Steve Ott, funny or ass or both

[tro 4]

Didn't know where to put this clip with no Devils or Stars thread, but this clip from HNIC of Steve Ott checking the back of Devils to find out who they are is pretty funny.

I don't think a guy of Ott's caliber and a guy, like most who went up and down to the AHL early in his career should be an ass to call ups, but I still thought it was funny.

skip to 7:12 unless you want to hear Cherry rant about nothing.

[chippa13 1844]

I don't even need to see the video to cast my vote.

[psh 25]

I rarely agree with Cherry, but I thought that was hilarious. A pretty witty way to get under a guy's skin.

[LivHockey84 0]

thats funny as hell

[HattrickSwayze 3]

I think Ott's kind of a turd, but this video cracks me up every time I see it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WD4BWHR_OSM

[chippa13 1844]

When you're known simply for being a puss then you shouldn't really try to hassle unknowns, especially when those unknowns are skating for the top team in the East when you're 10th in the West.

My vote of "ass" has been confirmed. Any of you guys in the know, where does the Dallas EQM get that really good thread he uses to sew Ott's gloves to his sleeves?

[CAmmon 2]

If I ever buy a Dallas jersey, it will be a Steve Ott one. LOL

[DavidT 11]

Ott cracks me up.

[LivHockey84 0]

wealth of giggles.....thats soooo funny.

[psh 25]

When you're known simply for being a puss then you shouldn't really try to hassle unknowns, especially when those unknowns are skating for the top team in the East when you're 10th in the West.

My vote of "ass" has been confirmed. Any of you guys in the know, where does the Dallas EQM get that really good thread he uses to sew Ott's gloves to his sleeves?

Chippa, you're writing like the kind of guy who Ott would goad into dropping the gloves and draw the penalty he is trying to incite.

[Fire0nIce228 1]

Thats pretty good :)

[chippa13 1844]

When you're known simply for being a puss then you shouldn't really try to hassle unknowns, especially when those unknowns are skating for the top team in the East when you're 10th in the West.

My vote of "ass" has been confirmed. Any of you guys in the know, where does the Dallas EQM get that really good thread he uses to sew Ott's gloves to his sleeves?

Chippa, you're writing like the kind of guy who Ott would goad into dropping the gloves and draw the penalty he is trying to incite.

Nah, just writing like a guy who respects the game. Esa Tikkanen and Ken Linesman were two of the worst things to happen to the NHL because it spawned a whole generation of Claude Lemieux type players who can do whatever they want and never answer for it.

[Chadd 916]

His hit on the first shift of the game tonight is a pretty good answer to the question.

[n3ss 0]

i got a good laugh there.

[Drewhunz 3]

Nicest guy on the team btw.

[daca 0]

I can't always back up what he does on ice, but when my nieces were stick kids, he was very cool to my family. He went out of his way to get the kids some memorabilia and to meet other players.

[start_today 770]

He might be a good human being, but as a hockey player he's a douche. Every sport has guys who run their mouths, but hockey is the only one (that I know of) where you have guys who are less than mediocre players who continually make teams because of their ability to trash talk, cheap shot, and goad others into taking penalties. It's unfortunate that there is a place for that.

[Fire0nIce228 1]

Thats part of hockey the way I see it. The pest player, the player you love to have on your team but hate to play against or hate in general if your team doesnt have one of those players..

Say what you will about Ott, Avery, Cooke, Ruutu, etc. but they can be very effective at accomplishing certain goals for the benefit of their club if they can toe the right side of that fine line.

[Krev 86]

[Da Beez 0]

Sometimes he is funny, I don't find him as objectionable as some of the other pests who don't have a personality.

[chippa13 1844]

Thats part of hockey the way I see it. The pest player, the player you love to have on your team but hate to play against or hate in general if your team doesnt have one of those players..

Say what you will about Ott, Avery, Cooke, Ruutu, etc. but they can be very effective at accomplishing certain goals for the benefit of their club if they can toe the right side of that fine line.

Ask Mike Modano what he thinks of having those guys on his team. The answer may surprise you.

What is the Stars' identity this season? It appears nobody knows. Are they a high-flying offensive unit that can score goals and control the puck?

Are they a strong defensive team that has built a reputation for finishing in the top five in goals-against average?

Are they an agitating, annoying team led by Steve Ott and Sean Avery?

None of the above seems to be working.

Dallas tried the latter Saturday night, stirring up the Boston Bruins in a brawl-filled contest, and still found a way to lose, 5-1. By the end of the game, Avery and Ott were in the locker room with Matt Niskanen — all with 10-minute misconduct penalties — and a Bruins team that had scored four goals in its previous three games combined was celebrating like the record-setting Boston teams of the 1970s.

"Tonight, it was idiotic and stupid," Stars center Mike Modano said. "It was one of the most embarrassing things I've seen. If that's what we're going for, then they need to find me an off-ice job."

[Moose 1]

This is the stuff I miss from not playing hockey now whereas joking around like tis at open hockey just gets me stares.

[psh 25]

When you're known simply for being a puss then you shouldn't really try to hassle unknowns, especially when those unknowns are skating for the top team in the East when you're 10th in the West.

My vote of "ass" has been confirmed. Any of you guys in the know, where does the Dallas EQM get that really good thread he uses to sew Ott's gloves to his sleeves?

Chippa, you're writing like the kind of guy who Ott would goad into dropping the gloves and draw the penalty he is trying to incite.

Nah, just writing like a guy who respects the game. Esa Tikkanen and Ken Linesman were two of the worst things to happen to the NHL because it spawned a whole generation of Claude Lemieux type players who can do whatever they want and never answer for it.

Chippa, I don't know you, but I suspect we agree on more than we disagree when it comes to hockey (with a major exception being the role of fighting, perhaps). I'm not defending Ott's overall game, but I do think that clip captured a perfectly legitimate and quite witty way for Ott to take his opposing winger off of his game.

Now, your mentioning Tikkanen and especially Lemieux as examples of what is wrong with the game is puzzling to me. Tikkanen won 3 Cups, was a frequent 20 and sometimes even 30 goal scorer and was a multi-time finalist for the Selke Award. The guy was widely considered to be one of the best shut down wingers of his era and also produced when it counted. He had 132 points in 186 playoff games.

And speaking of producing when it counts, consider Lemieux. 4 cups for 3 teams. 9th most playoff goals ever. A Conn Smythe Award. Without a doubt, one of the finest playoff performers in the history of the game (and I say this as a guy who loves the Red Wings franchise of the last 20 years).

Tikkanen and Lemieux are not exemplary of what is wrong with hockey, they are exemplary professionals based on their track records. You want examples of what's wrong with the game: I'd say guys like Konopka, Parros, Orr, Janssen, Boogard, Laraque--guys who barely have the tools to play the game, yet end every year with hundreds of penalty minutes. Or guys like Avery and Downie, who bring shame on the game. Or, and I think this might be where we would agree, the league management, who continually fail to enforce the rules of the game and thereby make it a place where Boogards and Orrs are still welcomed and, some would say, necessary. Indeed, I wonder how players like Ott and Avery, not to mention Tikkanen and Lemieux, would respond to a league where the rulebook was more strictly enforced and show fights were rarely called for. I have little doubt that Lemieux and Tikkanen would have had fine careers, and I have no doubt that there would have been no demand for Boogard and Orr's services in the NHL.

[durke 0]

You can argue for or against guys like this, but it's one of the reasons I watch way too much hockey. Love seeing what stupid things a guy like Avery may do next.

[chippa13 1844]

Chippa, I don't know you, but I suspect we agree on more than we disagree when it comes to hockey (with a major exception being the role of fighting, perhaps). I'm not defending Ott's overall game, but I do think that clip captured a perfectly legitimate and quite witty way for Ott to take his opposing winger off of his game.

Now, your mentioning Tikkanen and especially Lemieux as examples of what is wrong with the game is puzzling to me. Tikkanen won 3 Cups, was a frequent 20 and sometimes even 30 goal scorer and was a multi-time finalist for the Selke Award. The guy was widely considered to be one of the best shut down wingers of his era and also produced when it counted. He had 132 points in 186 playoff games.

And speaking of producing when it counts, consider Lemieux. 4 cups for 3 teams. 9th most playoff goals ever. A Conn Smythe Award. Without a doubt, one of the finest playoff performers in the history of the game (and I say this as a guy who loves the Red Wings franchise of the last 20 years).

Tikkanen and Lemieux are not exemplary of what is wrong with hockey, they are exemplary professionals based on their track records. You want examples of what's wrong with the game: I'd say guys like Konopka, Parros, Orr, Janssen, Boogard, Laraque--guys who barely have the tools to play the game, yet end every year with hundreds of penalty minutes. Or guys like Avery and Downie, who bring shame on the game. Or, and I think this might be where we would agree, the league management, who continually fail to enforce the rules of the game and thereby make it a place where Boogards and Orrs are still welcomed and, some would say, necessary. Indeed, I wonder how players like Ott and Avery, not to mention Tikkanen and Lemieux, would respond to a league where the rulebook was more strictly enforced and show fights were rarely called for. I have little doubt that Lemieux and Tikkanen would have had fine careers, and I have no doubt that there would have been no demand for Boogard and Orr's services in the NHL.

Yes, Tikkanen and Claude Lemieux may have been able to play the game but you can ask most hockey pundits what they remember about them and they won't quote stats. Tikkanen was the first player in memory who was known for stirring up trouble and running away from it. He was the first guy known for pulling stupid antics to try and draw penalties, blowing kisses being his favorite. That, in my opinion, is what spawned a very similar Claude Lemieux and then led to today's batch of Avery and Ott and the like.

You're right, I think guys who are only able to fight have no place in the game. I long for the days when guys policed themselves and the "scripted" fights are a thing of the past. I often point to guys like Brendan Shanahan when talking about this. He could play and he could fight and if a teammate needed some help, he provided it. Shanny didn't wait for the two fourth line goons to go at center ice. And if an opponent felt Shanny had crossed a line then they knew where to find him.