The Erik "Kid" Karlsson appreciation thread

Yikes, careful about using Phillips as the epitome of defensive defenceman.

NEELY wrote:

Big Ev wrote:

NEELY wrote:

Big Ev wrote:He will never be the best d-man in the league, as he will need to be elite defensively for that to be the case. I do think he is currently the best offensive d-man in the league. I also don't think he is terrible defensively. He has handled things well in his own end this year, aside from games here and there. He just will never be able to be a truly elite d-man all=around. And that's not dissing him at all, it's just physically impossible for him. It's great that a) he isn't soft and b) he does work hard to improve his game. You can tell by watching him this year.

And of course the Sens wouldn't trade him. I was being facetious.

That logic makes no sense. By all accounts, he could actually be the best player in the NHL but by your definition he couldn't be the best defenseman. Pretty easy to be good defensivly when you have the puck the entire game.

No, that logic makes no sense. I really don't know how my post made no sense.

Because he is "average" defensivly means he isn't the best defenseman. So why isn't the Norris given out to guys like Phillips every year? It's the defenseman that has the biggest impact in the NHL basically. The guy the beats teams because he is on the ice, the guy that logs 25-30 mins a night.

Karlsson having the puck the entire game means he doesn't need to throw hits, play the percentages, have a good stick, so on. There is way more to be said for a guy that controls the game vs the guy who needs to adjust becuase of the game. Karlsson controls it from the drop of the puck.

You know I didn't mean it that way. Phillips is one-dimensional. Pure shut-down guys are one-dimensional. We're talking all-around here. Fact is Green was the best defenseman offensively in hockey 2-3 years ago but he didn't win the Norris. A guy like Kris Letang is who Karlsson should thrive to become. He's a bit bigger and older but he is the perfect mix of sick offense and defense. Karlsson is already there offensively though. If Karlsson improves his defensive game just a tad, we might look at him as one of the best all-around guys one day. He doesn't need to be a Marc Staal or anything like that though.

But like I said even if he doesn't, his offense more than makes up for it and we have and will have some good partners to play with him to take care of the defensive duties more often than not.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=605018

Erik Karlsson, just 21, has taken the Ottawa Senators by storm, blossoming into an offensive powerhouse, a veteran defenseman and a leader among his peers this season.

THe Murray quote is funny: "I expected everything"

Karlsson is the PS3 of hockey players -- he only does everything.