Whenever a debate about elite players in the National Hockey League arises, Nikolai Antropov's name never surfaces. In fact, Antropov was one of the most heavily criticized players on the Leafs when he was with the team. Antropov was the 10th overall pick in the 1998 Entry Draft. Teams expect that players drafted this high will be stars in the league, so Antropov could certainly be labelled as a disappointment. He has always been a slow, choppy skater, and his best offensive season was 56 points.
View Antropov's stats at sports.yahoo.com/nhl/players/1962/career;_ylt=Avdv6e.4R5wBvtBrUqWYj.xivLYF
Toronto's Sports Radio, the Fan 590, suggested on their show "The Bullpen" that maybe Antropov was more crucial to the Leafs' offense than he gets credit for. In the Leafs' first 8 games of the season, they only scored 15 goals, an average of 1.9 goals per game, a far cry from last season's average of 3.0. The only two forwards missing from last year's crew are Dominic Moore (who couldn't even get an NHL contract until part way through the season), and, you guessed it, Nikolai Antropov. The Number 1 centre spot that Antropov held hasn't been successfully filled by anyone, and Alexei Ponikarovsky has struggled without his friend and linemate (two players who play on the same line or are on the ice together regularly).
Although Antropov's skating was mediocre at best, leaving him open to being the scapegoat, he was an effective player who was physical, using his 6'6", 240 pound frame (lots of bodychecking), and who could take the spotlight away from others so they could produce unnoticed.
Listen to FAN 590 live at www.fan590.com/listen/
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