|
Martin Straka |
Games
|
Goals
|
Assists
|
Points
|
+/-
|
PIM
|
|
Regular Season
|
77
|
29
|
41
|
70
|
+16
|
24
|
|
Playoffs
|
10
|
2
|
8
|
10
|
0
|
2
|
You see this guy? Martin Straka? Give me 23 guys with his combination of skill, work ethic, heart, desire, and speed, and I will give you a Stanley Cup.
Simply put, you have to love this guy. Seriously, its in the rule book, Section 18 Paragraph 3 (right after the section stating you have to hate Erik Cole). The only negative I can think of is that he doesn’t shoot enough, but that seems to be true of almost every European player to ever enter the NHL. They pass too damn much, but that’s ok, I’m more than happy to look past all that to see the positives. You have ones of the fastest skaters in the league, one of the most relentless guys on the forecheck, on the backcheck, just on the check (czech?) in general.
Watch this clip here(from Rangers ONDemand, I couldn’t figure out how to load their player and make it play that video), at the 1:41 mark is where you see typical Straka, making the defensive play, and finding his way to the perfect scoring place, and best yet, he actually shot the puck.
He’s the guy I want the youngsters to try to emulate (just like Brendan Shanahan). He has character, he has leadership, he has a ton to admire. That’s really all there is to it guys, there really isn’t much else to say, the guy plays through injuries, he never gives up, and he sticks up for his teammates.
I’m glad hes back for this year, but rest assured, this will be his last year, there is no point in having him here beyond this year, next year, the rebuild takes full force.
-Inferno