A Look At The Season 6 Warbirds

A Look At The Season 6 Warbirds

PART IV

There are many that look at the Minnesota Warbirds defense and cringe. Last year the group swept the BHL defense awards with Kristian Marosi taking the Best Offensive Defenseman award and Greg Ezell taking the Best Defensive Defenseman award. This year, the Birds get stronger (if that’s possible) with the addition of Chris Hie, an offensive defenseman who can put the puck in the net but also put an opponent on the ice.

#14 – Eric Baily

This year, Eric will wear the A for the Minnesota Warbirds for the first time. Last year, Eric really stepped his game up and became a big part of what the defense did. GM Greg Ezell has openly decreed that he views Eric as an integral part of the Warbirds’ organization and sees him as the future in Minnesota. Also, Eric is switching roles from an offensive defenseman mindset to a more defensive defenseman mindset.

Last year Baily posted 1 goal and 8 assists (9 points) which was a step up from his S4 total of 3 goals and 5 assists (8 points). What the third year player needs to learn is discipline as he was second on the team with 18 penalty minutes.

Baily will be paired with either Kristian Marosi or Chris Hie. If Baily is paired with Marosi, it will be a speedier tandem, but how will they play against big, powerful forwards? With Hie, it will be a stronger tandem, but can they hold their own against the speedsters?

#36 – Chris Hie

Hie came over in a trade that saw center Charlie Hooker go to San Fransisco and center Jon Desouza go to Castlegar. Hie has always been on Ezell’s radar, dating back to when the two began playing against one another in the now defunct F-L.

Last season, Hie played for the Toronto Vipers and was a big reason why they made it to the Thundercup Finals. In 22 games he posted 0 goals and 15 assists (15 points), but also had 70 hits. Many believe that being paired with either Greg Ezell or Eric Baily will allow Hie to open his game up a little more as he will have a seasoned veteran to back him up.

Hie just doesn’t bring great defensive skills to the table, he brings a proven coaching ability as well. He was the one behind the bench in Toronto and that should prove valuable to head coach Kristian Marosi and new assistant coach Eric Baily.

#41 – Patrick Ng

Last year Ng was drafted by the Warbirds to shore up a defense that lost some key players. By most accounts, he did an excellent job and the sophomore was rewarded with a contract that will see him in Minnesota until S8 is finished.

Ng posted respectable numbers as a rookie, matching Eric Baily’s 1 goal and 8 assists (9 points). Ng, a smaller defender, will have to work on toughness as he only had 39 hits in the season.

Ng will be paired with Jaime Shimbashi and the two should make for an excellent 3rd pairing. Although these two will go under the radar because of the talent that precedes them on the depth chart, both Patrick and Jamie can learn from the best in the BHL at playing the position.

#44 – Jamie Shimbashi

Shimbashi is in his 3rd year now and is looking to have his defining breakout season. Shimbashi will remain in Minnesota until the end of season 7, but there are rumblings that GM Greg Ezell would like to extend his contract.

In Season 4, Shimbashi posted 1 goal and 6 assists (7 points) and in Season 5 saw his totals drop has be posted 0 goals and 5 assists (5 points). Shimbashi also saw his plus/minus fall from +5 in S4 to +2 in S5.

Many within the organization believe that Jamie had an off season and has been working very hard to regain the type of number he had in season 4. He will be paired with Patrick Ng and the two should make for an excellent 3rd pairing.

#56 – Greg Ezell

Ezell is your quintessential defensive defenseman. Last season he had a BHL record 128 hits in 22 games (5.88 hits a game) and was promoted to GM of the Warbirds in the off-season. On and off the ice, Ezell is one of the team leaders as well as one of the defensive group leaders.

In S4, Ezell had 0 goals and 4 assists (4 points) with a plus/minus of +14 and 91 hits. He improved in every category in S5 (excluding goals) with 0 goals and 12 assists (12 points) with a plus/minus of +17 and 128 hits.

The real question is Ezell’s speed. Though his technique is top notch, his lack of speed has left him out of position at times. By his own accord he has been working to lower his weight of 250 last year and is believed to be in the 235 range, which should lighten the load on the skates.

#90 – Kristian Marosi

Last season, Marosi made the switch from right wing to defense to compensate the loss to Pete Giebler and Antti Kuttenin. The move paid off as Marosi became one of the best offensive defenseman and took home the S5 Best Offensive Defenseman award.

Marosi had 3 goals and 12 assists (15 points) and a plus/minus of +2 last season. His biggest area of work will be in the penalty department as Marosi led the team with 20 penalty minutes. His saving grace was Minnesota had a penalty kill that ranked 3rd in the BHL.

As head coach of the Warbirds, Marosi has a tall task in front of him, but he has surrounded himself with great assistant coaches. Marosi will be leaned on as one of, if not, the best defenseman in Minnesota due to the stats he posted last year.

All in all, the defensive corps is one of the best the BHL has seen in a long time and should help Robi Albert see less shots than last year. Next up, the goalies.