In with the new Hoff

The Canucks' Christian Ehrhoff

David Hasselhoff

The two figures above are rather different, of course. One has accomplished a lot, is known for his German connections and has a following of millions, and the other is David Hasselhoff.

Seriously, though, defenceman Christian Ehrhoff has been one of the best additions to the Canucks this year. He’s been effective offensively, with five goals and 10 assists in 24 games, but perhaps even more importantly, he’s been good defensively as well.

According to Gabe Desjardins‘ data, the Canucks score 2.53 goals per 60 minutes Ehrhoff plays and allow 1.11. When he’s off the ice, their GF/60 drops slightly to 2.34. However, the real change comes when you look at the defensive side; their GA/60 shoots up to 2.59 without Ehrhoff.

Ehrhoff has always been renowned for his offence, but his defence has been called into question more frequently. This isn’t just a case of the eyes deceiving, as there is some historical foundation for this. If you look at his stats from last year with San Jose, he put up a 1.80 GFON/60 and a 2.35 GAON/60. When he was off the ice, the team recorded 2.49 goals per 60 minutes and allowed 1.90, so it can be argued that they were better without him. Now, part of that may be due to defence partners, the opposing forwards he faced or even the situations he was used in, but the stats do suggest that Ehrhoff has made significant jumps forward both offensively and defensively this year.

Of course, we’ve only played a quarter of the season, so there is still a small sample size to be considered here. Still, the visual evidence from watching Ehrhoff supports the statistical data in my mind; he’s been very good defensively, and he’s had several strong offensive showings recently as well, including two goals and an assist against Colorado on the 20th. Even when he doesn’t show up on the scoresheet, he seems to be getting it done effectively. By contrast, Hasselhoff has been rumoured to be drunk and disorderly at a Langley casino. His most recent project is “Dancing Ninja”, which just screams high production values, and he’s even apparently wound up in hospital now. In my mind, it’s time for the passing of the nickname. Out with the old Hoff, in with the new!

(I don’t know if Ehrhoff will be able to top this, though:)

Tags: Christian Ehrhoff, defence, humour, San Jose Sharks, statistics