Zenon Konopka isn't just a goon!

With the second round of the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs underway, the Ottawa Senators have already been eliminated at the hands of the New York Rangers and will enjoy the rest of the festivities from the sidelines. Although they are gone from contention, they took New York to a full seven-game series and it was one of their "grunt" players that has impressed me the most out of any player thus far in the playoffs; Zenon Konopka.

For most of his career Konopka has been classified solely as a goon and it is easy to see why. After parts of seven seasons in the NHL, Konopka has scored a mere 11-goals in 250-games, while at the same time racking up 877-minutes in penalties. Since 2002, he has bounced back and forth from minor league hockey to the NHL, only recently having garnered a full time stay in "the Show". While vying to solidify a permanent NHL roster spot during that time, he has had stops in the East Coast Hockey, the American Hockey League, and even the former Russian Super League, which was the predecessor of the current Kontinental Hockey League, Eastern Europe's version of the NHL. In that time, Konopka has played for 14 different hockey clubs in total.

Konopka has been viewed as an expendable. Not having the talent to make a regular lineup in the NHL, he has done his darndest to earn a spot with his tough, physical play and fisticuffs. Konopka was the most penalized player in the NHL during both the 2009-10 and the 2010-11 seasons. He had 33 and 25 fighting-majors in each of those seasons respectively as well; the 33 fights in '09-'10 being more than any other player in the league that season. Though Konopka has most often been used for intimidation purposes only for any team that he has played for, after his performance in Ottawa's losing efforts against the Rangers that very well may change.

In the 6-games that Konopka played in during the opening round, he was a faceoff wizard. He would win 75-percent, 73-percent, 83-percent, 63-percent, and 77-percent of his faceoffs across the last six games of the series respectively. Those stats alone could make him a highly sought after prize for any franchise in the league. It is very rare for a player to win that percentage of draws in the circle repeatedly. Having been so proficient on the draw allowed Konopka to take a regular shift during the series and play some of the longest amounts of ice-time in his career.

Along with how well he performed on faceoffs, what impressed me most about Zenon Konopka during the playoffs was his determination to win and his drive to play at his best. I felt that he was one of the most intense players to watch during the series. So much so that it got Konopka into a bit of trouble, as the NHL fined him $10,000 after he "verbally abused" a Ranger player that was giving a live-interview prior to the start of Game Two. Regardless of that incident, Konopka was constantly in front of the Rangers net, screening premier goaltender Henrik Lundqvist and driving Rangers defensemen to the boiling point. Being built like a tank at a solid 6'0" and 210lbs., and owning very imposing stare, Konopka created much havoc as he made camp in the New York crease.

Despite the losing effort by the Sens, Konopka would finish the series with 2-assists and a plus-2 in the 6 playoff games he appeared in for Ottawa. These 2-points were ninth best on the Senators team and his plus-2 in the losing series tied for second best on the Ottawa roster. Konopka had a better faceoff winning percentage than any other centerman for the Senators and still has one of the best percentages for regular faceoff takersfor any team in the NHL playoffs thus far.

At 31-years of age, Konopka very well may have earned himself the security of a full-time, permanent job in the NHL. Any team would want a player who can win faceoffs that steadily, and with his tenacity to boot Zenon Konopka is the kind of player that every winning team wants and desires. I wish for his success for next season and for years ahead. I have taken a whole new appreciation of him as a player who is multidimensional in numerous aspects of the game; not just when it comes to dropping the gloves.

The new "Little Ball of Hate" - Nathan Gerbe

Pat Verbeek - the original "Little Ball of Hate"

During the mid-1990s while playing with the New York Rangers, winger Pat Verbeek was given the nickname "The Little Ball of Hate" by his backup goaltender, Glenn Healy. The name was partially applied to Verbeek because his teammate, Ray Ferraro, had already been nicknamed "The Big Ball of Hate". However, the moniker seemed to most fit Verbeek due to the tenacity (combined with a high level of skill) that he played the game with, despite the fact that he was a short and stocky 5'9" player with a build of 190lbs. Verbeek never backed down from anyone throughout the 20 years that he played in the National Hockey League, oftentimes playing the game just downright mean and ornery. His determination and drive made him a success in hockey for many productive years. Winning a Stanley Cup with the Dallas Stars in 1999, Verbeek is the only player in NHL history to score over 500-goals and record over 2,500-penalty-minutes. Verbeek's nastiness, along with a healthy scoring prowess allowed him to play the game like a much bigger man would, and gave him longevity in the NHL with five different teams (Rangers, Stars, New Jersey Devils, Hartford Whalers and Detroit Red Wings).

Diminutive but fearless Nathan Gerbe

In the NHL today, "The Little Ball of Hate" moniker most befits Buffalo Sabres winger Nathan Gerbe. Even Verbeek would have had some size on Gerbe if both were playing today. Gerbe stands a diminutive 5'5" but is a very sturdy, tank-like 178lbs. Gerbe's build is reminsicent of other tank-like forwards who found success in the NHL, such as Steve "Stumpy" Thomas, Randy "Stump" Burridge and Andrei "Tank" Kovalenko. With a low center of gravity, muscular build and dominant speed, Gerbe is very difficult to knock off of the puck when he is out on the ice. His small stature allows him to maneuver well in corners and along the boards, and he is able to sneak through the opposition and beat them to the punch before they are able to make a hit on him.

Besides his build, Gerbe has excellent hockey sense out on the ice. He makes very smart plays in terms of his positioning when back-checking and he can oftentimes be found sacrificing the body in order to make a pinch along the boards for the puck or to put a shooter at a bad angle. Knowing how a play is going to develop, Gerbe has been able to put himself in the right place at the right time and has contributed well offensively in the short time he has played thus far in the NHL. Gerbe has the Sabres record for the fastest 2-goals by a player when he scored twice a mere five seconds apart against the New York Islanders on January 21st, 2011.

Gerbe up against a much larger Zenon Kenopka

But what is perhaps most impressive with Gerbe's style of play is that he is completely fearless - in an "oh so similar" way to Pat Verbeek. Giants who tower over him like Zdeno Chara and Chris Pronger do not intimate Nathan Gerbe in the least. When there are scrums in front of the net or in front of the benches, Gerbe is right in the thick of things. Gerbe plays well beyond his own size limitations and routinely out-hussles opposing players that are larger and stronger then he is. In Buffalo, fans have taken to calling Gerbe "Tasmanian Devil", which was a nickname once applied to former big, bad Bruin Terry O'Reilly in the 70's and 80's. But O'Reilly was a much larger player and one of the greatest enforcers and pugilists to ever play in the NHL - a much different style of player. I feel that Gerbe's style of play more closely resembles that of Verbeek, and that the "Little Ball of Hate" title is far more suitable.

Gerbe's initial success came in college while playing for Boston College from 2005 to 2008. Gerbe's finest season with Boston was in 2008 when he tallied 35-goals and totaled 68-points in just 43-games. That year in the "Frozen Four" Hockey Tournament in Denver, which is the NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament championship, Gerbe stole the show entirely as he notched 5-goals in the final 2 games of the tournament, while leading Boston to the championship. Gerbe was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament and was named to the All-Tournament Team. That same year Gerbe was also a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award which is given annually to the top collegiate men's ice hockey player.

Gerbe led Boston to a Frozen Four
championship in 2008.

In 2007, Nathan Gerbe was part of Team USA's bronze medal winning team at the World Junior Hockey Championships in Mora, Sweden. Gerbe played alongside fellow NHLers Patrick Kane, Erik Johnson, Jack Skille, Kyle Okposo, Justin Abdelkader and James van Riemsdyk, as Team USA lost to Team Canada in the semi-finals but would defeat Team Sweden in the Third Place game. Gerbe recorded 6-assists in 7-games during the tournament.

The Buffalo Sabres had taken notice of Gerbe's skill in 2005 when they drafted him 142nd overall in the NHL Entry Draft. Since that time Gerbe's hard work and determination have given him a permanent spot on the Sabres roster. In May 2008 Gerbe signed his first NHL contract, a 3-year deal with the Sabres. During the 2008-09 NHL season Gerbe first cracked the roster for 10 games managing just one assist while playing mostly in the AHL with the Portland Pirates where he recorded 30-goals and 56-points in 57-games. Gerbe followed that up the next year with 10 more games with the parent-club, this time scoring his first NHL goal against the Washington Capitals in December 2009 and finishing off the season with 2-goals and 3-assists in those 10-games.

Gerbe standing up the Philadelphia Flyers

The 2010-11 season would see Nathan Gerbe land a permanent spot with the Sabres, as he appeared in 64 regular season games, along with all 7 playoff games in a heated series against the Philadelphia Flyers that the Sabres would eventually lose. Gerbe potted 16-goals and 31-points during those 64-games but perhaps made a bigger impact in the playoffs in a very hard fought series with Philadelphia that saw him endear himself both to the Buffalo fans and his teammates. Gerbe would lead all Sabres in penalty-minutes in the playoffs with 18 as he waged war with numerous members of the Flyers, most notably Philly's premier disturber at the time Daniel Carcillo, who like Gerbe is also small in stature but is a very physical, in-your-face type of player. During the series Gerbe notched 2-goals which tied him for second on the team with Tyler Ennis for most playoff goals for the Sabres that season, behind Thomas Vanek who had 5. However, it would matter very little as the Sabres would fall to the Flyers at the end of the 7-games.

Nathan Gerbe has maintained his effective style of play in Buffalo during the present season 2011-12, though he has missed numerous games due to a concussion and an upper body injury. Never wanting to see a player injured, it does however make sense that Gerbe would be putting himself at a higher risk for injury with his fearless style of play and high-speed skating which is fueled by guts and determination. Gerbe has 3-goals and 9-assists for 12-points this season while playing in 27-regular season games thus far.

Gerbe celebrating a Buffalo goal

Believing that attitude, determination and heart can more than make up for a lack of size, Gerbe also possesses skill and speed that most others do not. His heart in particular is much bigger than the hearts of most of those players who outweigh him on the scale or stand over a foot taller. It is my thought that the new "Little Ball of Hate" has all of the necessary tools needed to have the same longevity that Pat Verbeek once had, and that he can develop a similar knack for scoring goals and putting up big numbers. Gerbe is a difference maker on the ice and with Buffalo's lackluster record at this point in the season (17-17-4 as of January 2nd), he is one of the few players on the team who has been giving it his all each and every shift.