Personally, I am Switzerland on Donald S. Cherry. He is, what he is. I don’t think he believes half of what comes out of his mouth and he tries to be controversial. More importantly, I think Grapes has jumped the shark. (For those of you who don’t know what that means click here)
What I do, to a certain degree think is that he is a spokesman for the NHL. I don’t think he should tow the line, but I think he needs to be a little bit smarter when it comes to his comments on the stars of the game.
“”He’s not going to get any better. I don’t think he’ll do as good as last year,” Cherry, speaking on an NHL conference call, said yesterday of the dazzling Russian. He was doing things he shouldn’t do. He was always cutting into the middle and he got away with it,There will be a lot of guys waiting for him this year. He’s not going to be running around like a bull in a china shop.”
Now, why would he say that? Once again, I ask, what’s the point? Ovchekin is, in my opinion anyway the best all around player in the league right now. He is everything a hockey player should aspire to be. He is fast, he is smart, he is physical, he has great hands and he cares. Why dump on a guy with those attributes. He is not to blame for any more shortcomings of any of his breathern from over seas, the same way Sid Crosby isn’t for any brutal north American (or Canadian) players. He is arguably the most exciting guy in the league. He is one of a few players that I would pay to watch. He works his tail off every shift. All of that is a good thing for the game. Bashing the guy just isn’t smart, nor is it called for. I think Grapes knows better too.
Ovechkin is one of those players I cansee my self cheering for, regardless of who he plays for. He is an amazing player. Just imagine what kind of visibility he woud bring the league in a large market city…
Just to let you know, you’ve been linked to by Leonsis’ blog ( and how I found your post).
http://www.tedstake.com/?p=2878
Thanks! huge fan of http://www.tedstake.com
Welcome to the “show”
Right on! AO is one of those once-in-a-generation players that you can’t help but love watching, no matter what team you normally root for. Talent, heart, brains, all rolled into one. Its sad that Cherry feels compelled to knock this great poster boy for the NHL just because he isn’t Canadian. even if AO’s production drops a bit this year because he will be more closely marked, so what? That just means more room for Backstrom and Koslov or Clark who whoever to operate. It is a team game, Don, or haven’t you noticed.
Couldn’t agree more. There are few teams I will watch other then my own. The caps are one, and in large part due to AO. Pure excitement every time he is on the ice.