Scott Harrington
By the way, I just want to use this as an example, since I have been called out by some for suggesting that Harrington has "untapped" offensive upside, even though he hasn't put up those numbers in juniors.
If you watch the Brett Ritchie goal today -- and if someone has it, post the video from when the play starts with Harrington pinching at the point -- you will see Harrington drive all the way down to the front of the net where he is looking for a goal, like a winger would. And no, Canada wasn't down by 3-4 goals where Harrington (or anyone) would just make a crazy-risky play. What he did here was recognize that he was the Dman on that particular play/shift that was going to be the guy joining the play and saw an opening. He made that goal happen.
So I just wanted to point this out as an example of the types of things I've seen from him before that lead me to my conclusion. Think about some of our other "stay at home" or "shutdown" defensive Dman that we have or have had on this team in recent years. I cannot remember the last time I saw Brooks Orpik or Rob Scuderi pinch in all the way down and then drive to the front of the opposing net trying to score a goal. Harrington doesn't do this quite as often as I would like; but I would like to see him do this just a little bit more, because he has such good hockey sense that when he makes these plays to do this, 9 times out of 10 he makes great plays and great reads, just like he does defensively.
Again, I'm not saying he's going to put up huge numbers, but this is why I think he can be a 30 or even 35 point guy, especially with how this Pens team likes to play. Pair him with a guy who is more defensive, and you will see this that much more often. Now, I think he's ready to play in the NHL next year, but if he doesn't, this is the part of his game that I would like to see developed a bit more if he spends any time in the AHL.
By the way, I just want to use this as an example, since I have been called out by some for suggesting that Harrington has "untapped" offensive upside, even though he hasn't put up those numbers in juniors.
If you watch the Brett Ritchie goal today -- and if someone has it, post the video from when the play starts with Harrington pinching at the point -- you will see Harrington drive all the way down to the front of the net where he is looking for a goal, like a winger would. And no, Canada wasn't down by 3-4 goals where Harrington (or anyone) would just make a crazy-risky play. What he did here was recognize that he was the Dman on that particular play/shift that was going to be the guy joining the play and saw an opening. He made that goal happen.
So I just wanted to point this out as an example of the types of things I've seen from him before that lead me to my conclusion. Think about some of our other "stay at home" or "shutdown" defensive Dman that we have or have had on this team in recent years. I cannot remember the last time I saw Brooks Orpik or Rob Scuderi pinch in all the way down and then drive to the front of the opposing net trying to score a goal. Harrington doesn't do this quite as often as I would like; but I would like to see him do this just a little bit more, because he has such good hockey sense that when he makes these plays to do this, 9 times out of 10 he makes great plays and great reads, just like he does defensively.
Again, I'm not saying he's going to put up huge numbers, but this is why I think he can be a 30 or even 35 point guy, especially with how this Pens team likes to play. Pair him with a guy who is more defensive, and you will see this that much more often. Now, I think he's ready to play in the NHL next year, but if he doesn't, this is the part of his game that I would like to see developed a bit more if he spends any time in the AHL.