Confirmed with Link: 4th Round - #96OA - C Nicolas Roy - Chicoutimi (QMJHL)

[ONO94]

Ok--I live in NC and all, so maybe I'm just missing something, but shouldn't centers (Centres b/c of the Q) actually take face-offs at some point? That video has a distinct lack of face-offs for Roy, which makes me think he actually plays wing a fair bit. And slow wings are even more of an issue in the NHL.

He might have the ability to improve the skating and he seems to play a puck possession game, so maybe he's got a shot. But I think he should start learning to skate backwards and see what's it's like to play D.

 

[TheOllieC]

Ok--I live in NC and all, so maybe I'm just missing something, but shouldn't centers (Centres b/c of the Q) actually take face-offs at some point? That video has a distinct lack of face-offs for Roy, which makes me think he actually plays wing a fair bit. And slow wings are even more of an issue in the NHL.

He might have the ability to improve the skating and he seems to play a puck possession game, so maybe he's got a shot. But I think he should start learning to skate backwards and see what's it's like to play D.

He takes faceoffs and he's quite good at them. Could be a bottom-six defensive center.

 

[cptjeff]

Why is that?

Muscle memory, for one. The more you practice something, the more it gets ingrained, the harder it is to change. Skating is a fundamental skill in constant use, and if you're repeating bad technique all that time, those bad habits are going to be very hard to change. You have thousands and thousands of hours reinforcing the way you skate, and when you need fundamental changes to your stride, that's not something that can happen easily after all that reinforcement.

It's also going to be quite difficult to integrate things that you never learned in the first place- in Roy's case, lateral movement appears to be a key one of those. It simply doesn't seem to remotely be in his toolbox- there were lots of rushes in that video where a defender angles him against the boards, but where he has plenty of room to make a quick lateral movement, to cut towards the center and drive towards the net. In the NHL, even the guys you think of as purely straight ahead players can make that shift with ease. Guys who are really good at lateral movement, like Jeff Skinner, can do it to escape from a defender that's practically hugging them.

Roy can't seem to do it at all. The only turns I see him make are big broad ones. He never moves laterally, he never stops and pivots on a dime, he doesn't seem to have very good acceleration- he seems to be at about the level of those old 70s enforcers. That's not a promising sign.

 

[RodTheBawd]

Muscle memory, for one. The more you practice something, the more it gets ingrained, the harder it is to change. Skating is a fundamental skill in constant use, and if you're repeating bad technique all that time, those bad habits are going to be very hard to change. You have thousands and thousands of hours reinforcing the way you skate, and when you need fundamental changes to your stride, that's not something that can happen easily after all that reinforcement.

It's also going to be quite difficult to integrate things that you never learned in the first place- in Roy's case, lateral movement appears to be a key one of those. It simply doesn't seem to remotely be in his toolbox- there were lots of rushes in that video where a defender angles him against the boards, but where he has plenty of room to make a quick lateral movement, to cut towards the center and drive towards the net. In the NHL, even the guys you think of as purely straight ahead players can make that shift with ease. Guys who are really good at lateral movement, like Jeff Skinner, can do it to escape from a defender that's practically hugging them.

Roy can't seem to do it at all. The only turns I see him make are big broad ones. He never moves laterally, he never stops and pivots on a dime, he doesn't seem to have very good acceleration- he seems to be at about the level of those old 70s enforcers. That's not a promising sign.

Gotcha. I guess I undervalue muscle memory when it comes to the larger muscle groups (for no logical reason). I just read about guys having skating issues and automatically assume with enough effort, it doesn't make sense why they can't improve dramatically with all of the training and instruction they have available at this level.

 

[Unsustainable]

westgarth, your skating argument is invalid.

 

[FlyingSquirrels]

I'm not sure if this kid will succeed or not. But....If there's anyone who can get by in the NHL with below average skating, it's a power forward. Thinking of one quick example, I come up with Milan Lucic. He is a below average skater but does everything else well.

I hope this kid Roy turns out well for us, he was a highly regarded prospect at one point. Solid pick at that point.