Basaraba Moose Rookie Profile

[Toasty 57]

Basaraba Moose | #2

D | 6' 3" | 203 lb | Age: 25 | Halifax 21st

 

SUMMARY

Basaraba Moose

Born: July 8, 1993

Birthplace: Prince George, BC, Canada

Shoots: Left

Draft: S64 28th Overall, Riga Reign

 

 

STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

 

Strengths

1. Defense

Basaraba Moose is one of the most defensively sound players in the VHLM. You can always rely on him to make the safe play in his own zone or steal the puck off of a dangerous attacker. He is good at covering for a more offensively gifted partner who likes to take risks. Moose can block shots and guard his own net all game long, every single game of every single season. He is of the opinion that the position of defense was created so someone could defend and that is what Moose does.

2. Checking

Moose is one of the better hitters on his team. In S63, he averaged almost 3 hits per game in Halifax over about half of a season. At 6'3", Moose is a relatively big guy so getting hit by him can be devastating for the opponent. Moose also is very good at the stick-checking aspect of his game. He has no trouble stripping the attacker of the puck, almost every time they enter his zone. Being hard-hitting and good with his stick makes Moose one of the top checkers in the VHLM and most opponants choose to steer well clear of him when they are on the ice with him. He is a big, physical, intimidating presence and his style of play lets him perform even better in the playoffs.

3. Puck Control

Moose is always very reliable in his own end and typically passes the puck off early to make the smart play, but when he chooses to hold onto it, which is fairly rare, its very hard to steal it off him. Moose is a top end stick-handler and uses this to his advantage when killing penalties or running the clock down. This, combined with his physicality make it virtually impossible to take the puck away from Moose. If an opponent somehow gets the puck off of him, Moose gives them a little shove and takes it right back. Most defenders choose not to venture into Moose's side of the ice because if they did, they would be asking for it. Moose is never afraid to drop the gloves and stick up for his teammates and you had better hope you aren't the one he's fighting.

Weaknesses

1. Scoring

Moose doesn't have many weaknesses but offense is definitely one of them. He lacks the ability to shoot the puck accurately with consistency and doesn't get a lot of chances to score. Moose's shot is hard but extremely inaccurate and rarely finds its target. When it does though, the puck often goes in. Throughout Moose's career, he has taken 43 shots in 84 games. 7 of those shots have found the back of the net, giving Moose a SHT% of over 16%, a number that is very high for a defensize defense-man. Madden isn't typically involved in his team's offensive opportunities and has relatively low career totals in points, only putting up 19 points after more than a full season worth of games. Low totals don't phase Moose though and he just wants to keep playing his game and not expect to score every game, but be grateful when he does.

2. Discipline

It's honestly hard to tell whether discipline is a strength or a weakness for Moose because he has a bad temper, but it seems he has been able to subdue it recently. Last season, Moose had a whopping 56 PIM in 31 games, and it seemed he couldn't stay out of the box, but to many people's surprise, Moose almost looks like he is turning his game around. This season, after playing 47 games, all Moose has taken is 4 minor penalties for a total of 8 PIM. When asked what his reason is for the sudden change of heart, Moose just says, "Playing such small minutes in Vegas lost me my confidence. I had no relationship with the players and no reason to stand up for them, plus I was only playing sometimes 8 minutes a night. I wanted nothing more than to go back to play with my old friends in Halifax. I felt like an outsider all season long. I was miserable and I guess it made my PIM go down, whether you view that as a good thing or a bad thing is up to you but, in my opinion, I take penalties because I'm an emotional guy, so if there's a lack in PIM, there's a lack in emotion.

3.Skating

While Moose's skating isn't really a weakness of his, it lacks more than all the other aspects of his game and he intends to improve at it. He has below-average speed and acceleration and generally decides to stay in his own zone so he doesn't get caught flat footed. Sometime's Moose's speed or lack thereof means he has trouble taking the puck away from a speedy defender so typically Moose stays around his own net when he's on defense. While Moose's skating does limit him in some aspects of the game, he doesn't let that stop him and is still a dominant force in his own end, each and every night.