Dion Phaneuf Hammers Kyle Okposo
Tweet Posted by Mother Pucker on September 17th, 2009It’s pretty well known that I’m not a fan of Dion Phaneuf, but I have to dedicate this post to him to find out what everyone else thinks.
Tonight he dished out a massive hit on Kyle Okposo of the NY Islanders in the neutral zone, and I’ve heard everything from “Phaneuf is a beauty checker!” to “That was some dirty shit!” to “Meh, Okposo had his head down.”
There is a good quality version of this clip available at RDS. Just click on HOCKEY and then on “Integrale: Dion Phaneuf ecrase Kyle Okposo.”
Alternatively, and probably easier, here is a youtube clip:
What do you think of this? Think Phaneuf has learned something from watching old Marchment clips? Was it a blatant charge and intent to injure? Did he leave his feet? Did Okposo just get caught with his head down?
My take:
- That was most definitely a charge
- It must have been 2″ before contact was made, but Phaneuf was definitely moving in an upward direction
- Okposo did have his head down
- Phaneuf yet again proved that he is a true heavyweight by FIGHTING WITH HIS GLOVES ON
As much as I hate to admit I’m an Islander fan, but I don’t think this was a dirty hit by any means, it was just a bad set of circumstances that came together.
I don’t think you can count it as a charge when the hitter is skating backwards, and crossing over into the victim.
Intent to injure maybe, but I think it was more of an intent to make a big hit on someone making a mistake. But lets be honest, that’s Phaneuf’s job, to hit and make people pay.
I don’t think he left his feet, I think the collision is what sent Phaneuf ass over tea kettle.
Okposo definetely had his head down, but he was also pushed forward and off balance from the backchecking forward. That’s what I mean about a bad set of circumstances.
Finally, I don’t blame Phaneuf for not dropping the gloves, it was quick thinking. He just made an example of playing all out during pre-season and a valuable member of the other team went down. If Dion breaks his hand fighting some guy who’s probably gonna get cut, who’s going to look foolish then?
Dionne Phaneuf sucks, possibly the most overrated player ever. Probably not, but the constant tormenting by P. Mcguire back in the junior days & early NHL years warrants everyone to overreact.
But seriously he can’t defend anyone, large or small. Clearly his only asset is the powerplay and given his negatives I seriously doubt Calgary can’t find someone/anyone that can overcome his negatives overall. Perhaps he should dump Avery’s ex, and shoot for a better/other (sort of) Canadian content like Kate Hudson who probably has her own/or family backing to bankroll his dim future. I doubt the ex Avery has a good a future