The Puck Stops Here
A Defence That Will Break Down
by PuckStopsHere on 10/15/09 at 11:37 AM ET
Comments (0)
Early in the season, it is interesting to watch the number of shifts and playing time of players on various teams. When a team is overplaying a handful of key players early in the season, it is quite likely that these players will fatigue and break down over the course of the year. This is a cause of concern. The team with the largest area of concern in this area is the Philadelphia Flyers defence. The three leading players in shifts per game, at this point in the season, are Braydon Coburn, Kimmo Timonen and Chris Pronger. They have 35.4, 34.4 and 33.6 shifts per game played respectively. Pronger tends to play longer shifts - so he is their icetime leader despite fewer shifts.
This is a situation that will likely not be able to be kept up all season. These players will break down from overwork. This becomes even more likely when one considers that Pronger is 35 years old and Timonen is 34. Both are on the downsides of their careers where injuries become more likely.
The Philadelphia Flyers only other proven defenceman is Matt Carle, who is off to a good start offensively, but is not able to handle the hard defensive situations as much as these three. They would be forced to give people like Ryan Parent, Danny Syvret and Ole-Kristian Tollefsen more ice time than they would be comfortable with and forced to play Carle is tougher defensive situations if injuries occur. These injuries look quite likely given the ages and amount of work given to the Flyers top defencemen. This is a situation to watch. It is one that could lead to serious problems for the Philadelphia Flyers in a month or two.
Filed in: | The Puck Stops Here | Permalink
Tags: Braydon+Coburn, Chris+Pronger, Kimmo+Timonen, Philadelphia+Flyers,
Comments
Be the first to comment.
Add a Comment
Please limit embedded image or media size to 575 pixels wide.
Add your own avatar by joining Kukla's Korner, or logging in and uploading one in your member control panel.
Captchas bug you? Join KK or log in and you won't have to bother.
Commenting is not available in this weblog entry.
Most Recent Blog Posts
New Jersey Devils Make The Finals
Los Angeles Kings Make The Stanley Cup Finals
Another Potentially Important Signing
World Hockey Championships: Medal Round
About The Puck Stops Here
The Puck Stops Here was founded during the 2004/05 lockout as a place to rant about hockey. The original site contains over 1000 posts, some of which were also published on FoxSports.com.
Who am I?
A diehard hockey fan.
Why am I blogging?
I want to.
Why are you reading it?
???
Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Donate to Kukla’s Korner