The Game by Ken Dryden

Currently, I am reading a book. Yes, I am reading a book. This is my second novel this year, and the second novel since about high school. Even then, I am not sure that I finished any in high school. I do, however, read the newspaper daily, but it was my patience that was too short to read any books.

While in Toronto, I finished Paddy Mitchell's autobiography. I really enjoyed it and I thought that I might have been missing out when it came to reading books. On my second trip to Toronto, I ventured into a book store. I thought I might find a couple of titles that might spark my interest.

I picked out two books. By purchasing, I thought that would give me more incentive to read the books. I picked out a book about hockey and a book about politics (the governator to be exact). I am reading Ken Dryden's, "The Game" right now. I am about halfway through and noticing a few things about the types of players that exist.

The first type of player is Larry Robinson. In Ken's book, Robinson's attributes are such that he is an intimidation prescence without ever fighting. Robinson was more feared because he didn't fight, letting the imagination of his opponents cause the root of that fear. Robinson was a physical player that helped the Canadiens dominates in the 1960s.

The parallel I want to make is the resemblance in my mind to Chris Phillips. This is a guy that I don't ever recall seeing fighting. He is a strong and dominant player and I often make fun of him because he seems like an old man. Not old, as in beyond his prime, but old like he is respected and dominate presence on the ice. I noticed, when there is shoving, pushing and face-washing that occurs in scrambles, Chris is able to control the situation quickly. He grabs a man and the man relinquishes his anger, knowing that his attempts to release his anger against Chris would be fruitless.

Chris' talents are truly underated. Like Robinson, it took many years for people to realize his talents. His regular seasons have been boring. He seldom makes spectactular plays and receives points. On the other hand, more importantly, he rarely makes a mistake. He makes the others around him better. When it matters the most, Chris demonstrates excellence in the playoffs. He is more physical, jumps into the rush more often, and remains a rock on defence. He has scored some of the biggest goals in Sens history. (ie. Game 5 against Jersey in 2002)

Chris used to play along Zdeno Chara. Chara, a menacing, towering force, was considered a Norris trophy (best defenceman) candidate in his time in Ottawa. He subsequently moved to Boston; and ,although a top defenceman in the league, he has not yet performed to the capabilities he showed in Ottawa.

Next, Chris played with Anton Volchenkov. A slow-skating, defensive-minded player, Volchenkov had a break-out year while playing with Chris Phillips. There were many people that felt that Volchenkov should be given an award for his defensive skills. The Norris trophy currently rewards, generally, offensive minded defencemen. The tie-breaker is usually the offensive guy that shows that he is capable defensively. There is no award for an ivory (99 3/4% pure) defenceman.

In two years, two "Norris worthy" candidates that played with Phillips. It could be a huge coincidence, but I personally think it speaks volumes about Phillips. Often, people mention the fact that Crosby makes people around him better. They seldom mention that a defenceman will make his partner better. Chris does that. I'm hoping that this year Chris will be considered for the award.