Defending Troy Brouwer

brouwer cant put a puck into an empty net…buff so far has capatilized on his chances

thats the difference

but yes, brouwer has been playing his ass off

if were commenting on how great his positioning is, he ought to be criticized for his lack of scoring….ill agree hes there for physical presence…but if he has an opportunity to put a puck my 5 year old niece can bank, i expect him to score

Ya, but why do you want to get rid of Buff so badly?

while i can argue that i’m one of the bigger fans of Fabulous Weapon, i’m trying to release my emotional love, and realistically asses who goes, who stays…

I’ll let you know Wednesday, because if he’s not in that lineup, i’m officially worried

with a bigger platform.

Brouwer has been an animal. My eyes have not deceived me.

since we all agree someone is going to have to go…
why not keep brouwer and buff and have that dominating presence from both going forward and….lose shooter?!?! dont ya’ll think that we have enough developing talent and depth to hang sharpie out on a line and see who bites? he keeps playing this way his stock will go through the roof. fuck. hate this play-GM nonsense. fucking cap.

dont deal sharpie…if theres one person id deal its versteeg…its so tough though cause i really do love pretty much every player we have on this squad

If what Buff does is going to be replaceable by Brouwer. Buff has quite a bit of height and size, and his posistioning in front of the net on the PP have been fantastic this year. It’s as if he’s been watching tapes of Assholmstrom. Buff has been there to pick up the garbage, and already has 4 goals on the season, which extrapolates (big words, right?) out to a 40-goal campaign. I don’t think Buff is going to get 40 goals, but you see what I’m saying?

T-Brouw is playing awesome. If we are going to move somebody, I think Kopecky needs to be considered. His contract is more movable than Buffs anyways. It doesn’t solve all the $$$ problems, but it’s a start.

1. There sure are a lot of “eventually be rewarded” and “goals WILL come” comments on Brouwer. Simple stat—Buff’s goals are already coming.

2. “Oh sure, you may look at them, maybe even think you’re watching it, but you’re not.” So someone with a different view of a player’s performance is apparently an idiot? Unaware? Please…you’re better than to just dismiss us like this.

3. When is the last time we were arguing/debating/discussing over who the Hawks should keep and there were SO MANY good choices? It’s a good thing! Brouwer has been all over the ice so far. Buff is playing to his potential. Kane looks great. Madden is ridiculous. And on and on it goes. In spite of McD and the rest of the off-ice nonsense, it’s FUN to be a Blackhawks fan right now!

ummm…Niemi in Goal Wed vs. ’Nucks

The human pinball,once he snags a couple of goals hes on his way.

…when the Hawks carried Matt Walker all year because of concerns the team wasn’t physical enough?

Haven’t heard boo about that this year, and Brouwer is a big part of the reason. If he goes, it will create a problem against physical teams.

now that he got that first goal out of the way I believe that the “ohmygod ohmygod ohmygod ohmygod ohmygod, oh shit SHIT SHIT SHIT” mindset will start to lesson now that (in theory) the pressure of the getting the first goal will have subsided. As long as he keeps trying to put opposing players through the glass and score the occasional goal, I say keep him up with the big club.

although I think Barker’s the most replaceable. Well, maybe, now I’m not sure. Too early to tell.

Agree – that Brouwer has been very noticeable this season, especially since they got back to North America. He’s just been all over the ice and an important physical presence.

Agree – that trading a forward to upgrade at defense or net is probably both inevitable and a good idea.

Disagree – that Brouwer can fill the role that Buff fills. Right now he’s filling the role that Burish and Eager filled, and doing it well. He hits everything in sight, he puts good offensive pressure by keeping the puck pinned deep (even if he doesn’t display the skillful offensive moves), and he’s willing to drop the gloves for his team. Can he do all that and be a disruptive presence in front of the net? I guess, but it’s a lot to ask out of one guy. Right now he’s excelling in the role he’s filling, let’s see more of that.

Disagree – that Buff hasn’t done shit since his first two games. First of all there was the rebound goal he cleaned up after providing the screen the other night. And in the Calgary comeback game he was parked in front of the net all night and when the defense swarmed him after the whistle he was big and aggressive enough to take on Flames two at a time. It’s a subtle physical attribute that doesn’t show up on the score sheet, but after the whistle deep in the zone the defense has the physical advantage as their five skaters can get in the face of the three forwards, and if our defenders come in deep the face off gets moved outside the zone. Nobody does that post-whistle drive the other team crazy part as well as Buff and if we’re going to give Brouwer credit (deservedly so) for the little things we should do the same for Buff.

Agree – with your thought process on moving Buff before moving VERSTEEG! or Barker. Despite standing up for Buff above, you’re right that he’s more expendable than the other two. Stupid cap. I hate the salary cap more than the Blues.

Never thought I’d see the day that I would be acknowledging Brouwer on his play, but I’m glad I can. Last season Brouwer became my ultimate lightning rod of criticism for his lack of finish, speed, tenacity, and whatever I could think of for he really didn’t look prepared for the NHL and what it took to succeed at this level. Wow, what a difference a year can make.
Not only is his energy level been cranked up but so has preparation level and understanding the importance of his role on this team. Last season Brouwer when taken off the top line his overall effort seemed to drop a little and not give a full effort at times that often left me frustrated with him as player, but this season it seems to not matter where Brouwer has been plugged in the line-up he excepts the role and raises his level depending on how the Hawks need him on that particular shift. It has been quite an evolution process for Brouwer.
And with that has come the most important thing that has helped Brouwer’s game-confidence. It can be a fragile thing when it comes to professional athlete’s as we have taked about it at nauseam when concerning Huet. But isn’t it as important to a forward? Just watching Brouwer this season you can see that he a much more of a confident player especially when it comes to the way he handles the puck in traffic areas and along the boards. No longer does he just throw the puck blindly when a long the boards, somtimes handling it like a time bomb, now he holds the puck a little longer and looks for the open man something you would’ve never seen from Brouwer at any point last season. Not to mention often being paired on the line with Ladd and Madden has done a lot in terms in gaining confidence as well.
Brouwer is contributing in all aspects of his game and hopefully this is only just ‘the tip of the iceburg’ when it comes to achieving his full potential.