The Underboss
Registered User
http://www.thescore.com/nhl/news/675926
Can Travis Hamonic or Johnny Boychuk be the anchor the Islanders need?
The Islanders appear to be Real Deal Holyfield after adding Mikhail Grabovski, Nikolay Kulemin, Johnny Boychuk and Nick Leddy in the same offseason that saw their young talent finally take the long-awaited steps they’d been hoping to see.
The thing is, every true Cup contender has a defenseman (or defensemen) they can lean on. The Blackhawks have Duncan Keith, the Los Angeles Kings have Drew Doughty, the Boston Bruins have Zdeno Chara, the Detroit Red Wings had Nick Lidstrom, the Anaheim Ducks had Chris Pronger. While exceptions exist (the 2009 Penguins), they’re extremely rare.
So if the Isles want to be more than just “improved†and actually contend, it will be interesting to see if the 30-year-old Boychuk can be step up, or if the 24-year-old Hamonic can fill that role. Somebody’s going to have to become “that guy†for the Isles, and both those players seem on the fringe of being able to handle the heat.
