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Niklas Hagman is not one of those players who is keen on staying in the spotlight and he somehow manages to stay away from the media even in such a hockey crazy city like Toronto. Unfairly though he seems to go unnoticed even when he’s playing well and this is just not right in my eyes. I think he deserves more praise then he is given. He played his heart out last season yet is rarely mentioned and someetimes is completely missed by people in their lineup predictions (now that’s silly).
He certainly is one of the most underrated Leafs I have ever seen. He doesn’t seem to get any positive or negative feedback from the fans no matter what he does. The problem is that if he makes one mistake next season fans will get on him as if he’s never done anything for the Leafs. We need to start noticing these players and not just consider them as extra pieces in the team that might not be here later on. Niklas Hagman has always been a team player and certainly doesn’t mind not being in the spotlight although any player would want to be appreciated by the fans for his good play by chanting his name in appreciation. Unfortunately, fans feel players like Belak deserve praise (when he was here) yet guys like Hagman don’t. I don’t blame the fans though as they are a loyal bunch and appreciate their players, it’s just that he’s portrayed as a quiet guy and no one seems to notice him from the media. I think it should be the media’s goal to get this guy on TV more as he probably has a lot of insight to offer. Sometimes he performs really well but the media still focuses on other guys much more intensely then they do for the actual guy who won the game.
Why does Hagman deserve more attention from the fans? He’s a fantastic all around player, he can score with his snappy shot which is deadly accurate as we have seen him serve up some top cheese in games. His passes are on the money most of the time due to his superbly developed hockey smarts. One thing no one can put him down for is the fact his defensive game is top class for a forward of his scoring prowess. He certainly was one of the better signings by Fletcher, it’s understandable if a guy like Stempniak goes unrecognised but someone who is putting up good numbers deserves a bit more respect don’t you think?
I didn’t write this article to tell fans that Hagman is 1st line material, but I certainly think he deserves a spot on the 2nd line ahead of players like Stempniak that’s for sure. I hope fans start appreciating his game more and more as next season goes along.
7 comments:
He is a very slick player and one of the best danglers on our team. The goal he scored last year after undressing four defensive players.....Nasty. But as you said, he prefers the quiet life and his personality is not a particularly boisterous one. Hard for a lot of people to notice him. But he still is the best signing made by fletcher.
BTW......nice, insightful posts. Surprised more people have not commented.
Finally someone gives this guy the recognition he deserves, he has heart and skill (after all Dallas thought he was good enough to play with Modano). Yet blue and white bleeders dont even think about this guy, lets face it, Stemmy, Mayers and Stajan are one dimensional players and would not crack the line up on 50% of NHL teams, who gives a rats a$$ about them…
And I agree with 89, TML Nation and Hot Stove are the only two Leaf sites I look at, keep it up!
thanks guys... to even see TML Nation in the same sentence as Hot Stove is a major compliment as that's a great site.
It's Toronto. Fans are going to cheer for the hard nosed gritty players, not the ones necessarily with the most skill. It's the reason Gilmour and Clark were more appreciated than Sundin. Toronto loves their sandpaper guys and Hagman doesn't fit that mould.
Hagman: I like him a lot, but I always get the impression that he is driving in 3rd gear the whole time. I want to see a bit more fire and a bit more drive to the net. He can dish and he can shoot, but I don't see him as a hungry scorer.
As a PKer I love him and his defensive game is great. But I need to see that fire.
Also, why the picture of Johnny Pohl at the beginning of the post?
(Lastly, come visit theothervatican too my lovelies! Hoorah for more leaf blogs!)
Hagman can play on my first line.
ROFL on the pic i put up. I guess that's what you get when you pick random pics through google lol.
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