October 23, 2003
Blackhawks 3, Predators 1
I went to see my hometown heroes the Chicago Blackhawks face off against the Nashville Predators last Sunday night, the night before my first day at my new job. It was me, my friend Steve, and his friend, whose name I can never remember. Several of my friends couldn't make it, and I forgot to call Shawn and invite him. He was probably busy anyway.
They have a cool program at the United Center where if you buy your tickets less than two hours before the game starts and you have a student ID, you can get a $15 cheap seat for $8. I still have mine from college, so I use it.
The Blackhawks don't have much of a team. They have one good defensemen (Jon Klemm), one decent center (Alexei Zhamnov, who never lives up to his potential), a good right wing (Steve Sullivan), and a big guy who is hurt all the time (Eric Daze). They also have one of the most overworked and underappreciated goalies in the league, Jocelyn Thibault. They have some talented younger players (Tyler Arnason, Kyle Calder, and rookie Tuomo Ruutu). That's about it.
The United Center is cavernous, and it is really obvious when not many people show up. The place was about half empty. It's a feeling not unlike the three survivors defending the shopping mall against zombies and bikers in Dawn of the Dead.
The emptiness of the arena made it possible for just about everyone there to hear the loud and drunken bellowing of the fans in our section, who hated defenseman Alexander Karpotsev with a consuming passion. Every time he touched the puck, they would boo (this was really funny when he didn't keep it very long: "Bo-"). During breaks in play, if he was on the ice, this one guy would scream "I hate you Karpotsev!!!" I asked why they hated him so much, and they replied that he was the worst player on the ice.
At least they were having a good time, and they made enough noise to compensate for some of the missing fans. However, I think it's going to be a long season, for fans and for the Hawks.
Posted by mike, October 23, 2003 2:28 PMI was not busy. You bastard.
Posted by: Shawn at October 23, 2003 10:03 PMI was not busy, either! :-P
(The joke is, to those who do not know, that I live in Florida. Ha ha ha. I am so witty)
Anyhoo, Karpotsev is definitely not the worst player on the Chicago Blackhawks. But he is a Russian and does not make big hits, so everyone will hate him. It is the same story for all big, Russian defensemen who know they are not Scott Stevens. If Karpotsev was small, American, or a forward, he'd get less flak.
Speaking of home teams, my new "home" team is 5-0 so far this season. Pretty groovy! ;-)
shane
Posted by: shane at October 24, 2003 6:49 AMKarpotsev is a shot-blocking machine. They list a stat at the beginning of the game saying that in 2001 he led the league in blocked shots. I think it's funny for fans to single HIM out when there are so many great targets on the team to choose from.
Posted by: mike at October 24, 2003 9:08 AMLike I said: Big. Russian. Defenseman. Doesn't flatten players like a bulldozer running over a grocery bag full of raw eggs. He's gonna get booed. It would be even worse in Toronto.
That said, if I had Karpotsev on my team, I'd be happy. The Rangers would have made the playoffs by now if they had kept more players like him when they had them.
Posted by: shane at October 24, 2003 12:54 PMNow they have a reason--Karpotsev scored a beauty of an own goal the other night. Tried to clear a faceoff around behind the goal, and top-shelved it on Thibault.
Posted by: Stevis at October 27, 2003 9:43 AMSteve Smith scored a goal on his own net that cost the Edmonton Oilers a shot at the Stanley Cup one year. He went on to have a long and fine career. That said, Alex is going to catch hell for that one.
Mistakes aside, which is something the entire Chicago team is full of just about every game even without him, the problem with Karpovtsev in Chicago is that he is not a "Sutter" kind of player. They oughta move him to a place that will appreciate him more.
Posted by: Shane at October 27, 2003 10:20 AMHere's a question: why don't the big Russians who don't check learn how to check? Konstantinov was and Kasparitis is a big Russian who check big. What's Potsy's problem?
Posted by: mike at October 27, 2003 2:33 PMThat is the question of the milennium: should a player like Karpovtsev have to become a Sutter player, or should Sutter have to develop his system to encompass different styles of player?
It is interesting that you mentioned Kaspar and Vlady. Neither were as big as Karpovtsev. They were small for defensemen. As far as people booing goes, size matters. But the problem is that most players can't just suddenly change the style of their game. Paul Coffey never did get the hang of the defensive expectations of the late 90s. Gretzky and Mario were never the same either. Yet no one expects Mario to suddenly change his game, because he is a big star.
If Karpovtsev wants some good advice, he should go talk to Larry Murphy. He's no Russian, but he spent years getting booed by fans who don't understand that every big player in the league isn't Chris Pronger. But he may well be in the Hall of Fame soon. It is not the size, it is the style, and you can't teach aggression.
Posted by: shane at October 27, 2003 2:45 PM