Gritty Defenseman vs Gritty Fowards?

[Scurvy 1,488]

As a defensive defenseman I sometimes look at other Defensive players in the league and wonder if I should change my TPE attributes.  There are some serious stud Defense here like Bo Johannson @Shindigs, Aurelien Moreau @Frank, Hard Markinson @STZ, Max Torq @Steve, and Battre Sandstrom @Acydburn(retired)to just name a few.  They get massive amounts of points, and some still play an aggressive style of hockey.  

 

Forwards for sure get an advantage in the grit department and can put up some amazing numbers in hits and still get points.  For defense it’s a bit more of a struggle to get in the top numbers.  I do like the defensive defenseman build as those have typically been my most favorite real hockey players to watch.  I loved watching Chris Pronger, Scott Stevens, and Darian Hatcher type players growing up.  They were the unsung blue collar type players who would get in the nasty areas and lay out some punishment.  Now, the NHL has changed and that type of player is less of an asset in the fast pace NHL.  Is it the same for VHL???  

 

As an old school hockey lover, I enjoyed the grittier nasty NHL where fights were commonplace. I am not saying like the 70s and early 80s where pack fighting and shitty skaters could play, but the mid to late 90s where you still have good hockey and some nastiness. I grew up playing hockey and came from a hockey family.  As a player I would never want that role of an enforcer but I do miss the days of Bob Probert, Domi, Rob Ray, Brad May (because he’s a southpaw), and others.  

 

Are they true enforcers in the VHL???  Well, I look no further than Vinny Detroit @dasboot.  He’s amassed 779 PIMS and 1360 hits in just 4 short seasons.  He also scores making him more than just an aggressive Prescence on the ice.  

 

Next, probably the greatest player in the league, Duncan Idaho @OrbitingDeath .  1037 PIMS in 7 seasons and 2366 hits along with his 50-goal average I race to the scorecard box score every time we play him to see the stats.  I was lucky enough to fight him this year which was a huge honor.

 

Then we have Druss Deathwalker @animal74who by name alone would scare many opposing players.  Another player who can do it all.  1219 PIMs and 2478 hits in 7 seasons with Malmo.  Even during a rough S83 he still added 36 goals.  

 

But all these players have one thing in common, there all forwards.  No defensive players were in the top 10 in hits and 4 of the top 10 in PIMS were defensive players. Is it beneficial to make a gritty DMan or is it costly for team with PIMS?  I am not sure.  Possession stats and turnovers could be a benchmark but again, I don’t know. 

 

Anyway I am just maybe rambling a bit to get this week’s much needed TPE to help my club win some games this year.  Best of luck to everyone In the coming season and congrats to all the new players coming to the VHL this season.  

 

518

 

[JardyB10 4,865]

It definitely seems to be tougher for defencemen to amass hits, and with the hybrid attributes I ended up going lighter on Checking then I otherwise had been.