I've mentioned in previous posts that most of my live sport-watching has been at football grounds, and the 'culture shock' when I started watching ice hockey was pretty immense. Obviously football is supposed to be a non-contact sport (although there are players who regularly choose to forget that...) As a newcomer to hockey it took a lot of getting used to seeing players being pushed towards the boards and pushed around in general but it's mostly legal and expected. Similarly with roughing and fights - they're so rare in football that it takes a lot of getting used to them kind of being part of the game in hockey. It still makes me laugh, that term "roughing"...approximately translated as "trying to kick seven bells out of someone"...
The news this week that Elite League players Andre Payette and Sean 'The Sheriff' McMorrow are looking for new clubs has provoked some intriguing responses, primarily because I gather both players are known for not exactly shying away from the rough stuff.
I may be still getting to grips with ice hockey but I get the impression from what I've heard and read that the self-styled Sheriff (loves himself, much - giving himself a moniker??!) rarely walks away from a fight. He only signed for Dundee Stars in August, but inside three months it was announced that he was leaving "by mutual consent". It wasn't difficult to read between the lines of the club's official statement: "We felt that both the club and Sean would be better served by this decision". In other words, it's not working out and the sooner he's someone else's problem, the better.
Dundee Stars are currently one place off the bottom of the Elite league with only five points from 17 games. From the 13 games he played for Stars he's already spent 70 penalty minutes in the sin bin. Now even with my limited knowledge of the game, that strikes me as a lot. Something's obviously gone horribly wrong for Dundee to want rid already. So where now for the sheriff?
At the time of writing, Sheffield Steeldogs have been mooted as a possible home for him, despite doubts about how they'd pay his salary (or how any EPL team would pay him, for that matter). Steeldogs' coach Matt Darlow seems to think hiring McMorrow would make his side appear less of a pushover; but would you really want an influential player spending so much time in the sinbin serving penalties for roughing when he could be making his presence felt by scoring goals? Or are you hiring him to scare the opposition and get their players sent to the penalty box too?
Some views from the MKL forum point to not wanting too much fighting in the EPL game (should Payette or McMorrow sign for Sheffield this week, they'll be coming to the Thunderdome this weekend) and you don't want to be shorthanded on the ice too often. But there seem to be equally as many opposing views which say that 'agitators' have a valid role, fighting is part of the entertainment...entertainment equals paying punters through the doors....which in turn means an improved atmosphere - so if you have a player like our G-Man - or Messrs Payette/McMorrow - then it's all part of the gameplan. He might rack up penalty minutes but he'll annoy the oppo and might also score the odd goal, and the supporters will be relatively happy.
Back in the EIHL, Newcastle Vipers are having a very tough time of it (I saw them play on home turf a few weeks ago and they were awful...dreadful scrappy game that we couldn't wait to get out of. I got to wondering what the difference between EIHL and EPL was, because based on that game, the answer definitely wasn't the quality of play). After an 8-0 stuffing at the weekend the Vipers' management have promised player changes to stop the rot. On their Facebook page, one supporter remarked that they could do without their imports, because they have enough skill from their home grown players. Personally I think that's rubbish; in the case of MKL, yes there's a massive amount of skill in our Brits - but Monir, Smults, Lukas and Nick bring a huge amount of experience gained in the overseas game, which can only help. You only have to reflect on the games that Monir missed recently, and how much more of a cohesive unit we looked when he was back, to see how important he is to us. And none of our imports spend much time serving penalties.
All of which raises another issue: with restrictions on the number of imports you can have in an EPL team, is there a place for a player like McMorrow? Yes, 10 years' skills gained overseas will be beneficial - but if he's going to spend so much time in the penalty box (whilst also potentially being a big drain on the wages bill) - possible new employers need to decide on their priorities.
As far as MKL are concerned, I wouldn't contemplate swapping ANY of our imports for an overly-combative player like Payette or McMorrow may be perceived as. Even if Nick decided to pack away his boots this weekend to concentrate on coaching, I'd rather replace him with another skillful, workmanlike import, not someone who's up for dropping the gloves at any opportunity.
It's going to be interesting seeing where these two end up.
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