Haranguing hatcher - The Fans Speak Out - letters - Brief Article

Thanks for providing a glimpse of the top 100 NHL players ["From No. 1 to 100"]. Your article did indeed "fire up" my feelings. I'm almost certain that your staff has extensive NHL experience or at least Major A experience as credits to sit on the voting committee. If not, perhaps you should listen to my argument about No. 48 Derian Hatcher. I have lived in the Dallas area ever since "Norm Greed" moved the Minnesota North Stars to Dallas. I was overjoyed to see any NHL team in Texas. Nonetheless, I have had many opportunities to watch Derian play. Whether in person, or on television, I get a huge dose of "Captain Give Away." The Stars basically play a puck-control style of hockey. Hatcher has no idea what that means. When he gets the puck, he either rips it high off the glass or gives it away in his own end. Either way, the other team gets possession.

If being able to hit gets you ranked No. 48 out of about 800 NHLers, then I'm involved in the wrong game. You guys rank Luc Robitaille, Adam Oates, Bobby Holik, Alex Mogilny, Bill Guerin, Brett Hull, and Eric Lindros, just to name a few, after Hatcher? Unbelievable.

Maybe you made a little error, Hatcher should have been No. 480 not No. 48, eh?

Maybe some Team USA guru will read your article and lobby to get Hatcher on the Olympic Team. Being Canadian, I pray that Derian makes the team, I really do. He will be the best player that Team Canada has.

Dale A. Dietrich
Fort Worth

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