The Players Tribune is a wonderful site that allows players to contribute original articles, giving the fans of the game a truly inside look at the mind of today’s great professional athletes.
The NHL players that have contributed pieces to the site have done an incredible job at informing not only the hockey fan-base, but the sports fan-base as a whole, as to what today’s NHL game is like.
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Some of these awesome articles include Brandon Prust’s ‘Why We Fight’ article. He gives an incredible look at the reasoning behind one of hockey’s most iconic aspects, fighting. His article includes a moment in which one of his teammates was injured against the Ducks and he then proceeded to fight Anaheim Ducks defensemen Clayton Stoner. It’s an awesome read.
Other articles include Logan Couture’s ‘Elite Centers 101’ article where he identifies some of the leagues top centers and what makes them so special and difficult to play against. Kevin Shattenkirk followed the trend with his ‘Elite Defensemen 101’ articles where he identifies today’s top blue-liners.
The most recent post came from Los Angeles Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick. The article followed Couture and Shattenkirk’s trend. Quick’s article is called ‘Elite Snipers 101’. In the article Quick talks about the toughest scorers and playmakers he faces every night.
You’d think as the goalie of the Kings that Quick would give no love to any Ducks player. Well, he actually did quite the opposite.
I started to read the article’s opening paragraphs and thought, “there is no way this guy is going to give any love to Getzlaf or Perry…. especially Perry” Well the first player he chose to write about was a combo package of Getzlaf and Perry…..
If you have watched any Ducks game ever, you know that Corey Perry is probably the most talented agitator in the NHL. Every time the Ducks and Kings face each other, Jonathan Quick seems to be noticeably annoyed with Perry. It often appears as though Quick is having to remind the ref to look for things Perry is doing as Perry is often the guy that likes to annoy goalies and get them off of their game. He does this to Quick all of the time.
Well, with Quick choosing to write about Perry and Getzlaf first, you can tell there’s a respect between the rivals.
Quick talks about Getzlaf and Perry being elite possession players who control the puck in threatening areas. He constantly expresses how Getzlaf and Perry make life extremely difficult on opposing goaltenders when they control the puck below the net.
This is probably the most notable takeaway from his comments on Getzlaf and Perry. To the average fan, if Getzlaf and Perry aren’t scoring it appears to be an average shift. To a goalie like Quick, when Getzlaf and Perry control the puck like they usually do, it tires opponents out and that directly benefits their teammates, just as Quick pointed out.
Quick notes that today’s NHL game has an emphasis on possession stats. He gives Getzlaf and Perry credit for being guys that would have the best possession numbers in threatening areas or situations.
This article really gives you an idea of how good Getzlaf and Perry are. They give the Ducks their identity as a grind it out fore-checking team that can control the puck and tire you out over a 60 minute game. This style often leads to big 3rd periods and great comebacks (enter the ‘comeback kids’ nickname) and if you don’t think that Getzlaf and Perry are the guys leading that trend with their style of play, then your crazy!
The Ducks are big and they know it. Their physical and use it to their advantage in controlling the puck and that all starts with Getzlaf and Perry. Getzlaf and Perry are arguably the most dynamic duo in todays NHL game.
Don’t believe me? Take another look at the article written by the goalie who probably hates them the most.Respect.