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DoobeeDoobeeDoo
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Not sure how many of you play EA Sports' NHL Series. Been a big fan of the series since way back in 1992 and I've bought every title since. One controversial issue in regards to the game is player ratings. Every year they overrated and underrate players like crazy.
No biggie, it's just a video game and you're not going to be able to please everyone as far as ratings are concerned...or so I thought until this year.
NHL series published the top 50 highest rated players for NHL and although there are lots of players on this list I disagree with (Dan Girardi & Max Pacioretty being top 50, Zach Parise being top 25, Rick Nash being top 20, Carey Price being a top 3 goalie, & Ryan Suter being tied for 2nd best dman along with top 10 overall), what bugged me were 2 players they left off the list: Martin St Louis & Anti Niemi.
If you look at last year, I don't think any forward put up better numbers than Martin St Louis and no goalie put up better numbers than Anti Niemi. To keep these players off any top 50 NHL player list is a travesty. What makes matters worse is that it's quite obvious that these ratings are mainly based on popularity more so than production. This begs the question, why isn't Martin St Louis one of the most popular players in the league?
For starters, he's the ultimate underdog story. He's undersized & wasn't even drafted, yet I can't think of too many players (if any) who have been consistently among the ELITE of the NHL over the past 10 seasons. He's a 2 time Art Ross winner for leading the league in scoring, a 3x Lady Byng Memoral Trophy winner for most sportsmanlike player in the league, he's won the Hart Trophy for league MVP, and also has his name engraved on the Stanley Cup. If he continues with the 88 points per season he has maintained over the past 10 seasons, then he will finish this season joining the 1,000 point club. There is no doubt that he has the resume of a 1st ballot HOFer when he retires.
When it comes to pure skills, I consider Martin St Louis to be at the same level as Sidney Crosby & Pavel Datsyuk. If anyone tracks my posts, you'll notice that I'm not to say that anyone is as good as Sid at anything. You have to be a really special player for me to put you on the same level as Sid for anything hockey related, yet I'll fully admit that there is probably nothing that Sid could do with the puck that Martin St Louis can't do with the puck.
One could say that the reason St Louis doesn't get his due respect is because he plays for the Lightning and Tampa Bay isn't a traditional hockey market nor have the Lightning been competitive the past couple seasons. I don't buy that because Steven Stamkos also players for the Lightning and he's one of the most popular players in the league. Maybe Stamkos scores more goals, but Martin St Louis isn't a bad goal scorer himself, St Louis is a far better playmaker, and St Louis is also more fun to watch. Sorry if it seems like I'm putting down Stamkos, that is not my intention. I fully acknowledge his talent and he's no doubt one of the top 10 forwards in the NHL today. At the same time, everyone recognizes Steven Stamkos as a top 10 forward but not so much with Martin St Louis.
I think a big reason he isn't as marketable as he should be is due to his size. If anyone watches the WWE, there's a wrestler named Daniel Bryan whom everyone acknowledges as the most talented wrestler on the roster, but because of his size he's always being d*cked around by management. They feel that a superstar has to be bigger than life, and small people just don't get the same attention from the fans. This seems like just a silly wrestling angle, but it also appears to hold true in the NHL.
The other thing about Martin St Louis is his class. Like I mentioned earlier, he's a 3x Lady Byng winner. Also a guy who is all too willing to surrender the spotlight in favor of a teammate. No disrespect to Vincent Lacavalier, but I always considered Martin St Louis to be the true captain of the team. The way he makes everyone better, his work ethic, the way he works with younger players. I don't doubt that Steven Stamkos would be a star on any team, but would he be such a superstar if he didn't play with a guy like Martin St Louis? Would Cory Conacher have such a great rookie season but for St Louis? If I had to guess on who will win the Calder Trophy this upcoming season, I'm fairly confident that it will be Jonathan Drouin, and a lot of it has to do with the fact he plays with Martin St Louis.
Anyways, I don't normally get upset over such lists, especially not from video games, but I felt that leaving Martin St Louis off the top 50 was a total slap in the face for one of the greatest and classiest players I have ever seen. I think the Lightning are very lucky to have had such a great player for the past 12 seasons and will continue to benefit from having him on board. Felt someone needed to give this superstar/legend the credit he deserves. Always a joy to watch St Louis play, really felt this needed to be said.
No biggie, it's just a video game and you're not going to be able to please everyone as far as ratings are concerned...or so I thought until this year.
NHL series published the top 50 highest rated players for NHL and although there are lots of players on this list I disagree with (Dan Girardi & Max Pacioretty being top 50, Zach Parise being top 25, Rick Nash being top 20, Carey Price being a top 3 goalie, & Ryan Suter being tied for 2nd best dman along with top 10 overall), what bugged me were 2 players they left off the list: Martin St Louis & Anti Niemi.
If you look at last year, I don't think any forward put up better numbers than Martin St Louis and no goalie put up better numbers than Anti Niemi. To keep these players off any top 50 NHL player list is a travesty. What makes matters worse is that it's quite obvious that these ratings are mainly based on popularity more so than production. This begs the question, why isn't Martin St Louis one of the most popular players in the league?
For starters, he's the ultimate underdog story. He's undersized & wasn't even drafted, yet I can't think of too many players (if any) who have been consistently among the ELITE of the NHL over the past 10 seasons. He's a 2 time Art Ross winner for leading the league in scoring, a 3x Lady Byng Memoral Trophy winner for most sportsmanlike player in the league, he's won the Hart Trophy for league MVP, and also has his name engraved on the Stanley Cup. If he continues with the 88 points per season he has maintained over the past 10 seasons, then he will finish this season joining the 1,000 point club. There is no doubt that he has the resume of a 1st ballot HOFer when he retires.
When it comes to pure skills, I consider Martin St Louis to be at the same level as Sidney Crosby & Pavel Datsyuk. If anyone tracks my posts, you'll notice that I'm not to say that anyone is as good as Sid at anything. You have to be a really special player for me to put you on the same level as Sid for anything hockey related, yet I'll fully admit that there is probably nothing that Sid could do with the puck that Martin St Louis can't do with the puck.
One could say that the reason St Louis doesn't get his due respect is because he plays for the Lightning and Tampa Bay isn't a traditional hockey market nor have the Lightning been competitive the past couple seasons. I don't buy that because Steven Stamkos also players for the Lightning and he's one of the most popular players in the league. Maybe Stamkos scores more goals, but Martin St Louis isn't a bad goal scorer himself, St Louis is a far better playmaker, and St Louis is also more fun to watch. Sorry if it seems like I'm putting down Stamkos, that is not my intention. I fully acknowledge his talent and he's no doubt one of the top 10 forwards in the NHL today. At the same time, everyone recognizes Steven Stamkos as a top 10 forward but not so much with Martin St Louis.
I think a big reason he isn't as marketable as he should be is due to his size. If anyone watches the WWE, there's a wrestler named Daniel Bryan whom everyone acknowledges as the most talented wrestler on the roster, but because of his size he's always being d*cked around by management. They feel that a superstar has to be bigger than life, and small people just don't get the same attention from the fans. This seems like just a silly wrestling angle, but it also appears to hold true in the NHL.
The other thing about Martin St Louis is his class. Like I mentioned earlier, he's a 3x Lady Byng winner. Also a guy who is all too willing to surrender the spotlight in favor of a teammate. No disrespect to Vincent Lacavalier, but I always considered Martin St Louis to be the true captain of the team. The way he makes everyone better, his work ethic, the way he works with younger players. I don't doubt that Steven Stamkos would be a star on any team, but would he be such a superstar if he didn't play with a guy like Martin St Louis? Would Cory Conacher have such a great rookie season but for St Louis? If I had to guess on who will win the Calder Trophy this upcoming season, I'm fairly confident that it will be Jonathan Drouin, and a lot of it has to do with the fact he plays with Martin St Louis.
Anyways, I don't normally get upset over such lists, especially not from video games, but I felt that leaving Martin St Louis off the top 50 was a total slap in the face for one of the greatest and classiest players I have ever seen. I think the Lightning are very lucky to have had such a great player for the past 12 seasons and will continue to benefit from having him on board. Felt someone needed to give this superstar/legend the credit he deserves. Always a joy to watch St Louis play, really felt this needed to be said.
