Last year as many of you know, Vinny Prospal was injured and did not play for most of the season. He, in fact played 29 games. After last nights game with Boston, Mr Prospal has played 29 games with the Jackets. I thought it would be a good time to take a look at how the season is going vs. last year’s performance.
———– G -A- PTS +/– PPG– shots
2011-2012- 7 16 23 -5 2 67
2010-2011 9 14 23 4 2 61
Pretty similar numbers, considering he was playing for the New York Islanders last year and the Columbus Blue Jackets this year. But, last year the NYI won only 30 games with 73 points, finishing last in their division. In fact the Islanders, have finished last in their division the past 4 seasons.
Sadly this too is similar to Columbus who seem to find new ways to break our hearts every game. {I know we had 1 playoff appearance, but the total history trend is similar} So, V Prospal is used to playing on a team that is not exactly stellar. So, what has he brought to Columbus?
First- he has been a bright spot in the team’s performance. Early in the season, he was pretty much the only bright spot and was clearly the MVP. Although others on the team are finally getting un-tracked, he remains as a consistent player.
Second- he called out his team in a professional way to be more professional, to put more effort into practice and basically to try harder.
Third- all the lines he has been on have played better. He seems to be the oil in the machine that just makes it go better.
Fourth-and this is a lot more subjective, he has gotten some good reviews by his peers, the players in the locker room. The longer term fans are in wonder at the change in Derrick Dorsett’s game. Not long after his rather stupid penalty behind the net in the Detroit game, “Dorse” has changed he is having what should be called a “career” year. Rumor has it that he has credited his “new game” to watching Vinny Proposal practice and play.
The one big difference in the above numbers is in the +/- . I’m thinking this has to do with Columbus’s propensity if giving up goals at the wrong time, but maybe that’s a better discussion for another time
Scott Howson tried to bring in veteran leadership and example in the past, and was not successful in finding the right veteran. He found it this year, a genuine lead by example spark plug.