Christian “Hassle” Hoff
January 8th, 2009, 11:09 am
The Sharks recent minor skid can be attributed to a number of things. Facing tougher competition? Check. A barrage of injuries to key components? Check. A rapid decline in effectiveness of your fourth defenseman who sees over 20 minutes of ice time per game…..Apparently, Check.
Christian Ehrhoff has lost his mojo, baby. Here are his numbers for the last ten games, where the Sharks have gone 6-2-2.
0 goals
1 assist
-10
21 shots for a shooting percentage of 0%
Oh man. That’s not very good is it? I know what you’re thinking, everyone’s numbers must be off during this period, right?
Rob Blake 1 goal 4 assists +4
Dan Boyle 2 goals 5 assists -3
Brad Lukowich 0 points +2
Pickles 0 goals 2 assists +2
Oops. Ehrhoff’s -10 is a glaring WTF is going on here type of stat!!! It’s alarming actually. No wonder McLellan benched The Hoff for the Dallas game. Isn’t it time to sit him some more? While I applaud his physical play in the Islanders game, it’s not like he exactly got the message about being responsible since being benched since he’s a -5 in his last three games. YEEESSH. With one point since November 17th, what has happened here? He has regressed into the Ehrhoff of old. According to Andrew Peters of the Buffalo Sabres, “His game bites” (Sorry couldn’t resist).
So, I’m calling for the benching of the Hoff. Let’s see what Joslin has to offer, since it can’t be worse than what Christian has been bringing to the table, right? Joslin has earned the chance and was chosen as an AHL All Star this season. Let him play for a four game stretch and see what the results are. If Joslin can wheel and deal, then DW has some roster flexibility at the deadline. If he stinks, then back to the Hoff.
What do you say, Sharks fans?
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To bench Ehrhoff is what I think Ron Wilson would have done. You can see the same with McLellan’s approach to Nabokov who may be playing too many games as well.
McLellan gives a chance for players to redeem themselves and pick themselves up. JR did nicely, and so did Nabby after Detroit’s game.
Besides, Joslin may still be too young and inexperienced to play 20 minutes a game in place of Ehrhoff.
Your other option would be to allow Semenov play 15-20 minutes a game. Is that what we want?
A good point, Cougar – and I absolutely would NOT want Frankenstein out there in Ehrhoff’s place. On the other hand, I think Joslin’s progress at Worcester can’t be ignored. He’s on pace for around a 50 point season and is an AHL All Star in just his 2nd season out of Juniors. Let’s not forget, Joslin is only 21 years old.
I’m not sure he’s ready either, but with Ehrhoff’s struggles, it may be worth finding out what Joslin’s made of.
I don’t want to bring Joslin up to replace Semenov because when we’re healthy Semenov doesn’t play and I’d rather Joslin get ice time in the minors, same with Moore.
I’m all for sitting Erhoff for 3 or 4 games and seeing what Joslin can do with serious ice time. Maybe not 20 minutes, I’m sure some of our other D-men can skate an extra minute or two during the game to make up for it. A solid 15 minutes for a night for a few games will be a good test for the kid and I’d pair him with somebody like Blake so there is a veteran out there that can keep an eye on him.
If it works out I’d keep Joslin up and rotate Erhoff and him back and forth and send Semenov down (what a shame it would be if he got picked up off waivers. . . ). Maybe Erhoff will pick up his game and we can use the extra solid D-man to rotate rest for some of our d-men on back to back nights or long road trips, and of course to deal with injuries without letting the Frankenstein monster back on the ice. The important (and very tricky) bit is not to take away any significant development time from our younger guys but at the same time not to continue to hurt the teams chances this year.
Interesting stats. I like Ehrhoff but he hasn’t been doing well. I’m not sure if benching is necessarily the solution, though becuase i get the impression it might be a confidence-related issue. Who knows!
If you guys have time, do you think you could do some kind of stats comparison of before and after the Pavelski injury? I’m starting to suspect that something is still going on with him and I’m wondering how much it’s affecting the team’s play
I don’t think that benching Hoff is the right solution. The stats don’t lie — he is in a slump during the “dog days” of the season. Showing confidence in him will pay dividends in the long run. He played the best hockey of his career in the early part of this season and I think that will return. We are spoiled by having Pickles who is so young, solid and consistant.