Losing Zucc to injury in the 2012 playoffs is so demoralizing to think back. He was very solid before his season ending injury.
Of course he got healthy near the end of the playoffs, but we opted for Bickel and Rupp instead.
Well, memory is short. He wasnt the player back then he is now. Not by a mile. He had the tools, but not the body and confidence to use them. I think he did well in the 2013 playoffs, but not great. He started this season so and so as well. Then he got scratched and he's mom told him to shut up whining. From that point he has been a completely different player IMO, even how strange it is, I believe it is the reason.
1. He doesnt think (and act) like its the end of the world after a poor shift. He plays with a "nothing to lose" - attitude instead of having the world on his shoulders.
2. He is more confident
3. He is a LOT stronger than previous years, especially on his skates. Maybe the weightloss combined with some customized workouts in the summer is the reason for that.
I was pretty much on the same page as the "haters" in here (and stayed away), he was well over hyped by norwegians no matter what he did (and not did). Now the most of us finally see the same player. All of us? Nope, some people here has been ready to get rid of i.e. Lundqvist in every window (nothing wrong with that, everyone should have their opinions) the last 8 years, but when the majority consider the player the same way, its a good sign of how the world really looks like.
