Bill Meltzer: Flyers Top 25 in 25: Therien; Quick Hits on Watson, Dupre, ECHL Team & More

Way too much tragedy for one hockey team:
Ashbee
Dupre
Pelle
Tertyshny

On a happier note, I always loved watching Bundy just own Jagr!

2) Speaking of the Maine Mariners, the new Comcast-Spectacor owned ECHL club in Portland is conducting a name-the-team poll. The five finalist names are Mariners, Puffins, Watchmen, Lumberjacks and Wild Blueberries.

Please let it be Wild Blueberries...

If you can have Mighty Ducks or the Macon Whoopee, you can definitely have Wild Blueberries.

If Wild Blueberries is you can't NOT vote for that, right?

Although any death early death is tragic, I do remember the Dimitri Tertyshny
as being quite gruesome and one of the worst when your number comes stories ever.
Died while trying to be sure to use up the complete boat rental time if memory serves. Our tragedy as a team is sad sometimes to look at.

Please let it be Wild Blueberries...

If you can have Mighty Ducks or the Macon Whoopee, you can definitely have Wild Blueberries.
- WhirlingDervish

I voted for Sea Cucumbers followed by Sea Urchins and the Sea Kelps.

Way too much tragedy for one hockey team:
Ashbee
Dupre
Pelle
Tertyshny

On a happier note, I always loved watching Bundy just own Jagr!

- BiggE

Bundy was one of those guys for me that just slid under radar game in game out turning in solid games quietly.

Big fan of Bundy and always will be. Class guy through and through.

Therien was a solid defenseman overall, but the game had glaringly gone beyond his skills the last few years of his career.

However, I really enjoy his presence during broadcasts. I never liked Steve Coates. Even as a kid, he annoyed the hell out of me. Bundy is pretty good between the benches.

Great blog as usual Bill, thank you!

That hit from Therien is so classic. While a great highlight reel, he puts himself out of the play more than Straka. Just classic Bundy and some of the other big slow Dmen in the NHL (Hatcher, Rajthe, Gautheir, etc.). Not saying it always happened or every big Dman did/does it, but you have to call a spade a spade and recognize that some of those hits did not/do not aid the team as much as perhaps first appears. Perhaps that is one of the reasons players like Therien (and of course that forwards now are just too fast for them to defend) have been fazed out. Intimidation is important but the 'big' hit doesn't always separate the player from the play which is the primary objective.

Great blog as usual Bill, thank you!

That hit from Therien is so classic. While a great highlight reel, he puts himself out of the play more than Straka. Just classic Bundy and some of the other big slow Dmen in the NHL (Hatcher, Rajthe, Gautheir, etc.). Not saying it always happened or every big Dman did/does it, but you have to call a spade a spade and recognize that some of those hits did not/do not aid the team as much as perhaps first appears. Perhaps that is one of the reasons players like Therien (and of course that forwards now are just too fast for them to defend) have been fazed out. Intimidation is important but the 'big' hit doesn't always separate the player from the play which is the primary objective.
- coffee junkie

I agree with your overall point here (although Hatch hung on longer than those other guys), but the hit on Straka was solid. Separated the man from the puck, had Desjardins for backup and LeClair retrieved the puck from the corner. That's just nice hockey there.

Great blog as usual Bill, thank you!

That hit from Therien is so classic. While a great highlight reel, he puts himself out of the play more than Straka. Just classic Bundy and some of the other big slow Dmen in the NHL (Hatcher, Rajthe, Gautheir, etc.). Not saying it always happened or every big Dman did/does it, but you have to call a spade a spade and recognize that some of those hits did not/do not aid the team as much as perhaps first appears. Perhaps that is one of the reasons players like Therien (and of course that forwards now are just too fast for them to defend) have been fazed out. Intimidation is important but the 'big' hit doesn't always separate the player from the play which is the primary objective.
- coffee junkie

Therien was quite mobile for a big-framed defenseman in the earlier portion of his career. Not quite in Braydon Coburn territory but closer to that than a Mark Tinordi type. Late in his career, not as much.

I also tend to give the big defenseman who got caught in that transition period post-lockout a little more slack. You have a guy like Hatcher or Rathje who had been taught their entire playing lives to use their size and strength to tie guys up, grab them, hack and slash, then within a year being told "nope, those are all penalties now". I think we forget how drastically the game changed from 2003-04 to 2005-06. The game is definitely better for it now, but that was a tough thing for those big lumbering defensemen to adapt to. So many players were shredded for not having the skating ability to play that game, but people forgot that a year prior to that, they didn't necessarily need it.

I also tend to give the big defenseman who got caught in that transition period post-lockout a little more slack. You have a guy like Hatcher or Rathje who had been taught their entire playing lives to use their size and strength to tie guys up, grab them, hack and slash, then within a year being told "nope, those are all penalties now". I think we forget how drastically the game changed from 2003-04 to 2005-06. The game is definitely better for it now, but that was a tough thing for those big lumbering defensemen to adapt to. So many players were shredded for not having the skating ability to play that game, but people forgot that a year prior to that, they didn't necessarily need it.
- FloHaake

SO true, if you go back and watch hockey during the "clutch and grab" era it's almost hard to watch.

Great blog as usual Bill, thank you!

That hit from Therien is so classic. While a great highlight reel, he puts himself out of the play more than Straka. Just classic Bundy and some of the other big slow Dmen in the NHL (Hatcher, Rajthe, Gautheir, etc.). Not saying it always happened or every big Dman did/does it, but you have to call a spade a spade and recognize that some of those hits did not/do not aid the team as much as perhaps first appears. Perhaps that is one of the reasons players like Therien (and of course that forwards now are just too fast for them to defend) have been fazed out. Intimidation is important but the 'big' hit doesn't always separate the player from the play which is the primary objective.
- coffee junkie

How about Sam Morin? Where does he fit in to that analysis. Derian Hatcher was a Norris trophy finalist and a top defenseman in the league at one point in his career. Rathje before having physical issues was a very good player.

I think your analysis of that highlight is puzzling. Therien didn't take himself out of the play, he ended the play! He ignored the puck and took the body and eliminated the threat. It's text book.

Therien was a solid defenseman overall, but the game had glaringly gone beyond his skills the last few years of his career.

However, I really enjoy his presence during broadcasts. I never liked Steve Coates. Even as a kid, he annoyed the hell out of me. Bundy is pretty good between the benches.
- FloHaake

Coatesy was obnoxious, but Coatsey's corner had it's moments.

Coatesy was obnoxious, but Coatsey's corner had it's moments.
- Pelle31Forever

I can still hear the theme song in my head. I'll admit the little rivalry him and Therien had was kinda funny. But in game? Coatsey was, as you said, obnoxious. Not very articulate, always yelling, just a really annoying guy.

I also don't like Keith Jones that much in the booth. Much prefer Clement. It also irks me that Jonesy does all of the NBC stuff.

SO true, if you go back and watch hockey during the "clutch and grab" era it's almost hard to watch.
- WhirlingDervish

It just an entirely different way of playing. You can say it's "tougher", which I guess when it came to scoring goals, it was. But there's also those fans that feel the game now isn't as "tough", which is hilarious. I'd argue that with the speed at which the game moves, the fitness of the players, the game is just as tough, if not tougher, than it was 15-20 years ago. Just because guys can stand in the front of the net without being absolutely mauled by defensemen doesn't mean it's any less of a "tough" game (lack of a better term).

The speed of decision making alone makes it a much more difficult game to master today than in the 90's-00's. One thing that stands out when watching older highlights is how slow the puck moves when passing. I know sticks have gotten lighter, but still. Some of the passes up ice look like a men's league game! Most passes that soft in a game today would get picked in a second.

So was Therien showing up as a 23 year old and immediately being a big part of the defense in 94-95 a shock to most fans at the time? Back in those early internet days it must have been much harder to follow the development of prospects.

Coatesy was obnoxious, but Coatsey's corner had it's moments.
- Pelle31Forever

meh

"Puffins kept pecking away at the Swamp Rabbits."
"Puffins swarmed the Eagles."
"Puffins slow down the Rush."
"Puffins dine on Walleye."
"Puffins steal one from the Grizzlies."

I've got more. Puffins is a goldmine for writers.

I can still hear the theme song in my head. I'll admit the little rivalry him and Therien had was kinda funny. But in game? Coatsey was, as you said, obnoxious. Not very articulate, always yelling, just a really annoying guy.

I also don't like Keith Jones that much in the booth. Much prefer Clement. It also irks me that Jonesy does all of the NBC stuff.
- FloHaake

Keith Jones has a sense of humor that helps. By the way I hope you do too because I accidentally flagged this instead of the quote icon.

meh
- ob18

The bit with G and Gange making fun of him him French was good.

Keith Jones has a sense of humor that helps. By the way I hope you do too because I accidentally flagged this instead of the quote icon.
- Pelle31Forever

Bill is funnier and way more of a homer, which I like when watching a home broadcast.

Therien beat Weise in speed even when he was over 500 pounds.