Koivu - will the Habs cry Boohoo?
Nicholas Winton
(they of the cursed offense), does he have any hope of being anything other
than another Gilbert Dionne? I mean what is he 5'7 - what hope is there for
a one dimensional player? Or does anyone know if he in fact is strong and
physical.
If this is not true, then Montreal is in for another hyped up disappointment
i.e. Bellows, Turgeon, Damphousse, Dionne etc etc.
NIc
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CampusLife - University of Toronto
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Richard McConnell
> At his size, and being only an offensive player (not physical) in Montreal
> (they of the cursed offense), does he have any hope of being anything other
> than another Gilbert Dionne? I mean what is he 5'7 - what hope is there for
> a one dimensional player? Or does anyone know if he in fact is strong and
> physical.
> If this is not true, then Montreal is in for another hyped up disappointment
> i.e. Bellows, Turgeon, Damphousse, Dionne etc etc.
Apparently Koivu is a very gritty, two way forward (despite his
small size) a la Doug Gilmour (at least that's what the early reports
have said. It's one thing being gritty and tough in the Finnish
leagues and another doing it in the NHL.)
P.S. How can you call Turgeon a "hyped-up disappointment", anyway?
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Richard McConnell,3rd Year Geography
Carleton University, Ottawa Ont, CANADA
There is no substitute for a genuine lack of preparation.
Email address: rmcc...@chat.carleton.ca
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Kostadis Roussos
In article <10742660...@campuslife.utoronto.ca> Nichola...@campuslife.utoronto.ca (Nicholas Winton) writes:
> being anything other than another Gilbert Dionne? I mean what is he
> 5'7 - what hope is there for a one dimensional player?
He is 5'9 so please straighten out your facts first.
However, here is why I think Koivu *MAY* be the real thing:
His record in Finland is spectacular. He achieved point totals that
have not been reached by any Finnish player that plays in the US. He
has been a super star in Europe. The Finns have been really really
hot on this guy. I have not seen such 'chest thumping' and 'flag
waving' about a single player in many many a year. So the statistical
record and the record in Finland seem to indicate that this guy is a
'superstar'.
Past record indicates that 'European SuperStars' can and do perform in
the NHL which is supposedly more physical:
1. Bure.
2. Fedorov.
3. Forsberg.
4. Selanne.
5. Mogilny.
If Koivu is half the player these guys are he will be a tremendous
addition to the Habs. His record in Europe seems to indicate he is
their equal.
Or to put it differntly only a Don Cherry activist would say Koivu is
doomed.
>Or does anyone know if he in fact is strong and physical.
Well he has a large number of 'penalty' minute whatever that means.
> If this is not true, then Montreal is in for another hyped up
> disappointment i.e. Bellows, Turgeon, Damphousse, Dionne etc etc.
Bellows was not a dissapointment. we expected him to score 30-40 goals
which he did.
Damphouse was not a dissapointment. We expected him to score 80-95
points a season which he did.
cheers,
kostadis
HANNU L A HIETANEN, 931-2407 306
> At his size, and being only an offensive player (not physical) in Montreal
> than another Gilbert Dionne? I mean what is he 5'7 - what hope is there for
> physical.
It is true that Saku is not too big. But he is certainly not 5'7!!
According to my latest information he is 177cm - that is about 5'10.
And he is definitely a two-way player. He is not afraid of physical game.
He takes and gives hits. And what's even more decisive, he is very agile.
I suppose your defenders will be in big trouble when Saku is spinning
around them... If Saku won't score then his linemates will do!!
Usually the opponents have to use dirty tricks to stop Koivu. Did you see
the WC '94 final between Finland and Canada?? Even Rob Blake lost his nerves
because of Koivu and used a high elbow on Saku's face. One moment I thought
that Saku will try to revenge(!!!), but fortunately he remembered what's
the best for his team and kept on playing... Sometimes Saku is even too
hot and may fight with bigger boys. But I suppose that in the NHL he should
leave that "fun" to other ones... However all this shows you that Saku isn't
any "soft" player. And he really puts all his heart in the game. Quite often
you can read dirty words from his lips if he has failed in scoring etc.
It isn't always so nice for the kids but he really has some guts...
E.g. our Swedish friends have seen quite a much of Koivu and I suppose
that most of them agree with me if I say that Saku is a real impact player.
You certainly will notice him when he is there on the ice... 8)
I'm quite sure that Saku won't put up similar numbers as Selanne did
during his rookie season. Montreal has different style of playing and
even Recchi and Turgeon might be left under 100 pts. But as a whole package
Saku is a better player than Teemu Selanne. However, good luck for both
of them!!! GO FINNS GO !!!
Hannu
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>> GO JETS GO ! >>>>> FINLAND - WORLD CHAMPIONS IN 1995 >>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>> TAPPARA >>>>>> CANADIENS >>>>>>> BLACKHAWKS >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Nicholas Winton
Sorry, to clarify, I meant a "hyped-up disappointment" to the French media
who hail every French forward arriving in Montreal as the next Guy Lafleur
who will lead them to the Cup. To be fair, the Habs need more than a
goal-scorer - perhaps some leadership and experience, while their ace, Roy,
can still stone the opposition.
I'd like to see Roy put the Haseks, Lachers etc. of the league back in their
place by winning a few rounds in this year's playoffs, to show everyone
(again) what a real goaler is made of.
Teemu Niiranen
>(they of the cursed offense), does he have any hope of being anything other
>than another Gilbert Dionne? I mean what is he 5'7 - what hope is there for
>a one dimensional player? Or does anyone know if he in fact is strong and
>physical.
I live in the same town, that Saku Koivu played last year: Turku,
Finland. His height is between 5'10" and 5'11". Last year he made more
points than Teemu Selanne made in any of his seasons. And I can assure
you that he's a better player than Selanne or Kurri. I don't know how
strong he is but I can assure you that he is pysical.
David DeWayne Bricker
I don't know how big he is, but some people from his country are really
hyping him up. I've been arguing with one guy who insists that Koivu
will break all of Greatzky's records and lead the Habs to many Cups.
Come On!!!!
Alex
In a previous article, Nichola...@campuslife.utoronto.ca (Nicholas Winton) says:
>At his size, and being only an offensive player (not physical) in Montreal
>(they of the cursed offense), does he have any hope of being anything other
>than another Gilbert Dionne? I mean what is he 5'7 - what hope is there for
>a one dimensional player? Or does anyone know if he in fact is strong and
>physical.
>
>If this is not true, then Montreal is in for another hyped up disappointment
>i.e. Bellows, Turgeon, Damphousse, Dionne etc etc.
>
>
Staffan Axelsson
>
> It is true that Saku is not too big. But he is certainly not 5'7!!
> According to my latest information he is 177cm - that is about 5'10.
>
> And he is definitely a two-way player. He is not afraid of physical game.
> He takes and gives hits. And what's even more decisive, he is very agile.
> I suppose your defenders will be in big trouble when Saku is spinning
> around them... If Saku won't score then his linemates will do!!
>
> that most of them agree with me if I say that Saku is a real impact player.
> You certainly will notice him when he is there on the ice... 8)
>
in his career... just kidding! Just mention WC'95 and the Swedes
have nightmares. It's for sure that Koivu will put up good numbers
in the NHL; possibly Forsberg-like or even better depending on how
how well he adjusts and how Montreal as a team performs. I wouldn't
worry about his size, from what we've seen so for he can play the
corners as well as anybody else.
Staffan
HANNU L A HIETANEN, 931-2407 306
> C'mon, Hannu, Koivu is just a small sh*t that has been lucky so far
> in his career... just kidding!
Well, I almost thought that travelling over the Big Water has made
Staffan crazy! But fortunately he still seems to be the same realistic
person... 8)
> Just mention WC'95 and the Swedes
> have nightmares. It's for sure that Koivu will put up good numbers
> in the NHL; possibly Forsberg-like or even better depending on how
> how well he adjusts and how Montreal as a team performs. I wouldn't
> worry about his size, from what we've seen so for he can play the
> corners as well as anybody else.
Remembering that he will play on the Habs it would be just great if he
could repeat Forsberg's numbers. Nobody seems to be scoring on the Habs ...
However I'm quite certain that Koivu will be something worth of watching.
HANNU L A HIETANEN, 931-2407 306
>
> I don't know how big he is, but some people from his country are really
> hyping him up. I've been arguing with one guy who insists that Koivu
> will break all of Greatzky's records and lead the Habs to many Cups.
> Come On!!!!
Well, somebody must be dreaming... Anybody won't break Gretzky's
records for _fifty_ years!!! At least not all of them... 8)