I’ve banged out a few of these pseudo-profiles back in the day at BBnR and I thought I’d do a few more during this offseason. Unfortunately for the Avs, their offseason started early. I’ve had bits and pieces of this one on the back burner for a while so here goes. This is kinda my version of one of DD’s report cards, but more fanboy-ish. With award season for the hockey world creeping ever closer as the Stanley Cup Finals slide toward us like a glacier before the impact of global warming, I’m going to throw this out there:
I’d like to nominate Mr. Ben Guite for the first ever MHH Unsung Hero Award. He has the following qualifications:
- Gets oodles of PK minutes and ended the regular season with the most short-handed time on ice among forwards on the entire team. Clearly, he is a responsible defensive forward or he wouldn’t be out there in those situations.
- He’s 2nd on the team in face-off percentage with 48%. 48% doesn’t sound that great, but when you recall the horrendous FO #’s this team put up during the regular season, you’d be smart to take that 48% to the bank. For comparison, Son of Stastny had an even 51% in the regular season, while Tyler Arnason won about 47%.
- Speaking of which, Guite took a whopping 73% of the team’s face-offs in short-handed situations and won just over 41% of them. Conversely, Arny took 2.5% and went 2 for 7.
- In an injury-riddled season where the Avalanche medical staff did everything humanly possible to maim
- In only his second NHL season, Mr. Guite notched 22 points (11 goals, 11 assists) on what passed as
- Speaking of highs, the esteemed Mr. Guite led the team in hits with 115. That makes that 79 games played stat look even better.
- He had two game-winning goals this season, more than Coach Q favorite Arnason (who had 1).
- He also finished the season as +1 while lining up against the other teams’ top lines with shutdown linemates Lappy and Pick-a-Cody.
- His line + Adam Foote = Marian Gaborik is sad …
- He scored a great short-handed goal against former Vezina-nominee goaltender Backstrom in the first round of the playoffs.
- Hell, he only finished -1 in the Detroit series, that's gotta count for something...
- And last but certainly not least, he rocked a porn-worthy handlebar mustache at different times during the regular season! That's right sportsfans, facial hair OUTSIDE of the playoffs.
Image courtesy of Larry Wong - Edmonton Journal
So there you have it, my opinion on one of the sometimes overlooked players on our beloved Avalanche. I think I've presented a fairly compelling case for Ben. Let me know if you agree or disagree or if you have a nomination other than Mr. Guite.