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Calgary, AB • Canada • 29 Years Old • Male

A Steady Growth of Moss

Posted 2:43 PM ET | Comments 9
When talking about players who were drafted in the 7th Round of an NHL draft, not many players really stick out at you. Sure, there are the Henrik Zetterberg’s(7th Round in 1999) or Pavel Datsyuk’s(6th Round in 1998) of the world, but for the most part the best a late-rounder will be is a third line grinder or bottom tier defenceman.

Enter David Moss, drafted #220 overall in the 7th round of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft.

The 6 foot, 200 pound right wing caught on with the Flames in 2006 scoring 10 goals in 41 games after being called up midway through the season. He broke out right away scoring the game-winner in his first game and potting goals in his first three games as a pro. Following that, he had his breakout season in 08-09 eclipsing the 20 goal plateau and nearly breaking the 40 point mark, falling one shy.

Moss is now entering his 5th season with the Flames, and he is one of many Flames who are feeling the heat this season to rebound from a poor campaign in 2009-2010. He only played 64 games last season due to injury and only recorded 17 points (9 goals, 8 assists) during that time. The question that everyone is wondering about Moss is this: Is he a 20 goal scorer or a guy who scored 20 goals? The difference is palpable; one player is a legitimate scoring threat while the other is the next Cheechoo.

Moss flanks the right side for the Flames as he realistically only sits behind #12 on the depth chart of right wingers; assuming nobody moves from center to the wing or wing to wing. That’s a pretty massive drop off in right wingers if you ask me. I have nothing against Moss as I think he is a serviceable player, but he fits the mould of so many other Flames players that it becomes difficult to differentiate what Moss can really bring to the team, that others like him cannot.

Here in lies the problem I have with this team. The Flames have too many 2nd-3rd line grinders/checkers/occasional scorers that they have become bogged down with mediocrity. Mediocrity doesn’t win championships, it wins you first round exits and an infinite number of repetitive questions.

Moss did have one highlight last year and that was being picked to represent Team USA at the 2010 IIHF World Hockey Championships. Unfortunately for Dave, the team had one of their worst tournaments ever, losing all three round robin games, before avoiding total embarrassment and winning the relegation round robin against such International Powerhouses as Kazakhstan, Italy, and France. Hopefully the experience served him well and he came back with a little more confidence, even if the team barely beat Borat and friends.

Another thing Moss does have going for him is that he relatively cheap, at $1.3 million per season, compared to some of the other plugs on this team. There we see it again though; a player signs a new contract and consequently falls out of favour with the puck and the net.

Moss, like Jay Bouwmeester, is going into his second year of a new contract. Hopefully the pressure to perform is off now and Moss can return to the form that made him the money in the first place.

Newman
twitter.com/TSRNewman
For more player profiles and news on the Flames visit: www.thesportsroundup.com

P>S. This Site is brutal for posting the blogs. The posting mechanism is so screwed up! What a POS
Filed Under:   david moss   calgary flames   nhl  
September 17, 2010 4:16 PM ET | Delete
Langks now week to week per sportsnet......
September 17, 2010 4:36 PM ET | Delete
Naa...I say...naa hole on a minute thar bubba! Alice "The Streak" Ko-ta-lik is ba faaaar an' away are bes secin lan rat wing-uh!
September 17, 2010 5:00 PM ET | Delete
Whatever you want to believe...I hope you are being sarcastic
September 17, 2010 5:36 PM ET | Delete
I would rather play Ales on second line right wing than Moss. That being said I think there are other players that can play a top 6 role ahead of both of those guys; one of either Bourque or Hagman should be moved to the right side to fill that hole.
September 17, 2010 9:43 PM ET | Delete
Kotalik > Mossnuff said
September 18, 2010 5:59 AM ET | Delete
Either way its pretty weak...we are arguing plug vs plug
September 18, 2010 11:55 AM ET | Delete
Moss is a pylon. He does nothing, and brings nothing to this team. How he stuck around is beyond me. Jamie Lundmark can skate circles around this tool and was never given the chance. This guy does nothing and is still afforded every opportunity. Makes you wonder who and what he has pics of.
September 19, 2010 9:07 PM ET | Delete
Bourque is actually a right wing, when interviewded by the herald last week it was stated that it was probable that he would start the season as right wing second line .. this was quoted in the paper.... Kotalik can play left wing and has in his career, Moss is a third line player with second line potential if there is an injury.....
September 20, 2010 12:35 AM ET | Delete
They had Moss centering the second line in training camp as well, so who knows whats going to happen. it all depends on whether or not langkow is back or not
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