I know I said I was going to take a few days off from writing because I have been preoccupied with a few things and my stress level has gone through the roof. However, after a conversation I just had with a person who I believed was an intelligent Ranger fan, I couldn't resist holding back.
The player who I have chosen to receive the first annual "Biggest Waste of an NHL Roster Spot" award goes to New York Rangers' forward and so-called tough guy Ryan Hollweg.
My friend is a Rangers fan and when I suggested that Hollweg should be traded (maybe for a bag of pucks, or a good wooden stick), he laughed at me and gave this big long-winded speech about how Hollweg is key for the Rangers success. I was stunned, because I've known this friend for years and always respected his hockey sense.
Not any more. In fact, it infuriated me so much that I decided to write this article, even with the constant pain I've had in my chest for the last four days (who knows, this could be the last one I write if I kick the bucket tomorrow).
So here we go, why is Ryan Hollweg valuable to the team?
Can he score goals?
The answer is simply...no. Other then poor, poor Patrik Stefan, I believe Hollweg is the only player in the league that could miss an empty net on a breakaway with no one guarding him. He has a shot that couldn't break glass and in 200 NHL games, he has a whopping 5 goals and 7 assists.
His only two goals this season came in the same game against the Philadelphia Flyers. The second of those goals bounced off his face and the goalie's shoulder before barely sliding across the line.
This argument is settled.
Okay, so he can check right?
If there were no referees or penalty calls made in the sport of hockey then the answer would be yes, but unfortunately it's no again. Hollweg, who does have decent speed, constantly lines up opponents only to be a step too late and then plasters only himself into the glass.
It seems the only time he does check someone, it's when the player has his back to him and he gets a boarding call. In fact, I single-handedly blame him for the second round loss to the Penguins this season: just as the Rangers tied Game Three and took momentum, he got whistled for checking a player who was fifteen feet from the puck.
Well then, he must be a fighter?
Because the definition of fighter is "someone who fights" and isn't "someone who fights and is good at it" then yes, Ryan Hollweg would be considered a fighter. But I really don't remember ever seeing him win a fight.
He usually starts out well but very shortly gets tired and ends up having his face pummeled. Whenever the Rangers needed momentum with a fight, Hollweg would then give that momentum to the other team, by getting his ass handed to him by some of the worst fighters in the NHL (cough, Todd Fedoruk, cough).
If he can't score, check or fight, why does he have an NHL roster spot?
I honestly can't tell you because it's something that other Rangers fans and I have been trying to figure out for years. My explanation is he must have pictures of Tom Renney and Glen Sather doing something dirty together.
So you've read the arguments and by now, you must know my stance. Some will agree and some will disagree, and that's fine. But at least back up your opinion as I have.
My message to Glen Sather is, "get this worthless piece of garbage out of Ranger blue and send him to the minors where he belongs!"
Oh and one more thing, Congratulations Ryan!
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about 1 month ago
Hollweg is the biggest waste of time in hockey. The Rangers comeback in Game 3 vs the Penguins was stopped because of Hollweg's stupid penalty. I hope with Voros and Rissmiller coming in he is gone in some way.
about 1 month ago
i agree with you greg. all he does is piss people off, and that only works when u can play hockey too, like avery. great article
about 1 month ago
give the guy a break. should he be in the nhl? no. how has he stayed in the nhl? mostly because he busts his ass and gets by on work and heart alone. he doesnt mean to take dumb penalties, some of them aren't rightfully called, theyre reputation penalties. although yes he was responsible for that game in the playoffs. do i want him on the rangers? not really. but i respect him, hes the less than average no skill blue collar hockey player whose somehow found a way to be on a competitive nhl team for three seasons. good for him. i'm not going to rip the guy apart, all hes done is work hard and try to contribute to the team. if your remember correctly the year after the lockout everyone loved his energy, his heart, and his big hits. no reason whatsoever to rip a guy a new asshole for that. none at all. its one thing to say he shouldnt be on an nhl (which i think so too) but to unnecessary knock on him is absurd. ever play the game before? yeah
from about 1 month ago
Wow dude, that was not a very measured response. He did not say the guy is a waste of food and oxygen, or should be on America's Most Wanted, just that he is not a good hockey player. The only thing I would agree with you on is what you said about fighting--as one who has lost many fights, sometimes it is enough to be willing to make a guy fight every time he takes a cheap shot!
Greg, good stuff--maybe I need to do one on Alexei Semenov, who the Sharks were smart enough to let go!
about 1 month ago
one more thing, are you really going to rip him for getting his ass kicked fighting? are you kidding me? yeah so he gets his ass kicked but he sticks up for teammates and continually will drop the gloves when needed. even if hes over matched. so what if he takes a beating, hes the kind of guy who will take a beating and the minute he gets out of the box go at it again. have you ever been in a fight on the ice? i have, it takes balls to drop the mits. even if you get your ass kicked, your teammates will appreciate what you did. clearly in the end thats all matters in this case.
from about 1 month ago
Fighting is done to give momentum to your team. Since he's bad at he he should stop doing it because the momentum usually goes to the other team after he takes a beating.
about 1 month ago
Hollweg is a servicable 4th line agitator/energy guy with some decent speed and decent ability to see the ice. he can throw a decent check (although he needs to learn to let up when he sees a guys back facing him). while he has absolutely zero finishing ability and takes way too many stupid penalties, he is FAAAAAAAAR from the "biggest waste of a NHL roster spot." hell, last year he wasn't the biggest waste of a roster spot on his own team. Marek Malik was a bigger waste, considering he got paid a whole lot more (a bad thing with the salary cap), and did less.
from about 1 month ago
DUDE, YOU COULD NOT BE MORE WRONG! Just 'cause Malik can't score (which either can Hollweg) doesn't mean he isn't helping his team. AS OF LATE IN THE REGULAR SEASON, HE HAD THE BEST +/- RATING IN THE LEAGUE SINCE THE LOCKOUT ENDED! You can't be a bad player and stumble into a three-year statistic leadership of that magnitude! You have to do more than look at individual plays when you form your opinions, man!
about 1 month ago
MJ, you may want to stick with covering the Sharks. if you watched any Rangers games last yr you would KNOW Malik was a 6'6 240 lb waste that wouldn't even throw a bodycheck against a peewee player. his +/- was nothing great last yr (+7) and his own coach realized he was such a waste that he only dressed him for 42 games(yeah i know he missed a few games cuz of injury, but he was a healthy scratch plenty of times), which is a huge drop considering he was paired with Rozy the previous 2 years and did pretty well.
yes, he had an amazing shootout goal against the Caps a couple of years ago, and his +/- (easily the most overrated stat in any sport) was nice during his 1st 2 years, but considering what his rep was in Vancouver, he NEVER lived up to the deal he signed as a FA.
about 1 month ago
While Im not sad at all he is gone, some of this Malik hate is really ridiculous. Believe it or not, he actually understood how to play defense and how to make a pass. His main problem was that he often times got too cute with his passing which led to turnovers. When he was on, he made some great breakout passes out of the zone and used his body very well on the PK.
As far as the article, while I dont disagree about Hollweg, I'd like to throw another name out there for this topic: Jason "ECHL" Strudwick. I like him a lot as a person and he definately is a guy I'd like to have a drink with, but as a hockey player, well, see his nickname. I cant count how many plays I saw where he got beat to the puck due to his utter lack of speed, thinking "if that was Tyutin of Girardi, that puck would already at least be out of the zone". Not to mention, he consistently made defensive gaffes, forcing his unfortuante partner to constantly cover for him. I know he is a great teammate, but I'll never understand why Renney kept playing him, despite the fact that on the ice, he was hurting the team.
from about 1 month ago
Struds would make an excellant coach....
about 1 month ago
Ryan Hollweg is quite possibly the worst hockey player to have ever worn a Rangers sweater. I have seen him fall down so many times while attempting a shot on goal that at this point I don't think he's physically capable of putting a shot on net. Anyone who understands the sport knows this guy is the bottom of the barrel - they don't get much worse at the pro level. Hollweg is "fast" in the same sense that a garbage can rolling down a hill is "fast." The fans who overvalue hitting (and there are a lot of them) will reach for meaningless phrases like "heart and soul" to describe Hollweg. If you can't directly explain what a player does well on the ice, then you're not talking about a useful player, period.
about 1 month ago
Your missing a key component, he pisses people off. Sure its not enough to be an NHL caliber player but its something. He does get peoples attention, albeit half the time its the refs but he does get draw some attention on the ice. At least he draws Chris Simons attention. Which may have kept the Islanders out of the Playoffs last year.
about 1 month ago
Greg, for the first time I agree with your article. Hollweg is a huge waste. Even the Statue Of Liberty would play better than him. LOL.
from about 1 month ago
Too bad I didn't write this earlier, like 2 years ago lol....
about 1 month ago
What's funny is that he was a big time goal scorer in the minors. But at least you got your wish. If it were up to me he never would've donned a blue jersey again after that penalty in the playoffs against Pittsburgh. I would've taken him off the ice then and there and never looked back.
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