I Thought You Looked Familiar

Two defensemen walk into a bar… let’s call them Defenseman A and Defenseman B.

Defenseman A is 6-4, 215 pounds and was drafted in the second round (39th overall). Defenseman B is 6-2, 219 pounds and was drafted in the first round (11th overall).

Defenseman A was a first-team CHL All-Star and was named “Most Outstanding Defenceman” in one of Canada’s Tier I Major-Junior hockey leagues. Ditto Defenseman B.

Here’s TSN.ca’s scouting report on Defenseman A:

Assets: Loves to play a physical game from behind the blueline. Keeps things simple and knows his limitations.
Flaws: Has limited offensive ability. Must work hard to improve his suspect skating ability. Will struggle when lined up against shifty NHL forwards.
Career potential: Physical defenseman.

And here’s TSN.ca’s scouting report on Defenseman B:

Assets: Will make his presence felt on every shift. Loves to take the body and isn't afraid of dropping the gloves. Is a strong defender while his team is short-handed and an excellent team leader.
Flaws: Tends to stray out of position in order to line up his opponent for the big hit. Shows little in the way of offense. Takes too many penalties.
Career potential: Defensive defenseman.

Through his first 143 NHL games, Defenseman A has 3 goals, 3 assists and 340 PIMs. Through his first 156 NHL games, Defenseman B had 6 goals, 12 assists and 285 PIMs.

Finally, Defenseman A, who is in his fourth NHL season, has an NHL salary of $575,000 for 2006-07. Defenseman B, in his 10th NHL season, has a salary of $2,500,000 for the season (so I guess he’s picking up the tab at the end of the night).

Anyone want to guess who these two (perhaps strikingly) similar blueliners are?

[If you don’t want to play, here’s Defenseman A and here’s Defenseman B.]