Can Kyle Turris play wing?

[maplepred]

Turris has always had very solid numbers playing at centre, with the exception of last season battling injuries and never got his mojo. Now that Nashville has Johansen and Duchene as their top two centres, Turris becomes a question mark.

How hard is it for him to transition to play on Duchene's wing? I know a winger transitioning to centre is difficult but is it as difficult for the opposite? I think Turris will have a miserable season playing third line centre with not great wingers for offense.

Nashville top 9 can either be:

Arvidsson Johansen Forsberg
Granlund Duchene Turris
Sissons Bonino Smith


or

Arvidsson Johansen Forsberg
Granlund Duchene Smith
Sissons Turris Jarnkrok/Grimaldi


Obviously Turris on the wing is the better option, but is this feasible?

Thanks in advance for any input.

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[PullHard]

Why is Turris on the wing the "obviously" better option?

wouldn't having that level of C depth be advantageous?

Give Turris Smith on one wing and let him go up against lesser defenders and life should be good for him and Laviolette

 

[robsenz]

He would be a perimeter player and probably lose every board battle. Would be decent when setup for a one timer on the PP down low though

 

[BonMorrison]

Didn't Poile already say that Turris is gonna play centre this year?

 

[Sensinitis]

He should because he has lost some speed and was never that quick to begin with.

But he's also very weak physically so those board battles would be painful to watch.

I can't see Turris hitting 50+ pts ever again. I hope he proves me wrong though.

 

[Filthy Dangles]

Turris isn't very crafty of an offensive player, so i don't know if moving him to wing would improve his game or numbers that much, but maybe it could.

He got his points by playing solid all around hockey. A guy like Claude Giroux can succeed on the wing because he's crafty offensively, a guy like Derek Stepan would not work on the wing.

 

[NyQuil]

He would be in tough grinding out pucks in the corner and delivering a heavy forecheck on opposing defencemen.

He was always a right place at the right time kind of offensive player but he’s having a hard time getting open and driving the net.

 

[ESH]

Sure, I don’t see why not. I’m thinking pretty much any center could play wing if they needed to.

For people talking about board battles, there’s lots of wingers who suck along the boards. Gaudreau hardly ever even engages along the boards. It’s not essential.

Duchene has played wing in past seasons, for what it’s worth.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

I imagine the Preds will try that. It's kind of incumbent on them to run the experiment, anyway. I don't have a lot of confidence that it will go anywhere. Turris is ok on the rush and he's passable/adequate as a center in terms of his 2-way play and faceoffs and all that. But ultimately he relies on his linemates to a large degree for his production. He is good enough to get 50+ points playing with 2nd-line caliber NHL linemates. I don't know what he'd look like with 3rd-line caliber linemates. And if he's a winger he WILL lose every battle and/or be at higher risk of having his ectomorphic body get injured again. I don't think the Preds have any real choice, though. Run the experiment, see if anything works out, worst case is Smith goes back in there, he has been solid/consistent in the past and is a totally acceptable fallback option.

Agreed it's not really a main board question, though.

 

[NyQuil]

For people talking about board battles, there’s lots of wingers who suck along the boards. Gaudreau hardly ever even engages along the boards. It’s not essential.

Gaudreau has NHL elite speed to separate himself from the opposition and incredible hands to boot.

Duchene has played wing in past seasons, for what it’s worth.

And he's terrific in the corners.

 

[ESH]

Gaudreau has NHL elite speed to separate himself from the opposition and incredible hands to boot.

Gaudreau doesn’t have elite speed. He’s quick and agile.

Doesn’t change the fact that being good along the boards is a pre-requisite for being a winger. Especially considering that it’s generally the center who works in the corners in the defensive zone.

 

[swiftwin]

Sure, I don’t see why not. I’m thinking pretty much any center could play wing if they needed to.

For people talking about board battles, there’s lots of wingers who suck along the boards. Gaudreau hardly ever even engages along the boards. It’s not essential.

Duchene has played wing in past seasons, for what it’s worth.

"Good along the boards" doesn't just mean being big and strong. Being quick and agile allows you to win those "battles" along the boards and come out of the corners with the puck without necessarily engaging physically. Turris is neither quick and agile, nor is he big and strong. There's no way Turris would be any good as a winger. Duchene on the other hand is fantastic at those corner battles. I'd much rather leave Turris at center and have Duchene on his wing.

Turris is a smart two-way player who distributes the puck well and has a great shot. He's not slow, but he's not fast either. He needs linemates who can motor and drive the play.

 

[avsfan09]

Sure, I don’t see why not. I’m thinking pretty much any center could play wing if they needed to.

For people talking about board battles, there’s lots of wingers who suck along the boards. Gaudreau hardly ever even engages along the boards. It’s not essential.

Duchene has played wing in past seasons, for what it’s worth.

RoR aswell.

 

[ESH]

”Good along the boards" doesn't just mean being big and strong. Being quick and agile allows you to win those "battles" along the boards and come out of the corners with the puck without necessarily engaging physically. Turris is neither quick and agile, nor is he big and strong. There's no way Turris would be any good as a winger. Duchene on the other hand is fantastic at those corner battles. I'd much rather leave Turris at center and have Duchene on his wing.

Turris is a smart two-way player who distributes the puck well and has a great shot. He's not slow, but he's not fast either. He needs linemates who can motor and drive the play.

I never disputed any of that.

Anyways, I brought Duchene playing the wing up because he’s already proven to be capable of it.

 

[Ctrain2k]

Granlund-Duchene-Turris

That might be the softest line in the league.

 

[triggrman]

Granlund-Duchene-Turris

That might be the softest line in the league.

Or it might not be

 

[tony d]

The guy is pretty talented. I think he would do well if given the chance.