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Playing for a second look |
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Back in the mid-1990s, NHL teams focused heavily on size when they scouted defensemen. Unless a smaller blueliner had off the charts skills, chances were that he'd barely get passing consideration as an NHL defenseman.
Years before the focus shifted to mobility and puck handling after the lockout, New Jersey's Brian Rafalski and Nashville's Kimmo Timonen successfully bucked the tide and became impact defensemen in the NHL.
Rafalski's case is especially interesting. The former Wisconsin Badgers standout didn't get a sniff from the NHL until he went to Europe and was a standout on HIFK Helsinki clubs that current St. Louis Blues assistant GM Jarmo Kekäläinen assembled.
Ever since then, NHL teams have been paying a little more attention to smaller North American defensemen playing in Europe, hoping to find the next Rafalski.
There has yet to be a duplicate success-- for instance, Derrick Walser's return to the Columbus organization this year has hardly been headline material, although he was a standout for a champion Eisbären Berlin team in Germany's DEL (a league dominated by import players, many of whom have NHL experience).
Even so, there are at least two North American currently in Europe who merit at least a second glance from NHL teams.
One is Ray Giroux. The former Hobey Baker finalist for Yale (and Philadelphia Flyers draftee) usually held his own in his NHL games with the Islanders and Devils -- and was an AHL standout -- but was always passed over in favor of bigger or flashier players. Since going to Russia to play for Ak Bars Kazan (the best club in the league), he has been rock solid in a circuit where foreign players often struggle to adapt on and off the ice.
At 30, he's not too old to be able to contribute to an NHL team as a serviceable defenseman. He has smarts and good all-around skills. Let's put it this way. There are lesser players who play in the NHL as 5th or 6th defensemen. Giroux is about Lasse Kukkonen's size and build-- listed at 6-feet, but probably a bit smaller. He's smaller than average for a defenseman, but not small.
The second player is Cory Murphy. Murphy (listed at 5-9) is even smaller than Rafalski but the Colgate University grad has done nothing but rack up excellent offensive numbers in Finland, especially with HIFK. But at age 29, standing 5-9 and 175 pounds, he's a longshot.
Other smaller North American D doing well in Europe, such as Nick Naumenko, are too old or failed previous tries in the NHL/AHL.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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