Year-End Grades: Schmidt and Shinnimin

Tyler Schmidt: A-

I knew when he was a rookie he'd become a good defenseman in this league. I like being right. Over the years he got smarter and smarter with the puck and finally this season it didn't always look like he had cement in his skates. Statistically he had his best season ever with 11 goals, 42 assists in the regular season, and he ended up a +28. I suspect he got some looks from some NHL scouts and hopefully that will turn up something good for him in the future.

I debated between Tyler and Matt when I awarded "Best Defenseman" and finally went with Matt, but it was a tough call. My biggest--and really only--beef with Schmidt is his inability to shut up and play. His incessant blabbing to refs and linesman often took him out of the game as he was still yammering after play had resumed. By doing that he drew negative attention to himself and his teammates. And he looked like a whiny babyhead. He's better than that, he's a better player than that and in my opinion, if he wants to succeed at the next level he has to knock that off. Yes, I'm well aware that with the "A" on his sweater it's a little bit of his job to talk to refs, but not to the extent that he does.

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Brendan Shinnimin: B+

Almost 100 points in only 60 games. That's pretty incredible. Shinny has a drive and an intensity that is off the charts. He loves to score goals, and he apparently loves to help Hughey score goals too. Small, but speedy, Brendan is able to work his way around opponents like he's 8 feet tall. He's a pest, and he's good at it. Look at how much opposing players and fans hate him. Tells me he's doing something right. I know I would really hate his guts if he was on an opposing team--like Brendan Leipsic.

But there's also people who don't like Shinnimin because of the hit on Nichols. In in grading him that can't be overlooked either. His passion sometimes gets the best of him and that was just one example. He deserved the 12 games for it. What he didn't deserve is for refs to look the other way as he was assaulted night in and night out because he developed some sort of "reputation". He served his time, let it be done--but it wasn't. Other times his passion gets the better of him is shown in his sometimes selfish play. It's a fine line between good selfish and bad selfish and he sometimes crosses that line. At the same time, look at his points--so sometimes that selfishness works for him. And with the number of assists sometimes his selflessness works too.