In honor of Eric Godard's retirement...

[srehm1]

I just wanted to post this here. It is a little breakdown I did on Eric Godard's Juniors/AHL fights from over at darius' site. Godard was a great fighter and one of my favorites of the modern group. I was impressed with him in the show so I looked up his juniors and AHL fights. I was equally impressed by just how good he was then. It seemed like he was born to fight-the very God of War he would be in the NHL.

I had seen a few of Eric Godard's AHL fights and had quickly become impressed. It led me to go on a search for more of his footage from his minor league days. Seeing the few Godard clips out there on youtube from his AHL days had me thirsty for more, so I hunted down more of his footage through trades.

Much of his earliest footage is from his junior season of 99-00 with the Lethbridge Hurricanes. I was amazed at how polished he was even at a young age. He must have been only around 18 or 19 and he already had that style that he would use for most of his career. Already displayed great ability to switch hands and had good pop. He was big and looked like a force to be reckoned with in the WHL at the time. He had two great fights with Calgary's Stephen Peat who would go on to be a solid NHL HW with an entertaining toe to toe style. In their first fight, Godard landed two great left hands and dropped Peat awkwardly to the ice. The second fight was a real battle with Peat taking an edge. A great fight. He also had a pair of fights with Seattle's David Kaczowka who I liked as an open, brawling style of fighter.

Godard had some battles with Medicine Hat taking on the likes of Josh Maser, Brett Scheffelmaier, and Brad Voth. He fought Maser about 4 times, getting dropped in one of those fights. He was also able to take it to both Scheffelmaier and Voth, dropping Voth in the process. He also had a pair of good fights with Kootenay's Graham Belak and also had a good battle with Saskatoon's Darcy Hordichuk. Scored wins over Swift Current's Matt Sommerfeld twice and had a good fight with Prince Albert's Craig Brunel.

Godard was a great fighter in Lethbridge and served as the teams top HW. He teamed up with Derek Parker as a sort of 1-2 punch. Very impressed with how good Godard looked as a young HW in juniors, setting the stage for an excellent run in the AHL with both Louisville and Bridgeport.

Going at it against another future NHLer in Derek Boogaard

Eric Godard vs Derek Boogaard - junior hockey -...

round 2 vs. Peat

Eric Godard vs Stephen Peat - YouTube

nice battle here with Seattle's David Kaczowka

Eric Godard vs David Kaczowka - YouTube

dropping Brad Voth

Eric Godard vs Brad Voth - YouTube

In one of his several battles with Josh Maser of Medicine Hat

Eric Godard vs Josh Maser - YouTube

Fightguy42's Eric Godard 2 dvd set is an excellent source of Godard footage. It contains the bulk of his juniors footage as well as the few available Louisville Panthers fights from his first two years in the "A". I found the 2 dvd set to be the most comprehensive available on Godard with footage going from his Lethbridge days in 99-00 all the way through to his first year in Pittsburgh in the NHL. What really interested me in Godard was his minor league footage so I did everything to get a hold of as much as I could to come to a thorough conclusion on his abilities as a fighter.

With FG42's 2 dvd set in hand, I also corralled footage from his first two years with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, almost all of this made it to FG42's Godard set. Next up was a curious Godard dvd that contained only his juniors and AHL fights. There were no Louisville fights but it did have a few additional juniors fights as well as a second version of his fight with Worcestor's Steve McLaren. There was also additional goals and assists thrown in the mix as well. It also had some early preseason fights with the Tigers, taking on Providence's Ryan Shmyr and Springfield's Rob Voltera.

With the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, Godard just got better and better. He was really a legit HW already and he developed good power in both hands to really compliment his two fisted style. He had an almost natural inclination to switch hands. He would throw 3,4 rights, then switch up to his left for a few, then back to his right. A comparison can be made to Jim McKenzie although Jimmy Mac had much faster hands and added a little crossover to his attack. Godard was a bit slower, but made up for that with good power in both hands. Just a dangerous fighter to have to face.

Some of his Bridgeport Sound Tigers highlights include getting buckled and then dropping Philly's Jim Vandermeer, dropping Rochester's Andrew Peters, 2 absolute wars with Chicago's Francis Lessard as well as great battles with Craig Brunel, Steve Mclaren, Dennis Bonvie, Ryan Flinn, Garrett Burnette, Christian Gosselin, Richard Scott &c.

He displayed a good chin and willingnes to get down right mean. There were several examples of Godard standing up for teammates and going after non-HW's for past transgressions. He absolutely mugged Hartford's Richard Scott and the two had a good spirited scrap as well, a fight I gave Scott the edge in.

He only suffered a few losses from the footage I was able to get a hold of. Springfield's MArtin Grenier gave him some problems as well as Richard Scott in their excellent fight. I also gave Lessard the edge in their second great fight of the year. Had some issues with Trevor Gillies as well. I'm no expert but I'd imagine the two years he had with the Tigers put him at the top of the HW food chain, possibly in the top-5 in the AHL for that time. I'm guessing with that but he does have some very impressive showings as well as that mix of dominating victories as well as a few TKO/KO wins as well.

I posted a youtube clip lately of his great KO win over Hartford's Mike Wilson. Just a brutal KO. Wilson went down hard folding his leg badly in the process. He was in all sorts of hurt and it was a single right hand that did the trick. He dropped Vandermeer and Peters with lefts hands, stunned Bonvie-his power was evident.

battling minor league legend Steve McLaren

AHL War: Eric Godard vs Steve McLaren - YouTube

his two wars with Lessard

AHL War: Eric Godard vs Francis Lessard 5/30/02 -...

AHL Rd 2: Godard vs Lessard - YouTube

good fight with Richard Scott

AHL: Eric Godard vs Richard Scott - YouTube

vs. another minor league legend, Dennis Bonvie

AHL: Eric Godard vs Dennis Bonvie - YouTube

Eric Godard vs Dennis Bonvie AHL Round 2 - YouTube

good fight with Ryan Flinn

AHL War: Eric Godard vs Ryan Flinn - YouTube

KOing Mike Wilson

Eric Godard KO's Mike Wilson - YouTube

Dropping Andrew Peters

Peters vs Godard - YouTube

Coming back to drop Jim Vandermeer

Eric Godard vs Jim Vandermeer - YouTube

Dropping Ryan Shmyr

AHL TKO: Eric Godard on Ryan Shmyr - YouTube

In a good battle with Springfield's Rob Voltera

War: Eric Godard vs Ryan Shmyr - YouTube

We've all seen Godard in the NHL and he has proven himself to be a legit top-5 caliber fighter who can be a match up night mare. We have seen him beat Boogaard, Brashear, MacIntyre-he literally has a punchers chance against anyone. Godard, Orr and McGrattan became my favorites of the newer era crowd because they go for the win. They are not cautious guys, they readily open up and go for it. All three have fought wars on the ice and Godard's overall, versatile skill set made him an instant favorite with me. Seeing his Juniors and minor league footage has made me even more impressed with him as a fighter.

I know this thread is usually for the career minor league guys but I think Godard fits the bill because he spent 5 years in the AHL and was a top notch fighter during his time there.

I'd like to thank FG42, zolika, arktohorse, and Ross for their help securing Godard's footage. It's always a pleasure trading with you guys. I'd also like to thank Humpzilla for the youtube clips.

[Killah_punk]

Amazing post srehm1! Godard was my favorite enforcer since his Calgary days. When he became a Pen i nearly creamed my pants. I knew this guy was the right man for the job, unlike Laraque who was also a great fighter but not a good enfrocer. He lacked the aggression and ferocity that Godard possesses. I posted some vids in the Eric Godard retires? thread. I loved watching Godard fight. He has a great body of work from juniors up to the AHL then the NHL.

[Humpzilla]

Good thread. Godard really had a strong career, with his Juniors, AHL and his time with NYI, Calgary and last few years with Pittsburgh. Whether he really achieved his full potential, that's up for debate. The 300 games, hundred some fights, the slugests and the broken bones he gave & recieved will be enough of a lasting impact.

[rondo]

Great post Srehm,

Godard really whacked alot of guys with his left. Complete package With his combonation of size, reach, power in both hands, great chin, balance, endurance. I would think he would be a formidable threat to any fighter of any generation in a 10 fight series.

[BENNETTWOLF]

Excellent work as usual. I've always liked eric probably more than any of the newer crop. Just took a shine to his style. Good, open two handed fighter who i always termed as "honest" (whatever that means). Didn't win them all, probably because of his style but he never bored you. You're entirely right about mcgrattan and orr as well. Probably should throw Jody Shelley in there too.

I recall he came into the league with a lot of fanfare somewhat like Scott Parker or Matt Johnson. I enjoyed his career throughout. Certainly a newer favorite.

I got to see a typical fight with John Erskine live. Two big guys banging away with mean intentions until one (godard) connected and put a concussion on big john

[IhateLindros]

vs Trevor Gillies 10/24/04

042310-Godard vs Gillies Rd 1.wmv - YouTube

vs Trevor Gillies 10/24/04 Round 2

042310-Godard vs Gillies rd 2.wmv - YouTube

vs Trevor Gillies 10/15/10

Gillies vs Godard.mpg - YouTube

vs Trevor Gillies 2/11/11

111102- Gillies vs Godard.mpg - YouTube

vs Trevor Gillies 4/8/11

110804- Gillies vs Godard.mpg - YouTube

[JeanLaRose]

Great post srehm1. I know we've discussed the stylistic similarities to Jimmy Mac in the past and that really is the only guy you can truly compare Godard to. You're right about him being a little slower but a bit more powerful too. The thing that always impressed me with Godard was that he seemed to do damage even when he couldnt fully extend his arm or the other guy had ahold of his sleeve. In close he was a monster. I think I was the first person in Pittsburgh with a Godard jersey after we signed him, and I told all my friends (who don't follow fighters like I do) to watch out for this guy and by the end of his first season they were all believers. Watching him drop Big Mac live is far and away the most impressive display of fighting I've ever seen... I had butterflies in my stomach thinking "Oh god he's gonna get killed look how big that guy is" and a flurry of solid rights later Big Mac's legs stiffened right up and I was on my feet screaming louder than I thought possible. He'll definitely go down in history as the quintessential "giant killer" and rightly so. Sad to see him go, my favorite enforcer for the last 5 or so years by far.

[Machinehead2k5]

When the Penguins came to practice at the Thrashers rink, the only person I wanted to get a picture with was Eric Godard.

[dipandmitts]

great post thanks for the clips

[rondo]

Gotta say miss watching Godard at work. He was a treat to watch when he was taking on a top guy. I think he got a little bored at times and lost focus to a few guys that were not in his caliber. Couple of my favorite Godard fights
..

Orr vs Godard when they came out if the penalty box. Just a complete war. I think Orr busted his nose in that fight .

Godard vs Macintyre tko

Godard vs Bogaard tko

Godard vs McGrattan they had a couple of wars (sens vs isles)