Defense Debate

[Shady Ultima 40]

I prefer to imagine that one day these two will be one of the best dmen pairs in the league.

As long as we manage to keep both, I see them stepping up the the #1 pair when Lids and Raffi retire.

[Guest mindfly]

And also, what the future might hold for Ericsson, there's a huge reason why Kronwall was the 29th overall pick and Ericsson was dead last, 297th overall.....

[Miller Brew 0]

And also, what the future might hold for Ericsson, there's a huge reason why Kronwall was the 29th overall pick and Ericsson was dead last, 297th overall.....

Lidstrom was 53rd pick overall, does that automatically mean Kronwall will be twice as good as Lidstrom?

[Guest mindfly]

- That was a different era where europeans weren't very popular among most GM's

- Lidstrom was pretty darn good at age 25-26, same with zetterberg, datsyuk and all other red wing's "diamond-in-the-rush-picks" (also kronwall at 26 had way more upside than ericsson has atm)

Edited January 11, 2010 by mindfly

[Doggy 130]

Before he got injured Kronwall was, IMO, our best defenseman and possibly our best player overall at that point in the season. Granted, most of his teammates have had particularly underwhelming seasons but he was pretty dominant offensively for a Dman and was also getting more consistent on the other side of the puck.

Ericsson, on the other had regressed somewhat with the pressure of more responsibility compared to the way he performed at times last season.

Ericsson was and is not a bad player at all, but Nik was clearly better than him last season. I think this season it is pretty obvious Kronwall has improved while Ericsson has not. In light of this, I think it really kills any possibility of a debate here.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

That's not a debate. It's like asking who's better of Semin or Fleischmann.

Not really because Fleischmann doesn't have the potential to be as good as Semin. Ericsson could end up being as good as Kronwall or even better, we won't know until he too has 350+ games under his belt.

The fundamental flaw in the OP was not to indicate that this was comparing one player's potentail to that of another player. Clearly we can't compare a veteran defenseman to a rookie defenseman and expect it to be fair. Rookie D-men take quite a bit of seasoning before they start playing good NHL defense.

[King Crane 289]

Ericsson could end up being as good as Kronwall or even better

Ericsson definitely has the strength to be. He is one of the biggest wings on the ice and just needs to exploit that advantage better.

[Rivalred 630]

Kronwall is better than E, but E is still developing...

[Doggy 130]

Not really because Fleischmann doesn't have the potential to be as good as Semin. Ericsson could end up being as good as Kronwall or even better, we won't know until he too has 350+ games under his belt.

The fundamental flaw in the OP was not to indicate that this was comparing one player's potentail to that of another player. Clearly we can't compare a veteran defenseman to a rookie defenseman and expect it to be fair. Rookie D-men take quite a bit of seasoning before they start playing good NHL defense.

No, really. The question:

So my friend and I have had this on going argument about who is a better defenseman: Kronwall or Ericsson.

I answered his question. It has nothing to do with potential, but solely who is the better defenseman. The answer is as clear-cut as Fleischmann vs. Semin.