GAME DISCUSSION THREAD GDT: Buffalo at Los Angeles 11-07-13 at 10:30 PM EST

[JJFIVEOH]

Only in BFLO.......... can the hockey team likely finish last, with many issues needed to be taken care of, with many young players to gain experience, with veterans needed to be traded............ can the fans be complaining about the defensive awareness of their leading scorer.

 

 

 

 

 

Only in BFLO

[kishoph]

Turnovers, sloppy play; I really think the talk about "playing in the NHL is an honor" was directed at Hodgson.

 

I hate being the broken record type, I really do, but that guy plays every game like it's the first exhibition game of the season.

 

He plays like a spoiled child. I have spoiled children, I know what that looks like.

 

The way he played the other night compared to tonight is a complete opposite, the other night he actually battled for the puck, where as tonight not at all. The worse might have been where Ennis practically circled from behind him to chase down a puck that was 5 feet away from a coasting Hodgson, who made no effort to get to the puck. I'm critical of him, because I think he could be such a better player if he tried.

[Ghost of Dwight Drane]

Only in BFLO.......... can the hockey team likely finish last, with many issues needed to be taken care of, with many young players to gain experience, with veterans needed to be traded............ can the fans be complaining about the defensive awareness of their leading scorer.

 

 

 

 

 

Only in BFLO

 

Ted Bundy scored a lot......his sh!tty defense had him in a jail cell the rest of his life.......

[Hoss]

I would trade Hodgson and Moulson for first round picks and rely on those picks as a means for trading up.

 

I would keep Myers, and, surprise, Stafford. Trade Miller for a first round pick. Stock up during the draft and off-season, and go to town next season. I think the youngsters will be ready.

 

Oh my god. Give it a rest. You'd trade Hodgson but keep Myers and Stafford? Brilliant.

 

So many Sabres players are absolutely terrible on the defensive end, but Hodgson is the only one who gets major flack for it. At least he brings it on the offensive end. He's worth every penny and will be for years. He's a legitimate number two center being asked to lead the offense as the number one center.

[SwampD]

Only in BFLO.......... can the hockey team likely finish last, with many issues needed to be taken care of, with many young players to gain experience, with veterans needed to be traded............ can the fans be complaining about the defensive awareness of their leading scorer.

 

 

 

 

 

Only in BFLO

I don't care about that, well, not too much. I care about how soft he is on the boards and how many battles he loses. Make no mistake, when he has the puck, he's great with it, but unless someone else gives it to him, he rarely gets it himself.

[SabresBillsFan]

 

I'm not arguing with you. I'm just a little curious what a "worthless" player might bring in return

 

A puck bag!

[Ghost of Dwight Drane]

 

 

Oh my god. Give it a rest. You'd trade Hodgson but keep Myers and Stafford? Brilliant.

 

So many Sabres players are absolutely terrible on the defensive end, but Hodgson is the only one who gets major flack for it. At least he brings it on the offensive end. He's worth every penny and will be for years. He's a legitimate number two center being asked to lead the offense as the number one center.

 

I've had a few #2's that I thought were going to be a #1.................

[SwampD]

I've had a few #2's that I thought were going to be a #1.................

:lol:

[JJFIVEOH]

I don't care about that, well, not too much. I care about how soft he is on the boards and how many battles he loses. Make no mistake, when he has the puck, he's great with it, but unless someone else gives it to him, he rarely gets it himself.

 

That's why he's a center and not a winger. Once this team becomes a little more stacked, some of the younger forwards start to transition into top two liners, maybe make a trade or two or worf the free agent market, Hodgson might have some quality forwards to get him the puck. I totally see your point, and that is his weakness. But working the boards isn't one of his biggest responsibilities. If I had to choose between him working on a better shot or being better along the boards...... I'll take a better shot any day.

[grinreaper]

I've had a few #2's that I thought were going to be a #1.................

Depends, invest in them when you reach your age.

[SwampD]

That's why he's a center and not a winger. Once this team becomes a little more stacked, some of the younger forwards start to transition into top two liners, maybe make a trade or two or worf the free agent market, Hodgson might have some quality forwards to get him the puck. I totally see your point, and that is his weakness. But working the boards isn't one of his biggest responsibilities. If I had to choose between him working on a better shot or being better along the boards...... I'll take a better shot any day.

You and I are pretty far apart on this one.

 

 

And I know he's got five goals, but haven't three of them been deflections off his foot? Maybe it's only two.

[JJFIVEOH]

You and I are pretty far apart on this one.

 

 

And I know he's got five goals, but haven't three of them been deflections off his foot? Maybe it's only two.

 

I'm not sure how many have gone off his foot. One that I know of. My point is, at least half this team wouldn't be getting the kind of chances they are if they were on any other non-rebuilding team. Three or four of them wouldn't even be up right now. But, they are and probably will continue to get the opportunities all season. Many of these guys have a lot of improvements that need to be made, and this is the time to do it. They're not going to make the playoffs, so learn the ropes now and work on the weak points. For Hodgson it happens to be his defensive awareness. Even though he is older that our recent draft picks, he is still one of the young ones. I think it's really unfair for fans to rag on him because of his weaknesses at this point in time. Stop treating him (not you personally) like a Leino or Stafford because Hodgson is not a seasoned veteran yet. 13 points in 17 games on a team that is 2nd last in the league in scoring is pretty damn good. Focusing any criticism on the defensive ability of a scoring center on a team that might finish with the worst record in team history, is really grasping at straws.

[Trettioåtta]

Oh my god. Give it a rest. You'd trade Hodgson but keep Myers and Stafford? Brilliant.

 

So many Sabres players are absolutely terrible on the defensive end, but Hodgson is the only one who gets major flack for it. At least he brings it on the offensive end. He's worth every penny and will be for years. He's a legitimate number two center being asked to lead the offense as the number one center.

 

Thanks for saying that. My blood pressure spikes when people want Hodgson off this team for poor defence. The guy gets paid like a lower 2nd, upper 3rd liner and he produces like one. His defence can improve over time, you can't teach hockey IQ.

 

I really want to produce a list of salaries and rank them by cap hit, so that people can see players who earn similar amounts of money. When guys like Goose (a 4th line forward) are earning $3.3million, i would happily pay less than $1 million more and get a guy like Coho

 

Girgenson is probably the only guy i would describe as defensively responsible from our forwards this year.

[North Buffalo]

So if the Sabres lose on the West Coast but nobody watches the game.... does it count? Ah nuts there are actually 4 pages of comments... So, if a mouse squeeks, but nobody hears it, does the game count?

[deluca67]

I don't care about that, well, not too much. I care about how soft he is on the boards and how many battles he loses. Make no mistake, when he has the puck, he's great with it, but unless someone else gives it to him, he rarely gets it himself.

This is why I have always laughed when people bring up the working out with Gary Roberts. Cody Hodgson plays nothing like Roberts. Hodgson is a talented player who is incredibly lazy. He makes Drew Stafford look like the hardest working player in the NHL. He has nowhere near the drive nor the intensity to be a #1 center. He's one of those players who will always get by on his offensive talent. If anyone is looking for more from Hodgson I would advise not holding your breath, you'll be waiting for a long time.

[TheMatrix31]

Went to the game tonight. For some reason I decided to buy tickets even after I heard Miller wasn't going to play tonight. I thought we played decently. Sucks to give up the PP goals but we were playing with some nice energy at times. Shocked and impressed that Myers stood up for his teammate. That was...refreshing. Ultimately we had a good deal of chances but Quick was insane. I'm not a penalty expert, but it seemed like a couple instances o of interference on the Kings went uncalled.

 

Other than that, meh. Glad it wasn't a blowout.

[kishoph]

Thanks for saying that. My blood pressure spikes when people want Hodgson off this team for poor defence. The guy gets paid like a lower 2nd, upper 3rd liner and he produces like one. His defence can improve over time, you can't teach hockey IQ.

 

 

What bothers me about Hodgson's play is not his defensive responsibilities, that can be something he can learn to get better at, I don't like the way he "competes" when he doesn't have the puck, even in the offensive zone, he does a lot of reaching and poking with his stick instead of moving his feet. there's too many Sabres that do that, but I expect (hope for) more from Hodgson.

[North Buffalo]

What bothers me about Hodgson's play is not his defensive responsibilities, that can be something he can learn to get better at, I don't like the way he "competes" when he doesn't have the puck, even in the offensive zone, he does a lot of reaching and poking with his stick instead of moving his feet. there's too many Sabres that do that, but I expect (hope for) more from Hodgson.

 

He seems to have caught Stafford's disease. He used to go into the corners hard when he thought he had something to prove, but no longer. I hope this can change, but I fear the worst. Mostly he seems to disappear during the game at times.

 

He is one of the few that will carry the puck out of his own end, unlike Staphyl..

[Doohicksie]

The team looked tired, like it was already the second game of a back-to-back. Tonight will be dreadful. Unless, of course, they were only conserving energy for tonight's game. No, they will still be dreadful.

 

Last night's game was one of those games when the team's best players had to play their best. The problem was that they don't have best players anymore.

[bcsaberks]

The team looked tired, like it was already the second game of a back-to-back. Tonight will be dreadful. Unless, of course, they were only conserving energy for tonight's game. No, they will still be dreadful.

 

Last night's game was one of those games when the team's best players had to play their best. The problem was that they don't have best players anymore.

This is the first game I've seen in 2 weeks and I thought they played well last night. 5 v 5 play was even, Quick was very good. No major gaffes or odd man rushes by either team. You're right, add Vanek and Pommers and maybe we squeak out a point. I've accepted reality at this point, experience for the young guys. Girgensons and Tropp looked especially good. Stafford and Ennis put in a solid effort too. Pysyk is our rookie of the year.

[darksabre]

 

 

I've had a few #2's that I thought were going to be a #1.................

 

Amazing.

[rickshaw]

Good for Myers standing up for a mate.

Hodgson needs a coach who will make him accountable for the defensive side of things. He will improve IMO but he is terrible without the puck.

 

[26CornerBlitz]

Good for Myers standing up for a mate.

Hodgson needs a coach who will make him accountable for the defensive side of things. He will improve IMO but he is terrible without the puck.

 

Craig Ramsay isn't busy as of this morning.

[...]

 

 

What bothers me about Hodgson's play is not his defensive responsibilities, that can be something he can learn to get better at, I don't like the way he "competes" when he doesn't have the puck, even in the offensive zone, he does a lot of reaching and poking with his stick instead of moving his feet. there's too many Sabres that do that, but I expect (hope for) more from Hodgson.

 

Absolutely. I am bothered by the fact that people will supposedly read the criticisms of Hodgson and then sum those criticisms up as "defensive liability". No! He is a defensive liability because he lacks any intensity. He does the no-look pass thing a lot and turns over the puck, hell, even when he's looking a lot of his passes result in turn-overs.

 

As others have said, he can not be bothered to go after a puck that is a few feet away from him. He literally skates past a puck that is not coming right at him, or will sit there and watch a puck come at him instead of going to get it. He does not hit, therefore, again, not engaging the play and making the attempt to get the puck by taking the body. He floats coming out of the zone. He floats in the zone.

 

Last night, while Ennis was retrieving a puck that Hodgson dumped behind LA's net (in which Ennis had to travel a distance to get), Hodgson circled back across the slot and then AWAY from the net! He should have gone to the FRONT OF THE NET and sat there waiting for Ennis to take the shot. How frustrating it must be for Ennis who made all of that effort, and his line mate can't be bothered to put himself into the dirty area to try and get a goal.

 

Hodgson has turned into the epitome of the type of player we have come to HATE as Sabre's fans. But he's shiny and new and supposedly has "upside". Haven't we seen enough of this type of player come through the roster? Why hasn't Adam been on the Sabres? Because he did the same thing, but lacks the natural scoring talent. That's it; all that separates an Adam and a Hodgson is natural scoring ability. I'm sick of players with "potential" who, after a certain amount of time, have shown there is a lot less potential there than initially thought. It wastes time and roster spots.

 

 

[LGR4GM]

Craig Ramsay isn't busy as of this morning.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07rq0fCn54Q

 

Absolutely. I am bothered by the fact that people will supposedly read the criticisms of Hodgson and then sum those criticisms up as "defensive liability". No! He is a defensive liability because he lacks any intensity. He does the no-look pass thing a lot and turns over the puck, hell, even when he's looking a lot of his passes result in turn-overs.

 

As others have said, he can not be bothered to go after a puck that is a few feet away from him. He literally skates past a puck that is not coming right at him, or will sit there and watch a puck come at him instead of going to get it. He does not hit, therefore, again, not engaging the play and making the attempt to get the puck by taking the body. He floats coming out of the zone. He floats in the zone.

 

Last night, while Ennis was retrieving a puck that Hodgson dumped behind LA's net (in which Ennis had to travel a distance to get), Hodgson circled back across the slot and then AWAY from the net! He should have gone to the FRONT OF THE NET and sat there waiting for Ennis to take the shot. How frustrating it must be for Ennis who made all of that effort, and his line mate can't be bothered to put himself into the dirty area to try and get a goal.

 

Hodgson has turned into the epitome of the type of player we have come to HATE as Sabre's fans. But he's shiny and new and supposedly has "upside". Haven't we seen enough of this type of player come through the roster? Why hasn't Adam been on the Sabres? Because he did the same thing, but lacks the natural scoring talent. That's it; all that separates an Adam and a Hodgson is natural scoring ability. I'm sick of players with "potential" who, after a certain amount of time, have shown there is a lot less potential there than initially thought. It wastes time and roster spots.

I agree with the bolded and I have seen some of the rest of it from Hodgson. My question is would a coach be able to fix Hodgson's game or is it just who he is. That being said if you put him on a 2nd line with Girgensons and ?Flynn? Baptiste? Compher? in a couple years that line would be great even without CoHo being good defensively. He is a solid 2nd line center but he needs to play better defense.