I prefer to see hockey played with fights not speed skating with sticks.
I also look forward to Tyler Randell having a long career with the Sens and making Sweeney and Cassidy's powder puff girls look like the embarrassment to Bruins hockey they are. (ok maybe some hyperbole there but this is as non physical group of forwards as I can remember the Bruins ever having and before the analytics and millennial crowd starts with the game is all speed and skill take a look at some of the contenders and make that statement again, speed and skill with grit and toughness win, not just one or the other)
That said hope Gabrielle drops them tonight with somebody, haven't seen much from him in the rookie tournament or pre season thus far.
my prediction is that Randell will be little more than an AHL call-up
I love scraps, honestly do, I find the league as a whole now resembles "powder puff" and while I didn`t mind Randell, far too many here got caught in the excitement of having a guy like Randell who`d drop em` with little provocation, and saw his ridiculous shooting percentage (which he`d never maintain long term) and felt his absence in the lineup was a massive mistake.
Truthfully, how many teams these days have more than 2 true scrappers in their lineup? I mean guys who not only are willing to drop the mitts but seem to relish that part of the game? Once the regular season ends and it`s playoff times, those players generally are the first one`s to see their ice time drastically reduced and/or never see the ice at all.
I also may have differing views of what constitutes a team that is soft. As one example, I don`t think I would view the Leafs as a bruising team nor would I put them in a category of being a soft one. They have a lineup of players more than willing to pay the price in the corners/front of the net, they aren`t a team who`ll shy away from contact or get intimidated in a physical game. I don`t think the B`s are soft, I think the B`s are like the majority of teams TBH
On the B`s, I would say Spoons is the lone true soft player, game has changed, those constant hits we used to see, big body checks, big scraps, they are nearly non-existent with a few exceptions. Now the game is all systems, and boring as he** the majority of nights.
If I lived in a city with a pro team and a Junior team, I would guarantee you I would attend more Junior games than pro games and it has little to do with the cost, it has everything to do with the entertainment factor, I`ll take a lazy Tuesday game in Junior hockey vs a Bolts vs _____________ 8 days a week.