Kaleta, Cooke, Torres, etc.

Edit: On topic, I am looking forward to see what kind of game Dorsett brings and for what it is worth I hope he is in the same vein as Avery. We miss that presence.

Keeping in mind I can't speak very well for whatever he did prior to becoming a Ranger--as a Red Wing or a King.

The better avenue to describe him in any case if you didn't like his persona or the controversy that seemed to follow him--is that he was classless. And there have been innuendoes about him using (a) racial perjorative(s) on Laraque ( if true he wasn't picking his spots there as Laraque would have easily destroyed him if they ever dropped the gloves) and remarks he made about French Canadian players that Ian Laperriere for one took exception to. All that happened (or didn't happen) before he became a Ranger. Whether it squares with his interest in the world of fashion (notable for its left leaning bias) or his defense of people's rights to marry whoever they please is another thing. He is and was a different kind of cat and actually I think in some respects a breath of fresh air. He wasn't inclined to give the usual stereotypical answers to the usual pat questions.

 

[EspenK]

Most of what has been said here is true. He is a gritty, hard working,team leader kind of player. Will go with about anyone, he is a good middleweight, I worry about him against some of the enforcers in the East (but hey he was coming anyway). Does take some dumb, ill timed penalties and I'm not sure he has 20 goal potential but who knows. His A was a rotating thing I think. And I do believe he played some PK this year. I'd say he is the best fit for Torts' system. Brass not so much. Moore could blossom but not as a physical D.

Having grown up in Jersey and rooting for the Rangers I have mixed feelings about your playoff chase. If you make it great; if not it will be nice to have another, albeit slim, chance at the number 1 pick.

 

[JohnC]

if not it will be nice to have another, albeit slim, chance at the number 1 pick.

We don't have one :'(

 

[stan the caddy]

Avery was the greatest troll to ever play hockey. He knew how to get under everyone's skin and the fact that he did it while being an arrogant metrosexual took it to a new level.

 

[Oak]

Anyone know if Dorsett will play this season? I think I read somewhere he is injured.

 

[Pizza]

His youth is very attractive. He has some maturing to do that bodes well for us.

 

[Pizza]

I think if we make the playoffs we'll be lucky to have this guy for our bottom six. Assuming we go in with a healthy roster, I think we'd have the depth to roll 4 lines for quite some time against any team. Not necessarily lines, but the depth would be:

Hagelin-Stepan-Nash
Clowe-Richards-Callahan
Pyatt-Brassard-Zuccarello
Powe-Boyle-Dorsett

Asham (Miller)

I'd take out Pyatt. He's the odd man out imo. Replace with Hags.

Move Cally to the left side of Steps and Nash. Move Zuuc back with Richie and Clowe.

Move Boyler to the right side of Hags and Brass (argument commences) Good checking line imo. With some supplemental scoring from Brass and Hags.

Then it's Ash, Powe, Dorse on the 4th line. Pretty decent balance, imo.

 

[BarbaraAlphanse]

Anyone know if Dorsett will play this season? I think I read somewhere he is injured.

They say he'll be good to play in the final week of the regular season.

 

[bobbyquarles]

They say he'll be good to play in the final week of the regular season.

Who's they? Is that confirmed? If so, great news

 

[Hire Sather]

I'd take out Pyatt. He's the odd man out imo. Replace with Hags.

Move Cally to the left side of Steps and Nash. Move Zuuc back with Richie and Clowe.

Move Boyler to the right side of Hags and Brass (argument commences) Good checking line imo. With some supplemental scoring from Brass and Hags.

Then it's Ash, Powe, Dorse on the 4th line. Pretty decent balance, imo.

Do we need Clowe, Asham AND Dorsett? I don't know. Pyatt over Ash with Dorsett in will keep everyone at their correct wing.

 

[richardsequalscup*]

For me, acquiring Dorsett in the deal does 2 important things. One, takes Pyatt off the ice who is terrible. Two, makes Asham and his contract expendable.

 

[BarbaraAlphanse]

Who's they? Is that confirmed? If so, great news

Various reports. I read somewhere on here the injury takes 6-16 weeks to recover from. No time table on return, more reports say he'll be good for final week of season than say he'll be out for longer.

From loose observation, athletes tend to come back from injury faster than non-athletes. It'll honestly depend on the severity of the injury and how well his body has recepted to whatever treatment he's been doing.

 

[egelband]

i always say avery was a dick and a pest and chippy but not dirty...if that makes sense. he never went out to hurt anyone, just embarrass them. which makes his vilification so hard to understand. i don't see how a guy like cooke can continue to skate, while avery had to defend himself every step he took. it was a really stupid thing. i'm glad the rangers saw past it...until he just wore out his welcome...organically.

 

[BlueshirtBlitz]

If I had to take a guess, Dorse is closer to guys like Kaleta than he is to Avery. Avery was never a guy who would go out and dominate guys physically, dirty or not. He was much more methodical in his trolling. Dorse seems like he plays on the borderline of clean/dirty.

 

[Xoggz22]

I think that it was really a bad rap that Avery got that he's some sort of dirty player. He yapped a lot and acted like an idiot. Unless you think saying offensive things is dirty. I think people hate him so much that people that don't know his game just assume he was dirty.

BTW, I don't know if you'd know but how does Dorsett compare to Prust?

Sorry but I don't know Prust well enough to comment. Haven't seen the east much the last few years.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

Sorry but I don't know Prust well enough to comment. Haven't seen the east much the last few years.

Yeah I figured, hence I said "I don't know if you'd know". Thanks anyway.