So, I’m at it again. Viewing and re-viewing hockey fight after hockey fight, trying to find the league’s best. I previously wrote in two parts about the top fighters from the Eastern conference (Atlantic Part 1, Atlantic Part 2, Metro Part 1, Metro Part 2) and now I am going to do one for each division in the Western conference.
The teams on the central division include; Stanley cup 2013 winners the Chicago Blackhawks, the St. Louis Blues, the Nashville Predators, the Minnesota Wild, the Colorado Avalanche, the Dallas Stars and the Winnipeg Jets.
Brandon Bollig, Chicago Blackhawks – I will start off with last season’s Stanley cup champions, the Chicago Blackhawks. The player I picked recorded five of the teams’ sixteen fights – Brandon Bollig. His first fight was on January 20th, 2013, against Paul Bissonnette from the Phoenix Coyotes. His other opponents last season included Chris Stewart from the St Louis Blues, Tim Hackman from the Calgary Flames, Dale Weise from the Vancouver Canucks and Jordan Nolan from the Los Angeles Kings.
Along with his five NHL fights last season, he recorded thirteen AHL fights. Wherever he has played, he is always bringing a very physical, nasty side to his teams whether in the NHL or AHL, which is why I can see him being back on the fight board for next season for the Chicago Blackhawks.
Ryan Reaves, St. Louis Blues – I chose Ryan Reaves to represent the Blues. He recorded seven of the team’s twenty-one fights. His first fight was against Rich Clune from the Nashville Predators on January 24th. Up next, on January 31st he took on the top fighter for the Columbus Blue Jackets; Jarred Boll. Rounding out his 2012/13 season, he fought Aaron Volpatti from the Vancouver Cannucks, Dwight King from the Los Angeles Kings, Tom Sestito from the Vancouver Cannucks, Paul Bissonnette from the Phoenix Coyotes and Tim Jackman from the Calgary Flames.
Looking into next season I am not sure that Ryan Reaves will be able to keep his top spot on the fight cards for his team. I can see Chris Stewart being a top fighter for the Blues. During the shortened season he only recorded four fights, but in prior years (For the OHL, AHL and NHL) he has recorded anywhere from six to thirteen fights.
Richard Clune, Nashville Predators – Next, we will look at the top fighter for the Nashville Predators, Richard Clune. During the shortened season he recorded twelve fights for the NHL and fourteen fights for the AHL. His first NHL fight of the season was on the 22nd of January against Zenon Konopka from the Minnesota Wild. He also stepped up to fight St. Louis Blues top fighter Ryan Reaves. Adding to his hit list, he fought Kyle Chipchura from the Phoenix Coyotes, Kyle Clifford from the Los Angeles Kings, Andrew Shaw from the Chicago Blackhawks, Mike Brown from the Edmonton Oilers, Dale Weise from the Vancouver Canucks, Steve Begin from the Calgary Flames, Cody McLeod from the Colorado Avalanche, Brad Malone from the Colorado Avalanche, Antoine Roussel from the Dallas Stars and Steve Pinizzotto from the Vancouver Canucks.
Clune brings a nasty streak to the ice, and this season he received a $1000+ fine for boarding Aaron Palushaj from the Colorado Avalanche. Clune has always been a top fighter and I expect him to continue doing so during the upcoming seasons for the Nashville Predators.
Zenon Konopka, Minnesota Wild – Our fourth fighter will be from the Minnesota Wild. Zenon Konopka recorded nine fights for the NHL during the shortened season. The last three seasons he recorded between 18 and 33 fights – yes, 33 fights. His first fight was against Cody McLeod from the Colorado Avalanche on January 19th. He then fought top fighter Richard Clune on the 22nd of January. His next two fights were against the same player during the same game -Dale Weise from the Vancouver Cannucks. His next two fights, this time on different days, were against Patrick Maroon from the Anaheim Ducks. He then took on Cody McLeod and to end his fight card he went up against Kyle Chipchura from the Phoenix Coyotes and Mike Brown from the Edmonton Oilers.
Looking at his fight cards from previous seasons he will be back on top again this year, but he will have to be careful or he might not be on the team much longer. He has a history of bad behaviour, and he even got fined (along with the Senators) back in 2012 totalling almost $12 000 between them when he verbally abused a New York Rangers player who was doing a live television interview. We will have to see what will happen next season.
Cody McLeod, Colorado Avalanche – Next, from the Colorado Avalanche, the top fighter will be one we have stumbled on a few times; Cody McLeod. His first fight was with Zenon Konopka from the Minnesota Wild (as well as McLeod was Konopka’s first fight). To add to the fight card was Dale Weise from the Vancouver Canucks, Kyle Chipchura from the Phoenix Coyotes, Dalton Prout from the Columbus Blue Jackets, Zenon Konopka from the Minnesota Wild, Tim Jackman from the Calgary Flames and Rich Clune from the Nashville Predators.
Even though he is a big fighter I think Patrick Bordeleau is working his way to be a top fight contender that will knock Cody McLeod out of the top spot. Bordeleau recorded six fights during the shortened season.
Antoine Roussel, Dallas Stars – I picked Antoine Roussel who recorded seven fights during the shortened season and six in the AHL. His first was on February 13th, against Jarome Iginla from the Calgary Flames. Also to add to his fight card was Zack Kassian from the Vancouver Cannucks, top fighter Chris Stewart from the St Louis Blues, Shea Weber from the Nashville Predators, Brent Seabrook from the Chicago Blackhawks, Emerson Etem from the Anaheim Ducks and Rich Clune from the Nashville Predators.
Looking back at his previous records he is not much of a fighter. He has recorded some high seasons but a lot of them were very low but I think this will change next season.
Chris Thorburn, Winnipeg Jets – From the Winnipeg Jets I have to go with Chris Thorburn. His first fight was against Matt Hendricks from the Washington Capitals on the 22nd of January. Also to add to his fight card is Travis Moen from the Montreal Canadiens, Frazer McLaren from the Toronto Maple Leafs, top fighter Deryk Engelland from the Pittsburgh Penguins, top fighter Wayne Simmonds from the Philadelphia Flyers, top fighter Colton Orr from the Toronto Maple Leafs (two times on two different days) Tim Gleason from the Carolina Hurricanes and Jay Rosehill from the Philadelphia Flyers.
Again, he has not much been considered a heavyweight for many fans, admittedly. In fact, the most fights he has been involved in in one season in the NHL was eleven. I happen to think however, that this could change during the upcoming season.
We will see starting in just a few weeks which players will be on the top of the fight card and which ones won’t.
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