I guess Joel Otto just wasn't into fighting at 6' 4" 220lbs

[BaddaBing Badda Boom]

Otto was a hard nosed physical center and a hulking mass of a man. However, his fisticuffs always seemed rather uninspiring. He gave you the impression that he was half-hearted about that aspect of the game. Here is a momentary flash of desire as he snaps back the head of HF.COM golden boy Behn Wilson

Joel Otto vs Behn Wilson - YouTube

[lilburtis9363]

I remember Mark Messier pummeling him with ease. Otto was a big power forward, but wasn't too great with the mitts off

[rondo]

I' m giving Otto a pass on this one. Just because he was big shouldn't mean he should have been a fighter. He played a rugged hard nosed checking style ripe of game.

He hardly was pummeled by messier the fight was about ten seconds long. He held his own with Wilson and that's pretty damn hood vonsidrring Wilsons ability. Guy was an overachiever considering he came out of division II hockey which at the time was comparable to Canadian university.

[I like Boobs]

His card is more impressive than Fotiu's as he fought many top heavyweights, and he actually could play the game.

He was a 20 goal a year, shutdown center man, that fought some of the best in the game because he was a big guy. Played against those great Oiler teams and often had the task of shutting down their big guns, not a fun job for anyone. Otto wasn't a great fighter, but he always showed up.

When you look at his fight stats before he moved from Calgary to Philly, when he was a Flame, he fought primarily against the teams in his own conference, in particular the Oilers, Jets, Canucks and Kings. Up to 1995-1996 season, he had 106 fights as a Flame - 22 of them were against the Oilers, 13 were against Winnipeg, 12 were against Vancouver, and 10 were against Los Angeles. That's over 50% in conference.

[flyersvikes]

I was expecting a bit more when he got to Philly but liked him anyway. Now if you want to talk about a big guy who didn't like to fight see Dan McGillis.

[pesadillamal]

I wish I would have seen some of the wars he had with Messier in the battle of Alberta. JD always used to talk about it. His fight numbers are fine for the kind of player he was.

[Flyer_Frank]

Originally Posted by flyersvikes

I was expecting a bit more when he got to Philly but liked him anyway. Now if you want to talk about a big guy who didn't like to fight see Dan McGillis.

We brought Otto in here to play not fight. He anchored a pretty good 3rd line in 97 with Klatt and Podein. They played D and popped in some goals and hit people. A couple Philly fights I remember for Otto was a pretty solid win over Chris Gratton when the rivalry with TB was nasty and a scrap with Chris Simon where Otto defended/protected himself pretty well.

[flyersvikes]

Originally Posted by Flyer_Frank

We brought Otto in here to play not fight.

True although I was speaking more in terms of fighting ability not so much amount of fights, might not have been clear on that, he was a good fit as a Flyer no doubt.

[Flyer_Frank]

Originally Posted by flyersvikes

True although I was speaking more in terms of fighting ability not so much amount of fights, might not have been clear on that, he was a good fit as a Flyer no doubt.

I looked at Otto's career numbers and he averaged 11 fights a year over his first 3 season, which is a pretty big number for a center. I remember the first game I ever saw at the Spectrum was against the Flames and I went down close during warmups. He was a really big guy. Not seeing so much of the Flames, I couldn't really grade him, but based on what I saw, he seemed able to take care of himself. By the time he got here, he was in his early-mid 30s, and very few non-designated fighters have that many fights by that point in their careers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=U1MqfsSQzVw

Messier clearly wins this fight, but the video isn't clear on how exactly it starts, Messier looks like he may well have gotten a quick jump there. Otto looks no worse for wear at the end.

[2,5,10GameMatch]

Semenko spanked him like a Pimp does a Hoe.

Gill used him as a speed bag.

Useless tool.

[GOON 21]

Originally Posted by 2,5,10GameMatch

Semenko spanked him like a Pimp does a Hoe.

Gill used him as a speed bag.

Useless tool.

Your trolling or busting ballzz


Otto was a very solid usefull 2 way center he was a big guy (6'4, 220lbs or so) and took the body, took big faceoffs, was matched up against the other teams best center, scored points and was willing to drop the mitts

Go and see his production as a player and you will see that the guy was the real deal. -- Otto had 5 seasons scoring over 50 points and also had 5 seasons over 185 PIM's, the guy was a VERY productive player, wanna guess what kind of salary he would command in todays game with those stats?


All of this from a UNDRAFTED player, (I forget he was a US born player) whats not to like about that resume? Seriously? - I cant find 1 thing thats not likeable from the guy or his style of game

[rondo]

Originally Posted by 2,5,10GameMatch

Semenko spanked him like a Pimp does a Hoe.

Gill used him as a speed bag.

Useless tool.

Joel Otto (undrafted free agent from division II bemidji state)

508 points
75 playoff points
A two way hard nosed center who always played against opposing top scoring lines and chipped in offensively. Played for two teams and was always at his best in playoffs. Stanley cup champion (Calgary)

Wendel Clark ( 1st overall pick 1985)
564 points
69 playoff points

A rugged two way player that was often injured. In other words unreliable to a certain extent. Played for six different teams (why)? Zero Stanley cups.

Looks to me like Otto was a pretty reliable "TOOL" what are your thoughts on this RAMBO?

[mikebflorida]

Originally Posted by Flyer_Frank

I looked at Otto's career numbers and he averaged 11 fights a year over his first 3 season, which is a pretty big number for a center. I remember the first game I ever saw at the Spectrum was against the Flames and I went down close during warmups. He was a really big guy. Not seeing so much of the Flames, I couldn't really grade him, but based on what I saw, he seemed able to take care of himself. By the time he got here, he was in his early-mid 30s, and very few non-designated fighters have that many fights by that point in their careers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=U1MqfsSQzVw

Messier clearly wins this fight, but the video isn't clear on how exactly it starts, Messier looks like he may well have gotten a quick jump there. Otto looks no worse for wear at the end.

Typical Messier behavior.

Was there ever a bigger spot picker in NHL history? Otto is pinned from behind and on his knees as Mess is tossing weak punches, talk about a TOOL, Messier had all this respect as a player and captain, blah, blah, blah but did he ever square off with anyone?

He got away with murder as a player like the elbow on Ric Nattress, just one of many transgressions by this so called "leader". I always hated Messier and liked Otto, at least Otto wasn't dirty.

Otto was the definition of gritty, not a superior fighter by any stretch but certainly had guts.

[mckendo83]

Big Guys Who who didnt like to fight? At least Joel Otto had a lot of fights and it was part of his game, even if you say he seemed uninspired...

now Chris Therien...theres a big guy who fighting was not even a thought in his mind...


Also, what i take away from this video the most is the goalie equipment...he looks like a right winger playing net.

[flex_buff_chest]

Originally Posted by 2,5,10GameMatch

Semenko spanked him like a Pimp does a Hoe.

Gill used him as a speed bag.

Useless tool.

I think you might be the biggest wildcard on here. Some of your posts are amazing especially when it comes to fighting, you can be insightful and on the ball.

Then you post something like this? The guy was clearly a solid player and you don't play over 1000 games (playoffs and reg season) if you aren't.