Sam Weinman at The Rangers Report says that the New York Islanders have claimed Tomas Pock off waivers. Weinman thinks this is best for both parties saying..."Whatever upside Pock displayed as a puck-moving defensemen, it was apparent in his tenure with the team that the Rangers’ brass was never too enamored with him. Whether it was an inability to process the game at an NHL speed or whispered doubts about his grit, Pock was never going to get the chance with the Rangers he’ll probably get at Nassau Coliseum."
...for some reason I've always liked Pock and never felt he got a fair chance with the Rangers. He proved during the 2007 run to the playoffs that he could play and play well in the NHL.
...this definitely is a great move for Pock as he'll get a chance to play. I just hope it doesn't come back to burn us when Pock steps up his game against the Rangers to prove them wrong.
5 comments:
Good. Fuck him. He was never that good, and was overhyped like no other on the bulletin board as the 2nd coming of Brian Leetch. He went undrafted out of Umass, where he played forward, and signed as a defenseman. He was simply not a good hockey player. I'm glad that he's gone, so now I won't have to hear fellow fans complain about the Rangers not giving this "young kid prospect" a try. Newsflash, hes not even a young kid, and hardly a prospect! He turns 27 in 3 months.
Couldnt disagree more with Brian....While I never heard anyone refer to him as the next Leetch, and nobody ever should, he played very well in the 2007 playoffs, and played with alot of "grit". He has also had a good preseason, and I think would have been good on the PP....He never really got a chance at steady play at the NHL level.
No-one ever actually referred to him as the next Leetch, just the way people talked about him made it seem like he was actually a "can't miss" guy. It was an exaggeration on my part.
And regarding his chance to play, or lack thereof...Don't you think that the Rangers braintrust would have given the 6th spot during the summer if he was actually any good, instead of signing Kalinin? Everyone loves to pick on Sather, but the guy is not an idiot. Pock has been in the Rangers organization since 2004. If he had shown the Rangers that he deserved a spot during that time, then he would be on the team, but he didn't, so he's with another team now. Renney and Sather have shown in the past that if a kid is truly deserving of a spot, they will give the kid a spot. They did it with Prucha, Girardi and Lundqvist 2 seasons ago, with Staal and Dubinsky last season. If Pock was really a good player, then he would be playing.
Sather could have given every kid in the organization a chance, but it still doesn't mean Pock got a fair one. You can't tell me he didn't deserve a spot on the roster last year after his performance at the end of 2007 and in the first round of the playoffs against the Thrashers.
Sure maybe now there's not a spot for him. But we sure could have used him last year. Unless you think Malik and Strudwick are better than he is.
Wow, put Pock in the headlines and you get four comments. Crazy!
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