South-east article

HOTLANTA · Guru

South-east article

VanIslander · Guru

It is unfortunate that the Atlanta g.m. was unavailable for interview. I waited over 24 hours, and through a live draft, but couldn't make contact with you in time for the story.

The direct quote: "...coach Barry Trotz will have a bunch of underachievers, possible bust-out players or plain busts. Zednik, Hannan, Hecht and Denis have danced with fans' minds: one step backward,... two steps forward?"

Hannan and hecht have been fine but they certainly have not lived up to all expectations, Denis was solid but many have said he hasn't lived up to all expectations recently and Zednik, well, we know.

Maybe Hannan will be a Norris finalist someday as was hyped before, and maybe Hecht will become a bonafide Top-50 player, but they haven't quite taken that next step. Yet.

HOTLANTA · Guru

never once have i heard hannan and norris potential thats just not his role, hes a shutdown defensive d-man not to many of them get hyped norris contenders players like bouwmeester, pitkanen guys with more of an offensive game get that hype while players like hannan are keys to winning teams and the roles invaluable.

and never in a million years was hecht supposed to be a top 50 nhler a great second liner and quality first liner not a star give me a break..

denis hasnt been given a chance to succeed with the columbus team in front of him no goalie would look good he'll be given a chance to shine in tb and with him being a great goalie (team canada player) he will end up being a steal in this draft.

i was unavaible for contact because mirc doesnt work on my cpu, that doesnt mean u have to make statements about my team that are untrue look at the insider article that guy seems to know what hes talking about

Philippe27 · Guru

Islander is right, hannan was talked about as an unbelievable D in the 2003 playoffs after shutting down Forsberg and since then we have barely heard about him. He did disappoint.

VanIslander · Guru

Philippe27 wrote:

Islander is right, hannan was talked about as an unbelievable D in the 2003 playoffs after shutting down Forsberg and since then we have barely heard about him. He did disappoint.

this does NOT mean he is BAD... only, as stated in the article, part of a bunch of "underachievers"

Hannan is certainly not talked much about anymore on HFBoards and all that means is he isn't the flavour of the month. But still... he was touted as a Top-10 d-man, and he is close to that as a defensive d-man, but not as defenseman in general.

I guess he is a MARGINAL underachiever, and arguably not one (except by his rabbid supporters, hype always goes too far).

Is his present 74 OV the highest he's capable of? is this what was expected of him at this point? I think not. He might still bust out into an elite defensive d-man like Witt, Ohlund, Foote,... he's not even rated as well as Vandermeer, Regehr, Norstrom, Hatcher... shoot! he's rated the same as Jackman, Gauthier, Gill, White, Smith, Brewer, McLaren.

Room for improvement based on the hype he used to receive.

HOTLANTA · Guru

lmao the reason he is an underachiever is because he isnt talked about on hf boards thats priceless u made my day with jokes like that bud , and also brendan witt an elite anything is comedy too

-- Edited by HOTLANTA at 14:57, 2006-08-05

HOTLANTA · Guru

Philippe27 wrote:

Islander is right, hannan was talked about as an unbelievable D in the 2003 playoffs after shutting down Forsberg and since then we have barely heard about him. He did disappoint.

we havent heard anything from him? hasnt it only been one season of hockey since then, and didnt his team make it to the second round and lose to eventual cup runners up, hes the best d-man on SJ and is going to be in the number one slot their for a long time. wilson and wilson love him and his game because they UNDERSTAND that just because a player isnt getting much publicity doesnt mean he is playing bad. and ur rite he did shut down forsberg in the playoffs something not to many people alive can say they've done..

-- Edited by HOTLANTA at 15:04, 2006-08-05

Philippe27 · Guru

HOTLANTA wrote:

lmao the reason he is an underachiever is because he isnt talked about on hf boards thats priceless u made my day with jokes like that bud , and also brendan witt an elite anything is comedy too

-- Edited by HOTLANTA at 14:57, 2006-08-05

I agreed that Hannan is an undderachiever but Witt just sucks.

Philippe27 · Guru

HOTLANTA wrote:

Philippe27 wrote:

Islander is right, hannan was talked about as an unbelievable D in the 2003 playoffs after shutting down Forsberg and since then we have barely heard about him. He did disappoint.

we havent heard anything from him? hasnt it only been one season of hockey since then, and didnt his team make it to the second round and lose to eventual cup runners up, hes the best d-man on SJ and is going to be in the number one slot their for a long time. wilson and wilson love him and his game because they UNDERSTAND that just because a player isnt getting much publicity doesnt mean he is playing bad. and ur rite he did shut down forsberg in the playoffs something not to many people alive can say they've done..

-- Edited by HOTLANTA at 15:04, 2006-08-05

I never said he wasn't good. After those playoffs, he was a guy we talked about and though he'd be a solid D on Team Canada for years to come. When it came time to select the '06 Team I didn't hear his name mentionned at all. He went from 6th or 7th best Canadian D and 2 seasons later when he should reach his prime, he is about top 15-20.

I like the guy and he is good but I just think Jay was right when he said Hannan is an underachiever.

HOTLANTA · Guru

HE ISNT A OFFENSIVE D-MAN WHY THE HELL WOULD HE BE PUT ON THE OLYMPIC ICE??? how many olympics did scott stevens shine at?? none ur right. as a NHL defenseman he is a very good defensive d-man not to many guys u would pick to shut down an opposing team's top line because he doesnt put up great points in the nhl and had a bad first half of the nhl season (like the whole sharks roster before joey got their) he is rated poorly. Do u watch nhl hockey or just play fhl sim and talk on hf boards, and check stats jw?

nuckfan · Veteran Member

I'm with Atlanta on this one. Was Hannan ever expected to be a top 15 d-man from Canada? Those are lofty expectations for anyone. Has Hannan reached that potential.... absolutely. He was never expected to be a point producer, though he is starting to get some PP time, however is certainly one of the best defensive d-men in the league. Will he ever get looked at as a Norris candidate? Not a chance. Not since Rod Langway has there been a purely defensive d-man considered for the trophy unless they can rack up some decent points.

Comparing Hannan to Brendan Witt is the biggest insult i've ever seen. Not to mention putting Jim Vandermeer anywhere near that kind of range.

Sabres · Guru

HOTLANTA wrote:

HE ISNT A OFFENSIVE D-MAN WHY THE HELL WOULD HE BE PUT ON THE OLYMPIC ICE??? how many olympics did scott stevens shine at?? none ur right. as a NHL defenseman he is a very good defensive d-man not to many guys u would pick to shut down an opposing team's top line because he doesnt put up great points in the nhl and had a bad first half of the nhl season (like the whole sharks roster before joey got their) he is rated poorly. Do u watch nhl hockey or just play fhl sim and talk on hf boards, and check stats jw?

Actually, hannan was looked at closely by team canada when they were making their selections. Had hannan not been so brutal the first half the season and played like he did in the 2nd half, there is no doubt he would have made the team. After the Olympic break hannan had the highest Plus/minus ratio in the league.

HOTLANTA · Guru

VanIslander wrote:

Philippe27 wrote:

Islander is right, hannan was talked about as an unbelievable D in the 2003 playoffs after shutting down Forsberg and since then we have barely heard about him. He did disappoint.

this does NOT mean he is BAD... only, as stated in the article, part of a bunch of "underachievers"

Hannan is certainly not talked much about anymore on HFBoards and all that means is he isn't the flavour of the month. But still... he was touted as a Top-10 d-man, and he is close to that as a defensive d-man, but not as defenseman in general.

I guess he is a MARGINAL underachiever, and arguably not one (except by his rabbid supporters, hype always goes too far).

Is his present 74 OV the highest he's capable of? is this what was expected of him at this point? I think not. He might still bust out into an elite defensive d-man like Witt, Ohlund, Foote,... he's not even rated as well as Vandermeer, Regehr, Norstrom, Hatcher... shoot! he's rated the same as Jackman, Gauthier, Gill, White, Smith, Brewer, McLaren.

he wasnt comparing him to witt he was saying, "he might bust out into an elite defensive d-man like witt." lmao

HOTLANTA · Guru

but on the olympic ice doesnt suit his game and phaneuf will be the young stud for canadian defense

Sabres · Guru

I agree, however next year in vancouver the ice will be NHL regulation. Something to do with costing millions to change the ice size so IIHF said the ice for the Olympic would be NHL size. Someone may want to check on that but i'm pretty sure thats the case.