In Defense of Semenov... AGAIN!!!
by Morti on May 22, 2009 11:00 PM PDT
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PrintSo a few of us were deeply involved in some rostercourse this evening. You could say it was almost "Afternoon Delight" but, it was after 6. I dont think there is any thing special, nor any hillarious songs sung about Rostercourse after 4pm.
Anyway! The subject of rostercourse is tricky, and I wanted to throw my hand in and show my support for the Big Man. I am of course referring to your favorite puck handling shark (Literally, with his hands!), Semenov. Semi. The Russian Bear. Whatever the parlance of our time is.
See, I like Semenov (Apparently, correctly pronounced Sem-en-yov). I think his biggest draw back as a player is he has taken a little too long to really hit his potential. I think all that will change next season. Teams will hardly be beating a path to his door but yet he won't be commanding a Rob Blake sized salary, and he has the potential to be Rob Blake Lite.
What I mean by that is he is a bit like a trial version of some free software. He'll have the shot power of Rob Blake, the physical presence of Rob Blake, but he will completely lack the positional awareness of Rob Blake. You have to pay for Rob Blake to get that shit.
So at dinner, I was trying to convince many people that he would be great for the Sharks to keep around. But how do you reach a bunch of people in a bar who packed their pitchforks and are out for blood?
I think you reach them like this:
"If Semenov were a beer, he would be Natural Ice. It's cheap, but it'll get you there. You'll wish you had the money for something better, but you dont, and you won't care in the morning"
We love you Semi!
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Winner winner chicken parm dinner
You took your fantastic line and made it better by applying a liberal sprinkling of Rob Blake Lite. I’m reccing this as hard as I possibly can.
It takes a big man to cry and it takes a bigger man to laugh at that man. -Jamie Baker
NIEDKLERYARYER
oer sometoethin lie kthat!!!! -Mr. K
Epic
Truly epic.
resident cartoonist @couchtarts.blogspot.com. Endorsed by Mr. K on "CINCODEMYOOR!!!!!"
and now rec'd
resident cartoonist @couchtarts.blogspot.com. Endorsed by Mr. K on "CINCODEMYOOR!!!!!"
Natural Ice is gross
it tastes like water
it has like a 5.5% Alc/Vol ratio
I'll reiterate
“If Semenov were a beer, he would be Natural Ice. It’s cheap, but it’ll get you there. You’ll wish you had the money for something better, but you dont, and you won’t care in the morning”
"iaT"S FUCKINGE LIEK CONICO DO MAYO!!!!!111"
Mr. K. 5/5/2009
Natty Ice got me through college
One of the cheapest drunks possible. That, and the days Safeway had 3 Country Club 40’s for $5.
When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle. Then I realized God doesn’t work that way, so I stole one and prayed for forgiveness. - Emo Philips
Proud father of Juan Carlos Perez. Think Albert Pujols at second.
It’s heartwarming to know that there are other people on the Semenov party wagon with my little brother.
by princessminako on May 23, 2009 10:10 AM PDT reply actions
Awesomeness
It’s rare to start out drinking Natural Ice at a party. You start with real beer and then by beer #4 you either have run out of beer or are too drunk/lazy to go out and buy some more. So do you stop drinking? Hellz no! You get out the Natural Ice. Your taste buds don’t care at that point anyway. And hey, you never know – it may surprise you…
Natural Ice is by far the best cheap beer and I agree with your Semi-opinion
There were actually two players that I believed should have been on the playoff roster………….of course this opinion existed before Mitchell came out and showed us why he’s AWESOME.
Why weren’t Semi and Mcginn out there from the beginning? I know having Semi on the playoff roster gave us too many defensement but I can say without a doubt that he couldnt have done any worse than Ehrhoff did. And Mcginn would have played so much better than both Grier and Moen……………..why is everyone here such a huge fan of Moen???? I thought he hurt the team chemistry……….even though he got in that one fight.
by SanJoseLandShark on May 23, 2009 4:09 PM PDT reply actions
i think Moen was a little weak in the playoffs
but he played great for the 20 or so games we had him in the regular season
i agree that McGinn would have been nice to see but i thought we put out the best defensive lineup out there in the playoffs and we just didn’t get it done
im not sure Semenov would have made a huge difference
by Brian5517209 on May 23, 2009 6:52 PM PDT up reply actions
I don’t think Moen played well for us in the regular season.
Fear the Fin: Where we just have to want it more!
by Matthew_Taylor on May 25, 2009 12:59 PM PDT up reply actions
He played well in a few games. The one where he got a shorty and the one where he was the only player to score a goal stand out in my mind, but other than that he was fairly invisible.
"I think I realized after the second or third punch, I should have taken his helmet off sooner." - Ryane Clowe
Fools and Sages
So, two out of 20 games…
Not disagreeing with you, but I just don’t think that he was worth what we gave up for him. I would have rather seen McGinn playing.
Fear the Fin: Where we just have to want it more!
by Matthew_Taylor on May 25, 2009 1:17 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
I think his first game was also pretty good. So, three out of twenty. 15%!!
But yeah, if Bonino turns out to be a Pavelski-like player, I’m going to be pissed. Pielmenin or h/e you spell it (the goalie prospect) wasn’t too bad of a loss because we have too many good goalie prospects already. And the picks hurt.
Hey, at least we didn’t lose that 4th round pick since Huskins didn’t play! There’s gotta be a bright side, right?
"I think I realized after the second or third punch, I should have taken his helmet off sooner." - Ryane Clowe
Fools and Sages
you are the man,
i totally agree, we don’t play hockey like anaheim, he is built for that team. Hope that makes sense well it does if you understand the two teams, but bad bad trade, which is funny because we were all praising it at the time, probably just because we didn’t know much about the prospects and won’t for a long time.
I don't like you Detroit.
Moen is a role player who plays much better when he can consistently play with the same players of a long period of time. He was constantly being juggled around since day 1 with the team (do in large part to the team already being riddled with injuries) and thus never developed chemistry and the little things that helps make his game effective. Give him line mates that he can play with night after night and you’ll see the kind of player he was with Anaheim.
I still think y’all are crazy if you think Semenov will ever be a truly effective player. He made strides from the previous season, but I don’t think that says a whole lot.
Oh, so that's where you edit your signature
It's not just his skill...
It’s his cost!
I would love to fill up the blueline with top 3 guys, but sacrifices have to be made.
We need guys that can get the job done, and keep us under the cap. I believe Semenov can achieve that.
"iaT"S FUCKINGE LIEK CONICO DO MAYO!!!!!111"
Mr. K. 5/5/2009
It’s kind of a ‘duh’ statement to say that we can’t have a bunch if top 3 d-man, and I’ve never said anything to suggest that was my opinion. I don’t think Semenov will get the job done as far as how your post has evaluated what you think that job is. He’s got the size, but lacks the grit – yes he did make some big hits and even drop the gloves, but it doesn’t look like his natural game. I don’t believe he has the physical presence of a Rob Blake. His offense, which is suppose to be he best asset, has never been anything great. I don’t hate the guy, and wouldn’t be devastated if we held on to him (as I’ve stated before). I’ve just never seen many of the signs that I guess some of you had to lead me to believe he’ll be effective as a full-time player.
Oh, so that's where you edit your signature
I didnt say that you were saying that we can afford a bunch of top D-men
I am in full agreement that Semenov’s skill set is lacking for his age. All he showed us this year was his ability to improve, and learn. I bet if it is asked of him he could turn into a grittier player. You say it’s not in him, but many ex-Sharks have been accused of that and then shown us that it really is in them!
It is in him. Semenov is the first guy over to back up a team mate in a scrum. We saw that time and time again.
If not Semenov, then who? Joslin? Huskins? It would be a shame to let a guy like Semenov go because he improved so much over the season.
I say see what he does in training camp and go from there.
"iaT"S FUCKINGE LIEK CONICO DO MAYO!!!!!111"
Mr. K. 5/5/2009
I agree that he did develop more grit and was more involved in scrums, I wouldn’t go as far as to say he was always the first one in time after time. I don’t think he’ll ever naturally be a tough player, and when he does, it looked forced and not particularly effective. His size leads other players to think he’ll be that force, but he just doesn’t have that fire to really be a shutdown d-man.
I have to question is level of improvement also. He only managed .60 shots per game, which is actually down compared to his career average which is .75 – this concerns me considering the Sharks philosophy for d-men shooting from the point. He did have a career high in assists, which I like, but this is not exactly what I’d call an improvement (7 in 47 games is .15 a game, the previous season with the Sharks he had 3 in 22 which is .14). His PIMs increased, but marginally and again only because he played twice as many games this year then last. His 3 fights this year is only one more then he had in 2007-08. His +/- improvement can be attributed as much to be on a high-powered offense as much as his personal play.
With all that said, I do think his game improved, but not enough to be considered anything more then a depth d-man. If that’s the case, I’d take Huskins’ very solid defensive numbers over him and/or give let Joslin and Moore split time, gain NHL experience so either of them has the chance at being a mainstay in the NHL in future years.
On a team fighting for a playoff spot, he’s a solid defenseman; for a team that should again expect to compete for the Cup, he’s not a top-6 and his skill set isn’t what I’d look for in a depth player.
Oh, so that's where you edit your signature
His 3 fights this year is only one more then he had in 2007-08.
You also have to account for his complete inability to get a fighting major. I would put that number more near 5, maybe 6 or 7.
"I think I realized after the second or third punch, I should have taken his helmet off sooner." - Ryane Clowe
Fools and Sages
I dont look at those kind of stats when i consider the value of a player,
If I did, then Douglas Murray would have some questions to answer! But no one is questioning him (Out of fear perhaps?) And I know Douglas’ role is different than that of Boyle or Vlasic, or even Semenov.
Semenov has got a cannon of a shot! Hard, fast and low, perfect for when (if) we manage to get a guy to stand in front of the net! Also, the stat of shots per game doesnt mean much when you consider that his role this season wasn’t as an offensive defenseman. He also generally wasnt paired with anyone offensive either. His task was to be accountable!
I have said in other posts, if a WorShark guy has a better training camp than Semenov, or Grier (If signed) I am in favor of giving that guy a fair crack over Semenov, or any body! If Joslin steps it up, go Derek! Bye Semi.
As for Huskins, He takes a lot of penalty minutes for a guy who doesnt really mix it up with fights all that often, and is going to be commanding a much higher salary than he was last awarded. A salary much high than Semenov will command.
"iaT"S FUCKINGE LIEK CONICO DO MAYO!!!!!111"
Mr. K. 5/5/2009
I think those stats are important in this situation when considering many people’s merits for keeping him are based on ‘improved’ plays, especially for a guy who is expected to influence the offense as much as the defense (no one will ever expect Dougie to score 30 points in a season). I don’t think it’s far to say that his role was not to be an offensive defensemen because his offensive abilities where a main factor in bringing him to San Jose in the first place – like that the powerful shot you mentioned. I consider any regular, top-6 defensemen to be more then accountable, otherwise they’d be a depth player anyways – and frankly, I don’t think his game is always very accountable.
When comparing Huskins to Semenov, especially as far as being a depth player is concerned, I’d take the defensive d-men who can use his size to shut a player down rather then a guy who’s not really a strong offensive or defensive player, but mediocre in both realms. I don’t necessarily agree that Huskins will be able to demand so much higher of a contract coming off a season where he only played 33 games – all teams face the same salary cap questions and I’m not convinced there are other teams that are gonna hand him a big pay day with only one solid season under his belt.
Alexei has all the basic attributes to be a solid defensemen, but I don’t think he’s mentally a strong player and I’m just not convinced the basic qualities he lacks are things that can be developed, and even if they can be, a team like the Sharks should be focused on more finished products (as far as having a better idea what exactly you’re getting).
Other possible personal changes (or lack of) and cap issues, will go a long way to determine the best option for a depth defensemen – so it’s really just a matter of opinions right now as opposed to what’s best for the Sharks in 08-09.
Oh, so that's where you edit your signature
Like I said
If it works out that another guy works out better in training camp, I’m all for the better guy playing/signing.
Obviously there are a lot of other factors as you mentioned. For example, signing Blake for more than 3 Million is probably going to make us kiss a few players good bye, perhaps Semenov included.
I guess the difference between our opinions is that you and I see Semenov with different levels of potential. I see the glass half full, you see that the glass could be half full but it isnt.
Ever the optimist, I hope that Semenov can take his game to the next level.
"iaT"S FUCKINGE LIEK CONICO DO MAYO!!!!!111"
Mr. K. 5/5/2009
If nothing else
… he makes for good conversation shakes hands Maybe he can finally realize his potential this year, if that’s the case, then I’m all for keeping with him – just hard to be overly optimistic when it comes to the Sharks and realizing true potential these days.
Oh, so that's where you edit your signature
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