snipes
How cold? I’m ice cold.
- Dec 28, 2015
- 55,122
- 62,105
I wouldn't have him in the conversation for #8, but I definitely have him ahead of Broberg.
He oozes hockey sense, has projectable offensive tools, has near elite mobility and is already very good defensively. The only thing Broberg has on him is size(6'3'' 200lbs vs 6'0'' 182lbs) and straight line speed.
For some reason there seems to be this notion that Broberg has huge upside based on his speed and being raw(another word for bad, in my book) in many aspects. Look at the top defensemen joining the league. Does that sound like Heiskanen, Provorov, Chabot, etc? No. They were polished guys who are excelling because of hockey sense, skill and mobility.
Skating ability is obviously crucial for Dmen, but I really value puck moving ability and transition play from Dmen more than ever.
15 years ago I valued size, toughness, and Dmen who bullied the opponent physically.
Now it’s all about quick decisions and puck movement up ice before the forecheck can even get there. Sadly we haven’t had that on our team in forever.
That’s why for all his faults defensively, Bouchard is a guy in 2-3 years who will be a mainstay. His breakouts and stretch passes are what will keep him from being hemmed in his own zone like a guy like Russell finds himself routinely in (the type of reads Bouchard can make under pressure requires elite hockey sense and an unteachable trait of spatial anticipation and intuition).
It’s easier and faster to move the puck up ice with a single 50-100 foot pass tape to tape than it is to lug the puck up ice. Those skills don’t diminish with age either.
Size and skating are nice always, but really those unteachable traits of spatial awareness/anticipation and intuition for lack of a better word that elite puck movers have are more important.
Anyways, that was more a philosophical viewpoint than anything in particular to Soderstrom.