Watching him in this tourney, we can see the skill and talent level, no doubt.
For me, the issue is he isn't able to see the spaces he normally finds, and he becomes too stationary/inactive when his normal solutions are not there. Much more so in this tourney than the bits I have watched from the SHL. When there is more space, he actually moves more actively. With less space, he just stops finding gaps.
When you look at the way that a Brannstrom type creates angles when there are none, you can see an example of someone who releases from pressure or moves into a dangerous position backwards, sideways, or forwards. it is impressive. We need to see more of this from EP.
When he goes off the ice, even on the power play, there is more team movement.
Because of his (EP's) lack of movement, he looks passive in some of the battles, not soft, just a little late almost and not strong enough.
This is clearly something that can be worked on for sure (especially if it isn't a courage thing, and I don't believe he is a "soft" player). I actually think he is adapting 5 on 5 in this tourney. Slowly. But he simply isn't moving at the speed he needs to to make space for himself or for others. He needs to be stronger and faster in his little movements. He needs to find little pockets of space even when there is very little space available. And he needs to move with and without the puck at a quicker speed than he is now to create and take advantage of shooting and passing lanes. It is going to take time. But for me, after watching this, he is not close to being NHL ready in Oct. He needs some time in the Ahl to learn to compete at a different speed.
Having said this, he is going to be a very good player when he does adapt. If he can learn to play with more dynamic energy and harder in that critical moment, which we see him doing in the SHL, his amazing skill will come through.
For me, the issue is he isn't able to see the spaces he normally finds, and he becomes too stationary/inactive when his normal solutions are not there. Much more so in this tourney than the bits I have watched from the SHL. When there is more space, he actually moves more actively. With less space, he just stops finding gaps.
When you look at the way that a Brannstrom type creates angles when there are none, you can see an example of someone who releases from pressure or moves into a dangerous position backwards, sideways, or forwards. it is impressive. We need to see more of this from EP.
When he goes off the ice, even on the power play, there is more team movement.
Because of his (EP's) lack of movement, he looks passive in some of the battles, not soft, just a little late almost and not strong enough.
This is clearly something that can be worked on for sure (especially if it isn't a courage thing, and I don't believe he is a "soft" player). I actually think he is adapting 5 on 5 in this tourney. Slowly. But he simply isn't moving at the speed he needs to to make space for himself or for others. He needs to be stronger and faster in his little movements. He needs to find little pockets of space even when there is very little space available. And he needs to move with and without the puck at a quicker speed than he is now to create and take advantage of shooting and passing lanes. It is going to take time. But for me, after watching this, he is not close to being NHL ready in Oct. He needs some time in the Ahl to learn to compete at a different speed.
Having said this, he is going to be a very good player when he does adapt. If he can learn to play with more dynamic energy and harder in that critical moment, which we see him doing in the SHL, his amazing skill will come through.
