What was the knock on this kid? So far in camp I've really been impressed, especially with his speed and size, he's not just fast for a big guy, he's fast period. He's had a few good hits too.
Why is there a "knock" perceived at all? He was a 1st round pick, I think he went approximately where he was expected to go in the draft.
I find him to be a little bit too unaggressive; I like a bigger dman who has the ability to play hard to actually play hard and draw a little blood now and then, and Parent doesn't really do that. But it's not exactly a knock. He doesn't have much offense, so sometimes the aggression is expected in order to offset that. But he skates so well and is so positionally sound it's not really fair to try to fit him into the either/or offensive/aggressive stereotypes I'm used to.
Ryan Parent was just not highly touted to have any superb strength, while he had no weakness either.
He'll be a great 2nd line defenceman, in my oppinion. He just doesn't offer big offence, or big defence. He's solid both ways, which is awesome, it just doesn't happen to dazzle people as much as someone who really stands out in one area.
I think eventually he'll be paired with Hamhuis or Suter to balance out his weakness, much like Weber. Eventually it will be Suter-Weber and Hamhuis-Parent, Klien will take the two-way player on the third line with the stay-at-home on that line not too clear at the moment.
Parent is aggressive in his own end, maybe he's playing it safe at the NHL camp. Parent's best assets are his positional play, his physical yet clean defensive style, and his poise for such a young age. He'll be asked to try and step up his offensive game in Guelph this year, and I could see in the training camp here that he was trying to shoot the puck a lot more, taking those criticisms to heart. He'll be a very solid and always reliable defensive defenseman in the NHL.
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.