If any of you are avid readers of The Goose’s Roost (which I’m sure you are), you saw this post in which I gave my older brother, Corey, a mini scouting report on one of our newest acquisitions. I’m a Canucks fan as well as a Sabres fan so I’ve had the opportunity to watch Ehrhoff in quite a few games these past two years when he had played for Vancouver. I know how he plays for the most part and I have a feeling that he will fit into the Sabres system (there’s that word: SYSTEM!) very well. We should take some notes on some of his attributes that he could bring to the team.
First off, it’s his physical game. Ehrhoff is ranked third on this team in the smallest defenseman category, being behind both Sekera and Gragnani. Watching him play I didn’t see him play the body quite often even while being a defenseman but a part of me feels like that’s because he is more offensive than defensive. When the Sabres replayed the Canucks/Sabres game, I noticed that on some of the goals from our end, he was being physical in front of the net but that took him away from being a defensive threat. He’s shown promise in this area but I don’t expect much from him to be honest. I think Regehr fills up this role a lot nicer than Ehrhoff will (but perhaps this will change in the ten years that he’ll be here!)
Ironically while typing this up, I decided to look for some video of him being physical…looks like Miller will have someone else to protect him. Don’t make the German angry.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zc16gGvJrQw&w=640&h=390]
The next question with Ehrhoff is: What about his offensive game? What exactly are the Sabres bringing in here on the blueline? In Ehrhoff’s seven seasons of being in the NHL, his past two with Vancouver were the years where he was the most offensive. He scored 44 and then 50 points respectively within those two seasons. He was used quite often on the power play and possesses a hard shot which got to guys like Kesler, and the Sedin twins to try and put it on net. I say stick him on the first power play unit with Vanek in front and then some playmakers in the slots and the Sabres PP might not look so atrocious in the upcoming years. He had recently been used in penalty kill situations along with learning how to play a more defensive game so he has worked in all of these areas. In the post I wrote for my brother, I stated that he could be placed into a category along with Leopold and Myers because of how he plays. It’ll be interesting to see who he is paired up with in the upcoming season. I want to see if it’ll be a good balance between offensive and defensive. A friend of mine who is a fellow Canucks fan made sure to tell me that he will probably need someone to cover him on the back end in case he joins up on the rush. That comment just reminded me of Campbell and how much he felt the need to do that during games…
Finally, can this guy be someone to look up to in the locker room for the young players? I think that’s possible. Ehrhoff has been in the league for awhile now and is around the same age as guys like Gaustad, Miller, Roy, Pominville, Vanek…that entire group. I’ve listened to a few of his interviews and he is extremely well spoken. Being from Germany, I thought that perhaps he would be like Hecht in his soft spoken ways but his choice of words makes me believe that he can become a leader on this team if need be. He could teach the young defensemen the transition between being offensive and then strengthening their defensive aspects of the game just like how he had to learn while maturing in the league. He did not wear an A as a Canuck as far as I know, and I have no idea if he will in the first few years of being here. I don’t think he needs the letter to be a leader, though.
If anyone has any other insight on Ehrhoff’s game, please mention it in the comments. I know I may have missed some things and gaining other opinions will help us try and figure out what to expect out of him moreso.
Follow Shelby on Twitter @shelbygriswold.
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