Call of Duty: Modern Warfare NHL

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was released today along with almost as much fanfare as Sean Avery's return to the Rangers lineup. Given the anticipation surrounding this game it was almost impossible to get away from, but with 9 games on tap in the NHL tonight I obviously had hockey on my mind as well. And that's when I came to thinking that today's NHL could be understood in terms familiar to those Call of Duty fans can easily understand as the gun classes from this popular video game are much like those that make up a decent NHL squad. In the multiplayer version of the game, it takes teammates of all types in order to succeed and conquer your opponent, much like any good team in our beloved league. In honor of the release of this game, here are 3 players for each class who are helping their teams by knowing their role and executing it to perfection.

Assault Rifle

"Assault Rifles are great all-purpose weapons due to their good accuracy and penetration even at long distances"

 Assault Rifles in hockey are the players who are capable of pitching in when thrust into any situation. Whether it be even strength, power play, or penalty kill, a timely goal, a momentum-shifting hit, or a spirit-rallying fight.

1. Chris Neil - Ottawa Senators

The Senators have been one of the surprise teams so far in this young season as they were expected by many to finish as one of the basement-dwellers of the Eastern Conference. Despite allowing the most goals against in the league, Ottawa has managed to etch out a 7-7-1 record which is by no means extraordinary but nonetheless far above the expectations of most around the league. This surprising start has a lot to do with one of Ottawa's longest tenured players being on fire to start the season. Neil has been known for his gritty work for quite some time, and that is shown in the fact that he is second in the league in penalty minutes and fourth in hits so far this year, but he has never been known for his ability to light the lamp. This year has been different however, with Neil directing a highly respectable 33 shots on goal as well as contributing 3 goals and 4 assists, including a rare powerplay point for him. This output from a player who averages just 19 points per year has an uplifting effect and can inspire a team to work harder and follow their dressing room leaders.

2. Brad Marchand - Boston Bruins

Most of you should be familiar with the now infamous Boston Bruins pest, if not through his play as an NHL rookie all last year, then through his increased production in last year's Stanley Cup Playoffs which obviously contributed greatly to his team's winning of the silver chalice. What Marchand may lack in age and not looking like a bald anteater, he more than makes up for in heart, determination, and fearlessness. As any player in the league will tell you, he is just one of those players that you hate to play against but would kill to have on your team. Already with 31 penalty minutes and a fight this year, Marchand is clearly a huge part of Boston's success the past two years with him in the lineup. An important part to Marchand's game is his ability to play on the edge and get under the opponent's skin, but this wouldn't be nearly as useful a skill without his offensive talents, as demonstrated by the 19 playoff points he put up last spring as well as the 7 points already in this young season. Not many younger players are able to pull off this particular skill set with as much consistency and success as Marchand and that is why he is so well known around the league.

3. Ryan Smyth - Edmonton Oilers

This list could not be complete without Ryan Smyth, he is the standard all players wishing to play this style of game look up to. Despite appearing to have left his best days behind him the past couple seasons, now at age 35, back where he belongs with the Edmonton Oilers, and apparently rejuvenated by the youthful lineup surrounding him, Smyth has been on a tear for one of the hottest and definitely most surprising teams this year. Captain Canada has seen an offensive resurgence, with 14 points in 14 games so far this season on the strength of 7 goals and 7 assists, including 2 game-winners. Smyth has returned and shown this young Oilers roster what it takes to win at the NHL level and they have followed his lead to a 9-3-2 record, good for second in the Western Conference. This has a lot to do with their league-leading defence, allowing only 23 goals against for the season. Nikolai Khabibulin and the defence have certainly played a large part, but they may also thank their forwards who are following Smyth's lead and getting in the shooting lanes and blocking shots to make their teammates lives easier. The Oilers are playing with a lot of confidence all around and its hard not to believe that they are for real. With Smyth leading the way and contributing on the scoresheet as well as with his well known leadership abilities in the dressing room, this young group is in good hands.

Sub-Machine Guns

"Sub Machine Guns provide mobility and have good accuracy when fired from the hip. SMGs also offer fast ADS time and fast movement while ADS, but they are inaccurate at long range."

Sub-Machine guns are an important weapon in the game as they allow a player to use the most of their mobility, aim quickly, and still do enough damage to significantly affect the other team's chances of winning. In the NHL these types of players exist too. They are the ones who have always been told they were too small to make it. The players who give every game their all and attempt to prove wrong everyone who ever doubted them. Most importantly though, to both the teams that own these players and those that let them go, is that when given an opportunity and confidence to succeed, they are often elite players who form a major component of teams' top lines. These are the players I always looked up to as a short (and admittedly awful) hockey player.

1. Danny Briere - Philadelphia Flyers

Listed at 5'10, Danny Briere is a consummate leader on the Flyers' squad. After having Claude Giroux move into his home with him and mentoring him, he has this season been doing the same for rookie center Sean Couturier which has evidently helped his development quite a bit. This is obviously not the only reason that Briere is on this list, as the natural winger has been seen centering the Flyers' third line with James Van Riemsdyk and Wayne Simmonds. It says something about a team's depth when their third line has combined for 30 points already with Briere accounting for 12 of those on the strength of 4 goals and 8 assists. Briere is a definite force in the Flyers' lineup and teams must watch out for his speed as well as his quick release on his accurate and powerful snapshot as well as his heavy slapshot from the wing..

2. Derek Roy and Nathan Gerbe - Buffalo Sabres

These two players combine on the Sabres to form two thirds of the second forward line, along with Drew Stafford. These two players, are listed at 5'9 and 5'5 respectively. Putting up 18 combined points and 7 goals, these two provide some support for the Sabres' top line of Thomas Vanek, Luke Adam, and Jason Pominville. The Sabres clearly do not discriminate based on height as Roy and Gerbe are known around the league for their speed and, perhaps most importantly, for their hands. Neither of these players are afraid to take the puck to the middle of the ice and once there are able to deftly skate around anyone who may come in their way. Together they are a great weapon that the Sabres feel they can use in any circumstances with confidence.

3. Martin St. Louis - Tampa Bay Lightning

Shame on you if you didn't know beforehand that St. Louis would be making an appearance here. St. Louis is the prototype used for all players of this variety, the role model for every player who was told he was too short to play the game they loved. After going undrafted out of University of Vermont, St. Louis jumped around with stints in the IHL, the AHL, and with Calgary, before finally finding a home with Tampa Bay. Since winning the Hart Trophy as the NHL's MVP in 2004 and leading the Lightning to the Stanley Cup, St. Louis has become a centerpiece of the team. Now 36, St. Louis is one of the veteran leaders of the Lightning and plays right wing on the team's top line, along with dynamic center and goal-scorer Steven Stamkos. Together they form what has become one of the most lethal line combinations in the league. St. Louis currently is on a point-per-game pace with 14 points and looks to continue this success. St. Louis can skate circles around almost any player in the league but it's his vision that defenders must be wary of. While he can pick his spot from anywhere on the ice and has the vision and experience to know ahead of time where his linemates will be and how to get them the puck. Given all this, St. Louis is one of the biggest threats in the league and has shown no signs he is about to slow down anytime soon.

Light Machine Guns

"Light Machine Guns are powerful medium to long-range killing machines. They typically have large magazines and do a lot of damage."

Light machine gun is a bit of a misnomer here in my opinion, as they are most definitely not light. These big guys do, however, pack quite the punch, and they play the same role in the NHL today. These are the guys who you know always have your back, the unsung hero, the defensive defenseman. Always doing their duty and keeping the puck out of their net, these guys shut down opposing teams' top units night after night.

1. Ladislav Smid - Edmonton Oilers

We've already talked about the surprising Edmonton Oilers when we discussed the influence Ryan Smyth has had on this team, especially with regards to shot blocking. For a team that has been in the bottom three in the league in goals against for the past 2 seasons, including dead last in 2009, it is certainly surprising to see them leading the league in that stat, even in this young season. Khabibulin has obviously been playing like the 'Bulin Wall' of old and has contributed greatly to the turnaround, but even he credits his defense for helping make his job easier by clearing his vision in front and getting in the way of a ton of shots. Nobody exemplifies this more than Smid who currently leads the league in blocked shots with 51. While Smid is pointless on the season, he is not concerned with getting his name down on the scoresheet. Smid faces opposing teams' top lines every night and has come out of it as a +2 so far. His success in shutting down the league's top scorers has helped stabilize the back end and allowed the Oilers' young crop of forwards to excel and use their imaginations on the offensive end of the ice. Smid averages over 20 minutes of ice time per game and has seen his role on the team become even more important so far this season as the Oilers play without their top defenseman in Ryan Whitney.

2. Dan Girardi - New York Rangers

Playing in the competitive Atlantic Division, Girardi led the league last year with 236 blocked shots while adding another 195 hits and finished a +7 against the top players in the league. For a team that finished fifth in the league in goals against last year, clearly Girardi's shutdown play was a huge factor in guiding this team into the playoffs. This year, playing for the team that has allowed the third fewest goals on the year, Girardi has continued his success with a +4 rating while contributing 34 blocked shots and 27 hits. Girardi's all-around solid play is also reflected in his offensive numbers after he added 31 points last year and is off to a great start offensively this year with 7 in just 13 games. Girardi also leads the league with a ridiculous 27:58 in time on ice per game. Girardi is evidently the backbone holding the Rangers' defense together (even more so this season while teammate Marc Staal recovers from a concussion). With Girardi as the anchor, the Rangers shouldn't be letting in many goals for the next couple of years and other teams should be reminded to keep their head up as they cross the blueline as he will not hesitate to put you on your ass.

3. Douglas Murray - San Jose Sharks

When most fans think of the San Jose Sharks, they think of their goal-scoring prowess with Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski, Patrick Marleau, and Dan Boyle, but the San Jose Sharks would be nowhere near the top of the league if it weren't for their shutdown defenseman Douglas Murray. At 6'3 and 240 lbs, Murray is an intimidating physical force to any player in the league. Murray is so important to the Sharks' success, he was voted as the team's unsung hero during last season's playoff run to the Western Conference Finals by ESPN. The man who is built like a brick house plays like it along the blueline as he has chipped in this season with 36 blocked shots and 31 hits and, as any defenseman in the game will tell you, most importantly he has shut down the opposing team's top scoring unit to the tune of a +10 rating already, good for fourth in the league. Douglas Murray is the foundation that holds the San Jose Sharks together..

Sniper Rifles

"Sniper Rifles have the capability to kill in a single shot at any range, but they are typically weak at close-range, when compared to other weapons, due to their slow fire rate and reload times."

This category shouldn't require to much explaining, but snipers are the players the rest of the team relies on to put the puck in the net. When a team needs a game-tying goal or is in a key situation in the game or even the shootout, the snipers are the players relied on. These players aren't the unsung heroes, everyone knows their names and faces, they are the Ovechkins, and Stamkoses of the league. But it would be too easy for me to just list 3 players everyone expected to be scoring from day one (even though Ovechkin seems to be struggling in that category with a mediocre, for him, 6 goals on the year). Instead, I'm going to list 3 players who have upped their games significantly, players who have been putting the puck in the net consistently this year but weren't expected to be among the league leaders in goals this year.

1. Phil Kessel - Toronto Maple Leafs

 Though he has recently slowed down after scoring 7 times in the first 5 games of the season, he still leads the league with 11 goals and 22 points through the club's first 15 games. A three-time 30 goal scorer in the league, he was expected to lead the team in goals and carry the offence on his back. Nobody predicted, however, that he would be setting the league ablaze the way he has this year. Despite averaging 60 points per season with the Leafs, many fans were unsatisfied with his output as they expected more from him after GM Brian Burke gave up 2 first-round draft picks and a second-rounder for him. It appears like Kessel is finally living up to his potential after being proclaimed the 'American Sidney Crosby' and is just now settling in and playing relaxed now that he has other players to share the load. It has definitely shown in the dramatic increase in his production. Maybe being chosen last in last year's All-Star game draft didn't sit well with him, or maybe he has simply matured now at age 24, but whatever it is it's working wonders for the Leafs who currently sit second in the conference with a 9-5-1 record despite allowing the third most goals in the league with 51 goals against.

2. Claude Giroux - Philadelphia Flyers

As we have already mentioned, Giroux learned from one of the best in the game when he spent the past year living with Danny Briere and his family. Giroux's emergence last season as a premier center with 76 points was one of the main reasons the Flyers felt comfortable in dealing captain Mike Richards and leading goal-scorer Jeff Carter. Giroux has proven to the Flyers that they have made the right decision with 9 goals and 10 assists so far this season. Giroux is a big-time player who shows up in the clutch when the team needs him, as he has demonstrated the past 3 years in his play in the playoffs as almost a point-per-game player. This year however, Giroux has brought his game to the next level, to the level the Flyers imagined when they drafted him 22nd overall in 2006. Giroux looks like the kind of player who will be in Art Ross territory year after year. He is consistent, with points in 11 of 14 games this year, and he comes up huge in the clutch as evidenced by 2 of his 9 goals so far being of the game-winning variety. Given all this, it is clear that Giroux has a bright future ahead of him.

3. James Neal - Pittsburgh Penguins

Nobody would have predicted that James Neal would not only be leading Pittsburgh in goals but also be ranked fourth in the league. Despite only having 14 points, Neal's 9 goals is impressive. Neal came to Pittsburgh last year in a trade with the Dallas Stars and scored only 1 goal in the next 20 games to end the regular season, followed up by just 2 points in a seven game loss to Tampa Bay in the first round. Neal must have spent the summer getting acclimated in Pittsburgh because he has been the player they hoped they were getting when they shipped off defenseman Alex Goligoski for him. Pittsburgh envisioned Neal fitting in perfectly and providing Sidney Crosby with the goal-scoring winger he had never had. And that's where this gets scary. Neal has been scoring at this rate with Crosby still out with injury and Malkin, who's less of a playmaker than Crosby anyways, missing half of the team's games so far. Just imagine how Neal would look on Crosby's wing. Crosby has been basically unstoppable so far in his career without a winger, it's difficult to imagine him finally playing with someone who can consistently bury the rubber. Crosby returns in just a couple days' time and all I can say is watch out, because this combo is going to be scary.

Shotguns

"Shotguns are close-range weapons and should only be used in small to medium maps with close spaces. They are extremely lethal at close-range, but become less effective at longer distances due to pellet spread."

Shotgun players in the NHL have a slightly different role than the shotguns in the game. The shotguns of the NHL are the players who just let it rip. They are the players who have cannons from the point, the players who shoot the puck so hard that goalies fear facing their shots and players hate getting in the lanes.

1. Marc-Andre Bergeron - Tampa Bay Lightning

Marc-Andre Bergeron has been a journeyman defenseman his whole career in the NHL with the Lightning being his 6th NHL squad in just the last 6 years. His defensive ability has been called into question and that is why he has moved around so consistently, but the reason so many teams have wanted his services is because of his abilities as a powerplay quarterback and his booming shot from the point. Bergeron currently leads all defensemen with 16 points and is the only defenseman averaging over a point per game. He certainly seems to have settled into a niche along Tampa Bay's blueline, manning the point on the powerplay alongside sniper Steven Stamkos. With so much talent surrounding him, Bergeron has finally been able to contribute consistently on the offensive end and it shows in his point totals.

2. Shea Weber - Nashville Predators

Nashville's captain is one of the game's best all around defensemen, putting up staggering point totals year after year and is always in the conversation when it comes time to nominate players for the Norris Trophy. At 6'4 and 232 lbs, Weber can make any opposing forward feel the pain when he takes the body defensively, but on the offensive side has a ton of weight to put behind his slapshot. Measured at 103.4 mph at the All-Star game, behind only Zdeno Chara, his slapshot is known around the league to be one of the fiercest. Weber's shot is so strong that it has broken bones in 4 of his teammates when they got in the way of one of his blasts. At the Olympics for Canada, Weber shot a puck so hard against Germany that it tore through the net. The shot was so fast that refs didn't see it go in and play continued until they decided to check the replay at the next whistle and saw that the puck went in. Despite having only 1 goal and 7 assists so far on the season, Weber's impact can be felt every time he touches the puck and winds up as opponents shudder in fear and on the defensive end while dishing out 26 hits. Shea Weber is the definition of manly (as evidenced by his beard during last year's playoffs) and is the definition of the shotgun player in the NHL as everything he does is powerful.

3. Sheldon Souray - Dallas Stars

Is there any better story of redemption than the way Sheldon Souray has returned to the NHL with a bang. After falling out of favour with the Edmonton Oilers during the 2009 season, Souray spent last year in the minors and was bought out by the Oilers at the end of the season. Dallas decided to take a flyer on a defenseman who had previously scored 64 and 53 points with over 23 goals in each of those years. Souray has repaid them quite well so far with 4 goals and 13 points. Perhaps most surprisingly, however, is Souray's league-leading +11 rating. Souray has always had a towering shot, but has been a -41 for his career, so needless to say his defensive resurgence is surprising at best. Souray has had injury problems throughout his career, especially in his reconstructed right shoulder, so it still must be seen whether he can stay in one piece for the whole season but so far he has been way more than Dallas could have dreamed of and is a big reason they are now the top team in the league.

I'm going to be honest with you right now, that took a hell of a lot longer to write than I thought it would. This is the first in what I hope will be many blog posts here from me, so feel free to let me know how you feel or if you have any suggestions in the comments section below. Thanks for reading and hopefully see you guys soon!