JasonMacIsaac said:
Yes, His hockey sence with and without the puck seems way below average.
Hockey sense bellow average? Give me a break. I'd say smarts on the ice are more a strenght of his than anything.
The reason he wasn't able to score alot in Montreal was because he's got a confidence problem and also because he thinks more like a setter than a scorer right now (and wrongly so considering the skill set he posesses).
He's not a sniper though. He looks to make the pass 1st. His game is a supportive role, which means work the corners and cycle the puck down low until someone gets open in the crease, where he'll either move it along the boards to someone else or pass it for a one-timer. But he does have an incredible shot, and he's starting to use it a bit more it seems as he's getting close to a shot a game more than last year in the AHL.
Hossa's confidence was at an all time low when he was sent down to Hamilton but he picked it up eventually (after 20 games of virtually no production whatsoever) and is now producing with regularity. I've always thought Hossa's ceiling would be 2nd liner with 25g and 30a upside, mainly because I think he'll always battle with himself to find a grove and get consistent.
He's a strong forechecker and does all the little things well off the puck that will open up ice for his linemates, but is not the best finisher (well he's got the skills, but lacks confidence in his abilities and the scorer instinct, which has nothing to do with hockey sense). He's very strong and hard to knock off the puck in the corners on top of that.
He, Ribeiro and Ryder seemed to have good chemistry and were dominant all game long (the only one) where they were matched together before Hossa was sent down. Perfect line IMO. One big body (Hossa) to work the corners and use his speed and size to forecheck, one playmaker (Ribeiro) that likes to control the play and dipsee-doodle in the offensive zone and set opened linemates and one sniper (Ryder) that can take quick and precise wristers from the crease and one-time admirably well, as well as go to the net and take the abuse to score.
Now all that being said, this is "what could be" but obviously Hossa has a long way to go to get there. He needs to play more aggressively and gain some long lost confidence back. When he plays hard, he looks like a PF out there (and those kind of players can take a while to develop and find a way to put it all together).
But saying Hossa doesn't have hockey sense is wrong. Chad Kilger doesn't have hockey sense. Hossa does the little things without the puck as well as you want it to be, he just needs to find it in him to hold on to the puck longer and make plays by himself using his great strenght and smooth mechanics rather than letting it to his center to make things happen. Maturity and confidence will go a long way in making this possible.
