DrSense
Registered User
- Oct 4, 2017
- 783
- 899
I'm all for giving Duke at least two years. The thing is, even if he doesn't gel with a top line center or winger, he is the kind of guy who generates scoring chances on his own and can do so with an average center. So if in two years, he's on a 3rd line with the likes of Tierney and say, Paul or Formenton, that could be a line that gives us some pop offensively as a 3rd line. And it was so great to see Duke on the PK this year, because he developed that part of his game and was a threat out there. Having he and Tierney as our first PK unit and part of a two unit rotation makes sense going forward. I think it's pretty clear we want him for at least two years, even if his production levels off at 25 goals and he remains streaky.
The other thing is, we are building a team with a lot of pass-first guys. Tkachuk is actually a better play maker from the wing, than scorer. Same with Batherson (although both are balanced, and can be scorers too). But in the top 6 of the draft, most of those forwards are pass first too, unless the Sens have Hotlz or Quinn in their top 6 (possible). But Laf, Byfield, Stuzle, Rossi and Perfetti are all elite passers. So we're going to add another elite playmaker in our top 6, possibly two. Logan Brown is totally pass first as well. This means having shoot first wingers like Duclair and Formenton are important.
The good news is Norris has great scoring instincts and while he can pass to and is relatively balanced offensively, he seems like a bit more of a pure scorer than elite play maker. As such, he could gel really well with some of our wingers. Same with Pinto, who is even more of a pure scorer than setup man.
Either way, having Duke in the mix in our top 9 for the next 2-3 years is important I think.
The other thing is, we are building a team with a lot of pass-first guys. Tkachuk is actually a better play maker from the wing, than scorer. Same with Batherson (although both are balanced, and can be scorers too). But in the top 6 of the draft, most of those forwards are pass first too, unless the Sens have Hotlz or Quinn in their top 6 (possible). But Laf, Byfield, Stuzle, Rossi and Perfetti are all elite passers. So we're going to add another elite playmaker in our top 6, possibly two. Logan Brown is totally pass first as well. This means having shoot first wingers like Duclair and Formenton are important.
The good news is Norris has great scoring instincts and while he can pass to and is relatively balanced offensively, he seems like a bit more of a pure scorer than elite play maker. As such, he could gel really well with some of our wingers. Same with Pinto, who is even more of a pure scorer than setup man.
Either way, having Duke in the mix in our top 9 for the next 2-3 years is important I think.