Micklebot
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- Apr 27, 2010
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Old thread hit 1000 posts
Pretty simple. Wolanin is a puck carrier. He'll take it from his goal line to the other frequently. He plays the top of the PP as a trigger man. He's your modern offensive defenseman. Lajoie is a good passer and skater but you're rarely going to see him go end to end or score from the blue line on a clean shot.
I hope people are not thinking that Lajoie is an offensive D-man because he had a good start offensively. He actually reminds me a lot of a younger Ceci. Let's see if the team ruins him the same way by giving him roles way too big for him. It's going well these days!
That makes sense. My confusion is that I included defensemen that were good at making outlet passes to break out of the defensive zone and were capable of making smart offensive plays in the offensive zone and on the power play as puck moving defensemen. I was not aware that it was restricted to d men who carry the puck out of the d zone and make end to end plays. By that definition it seems like Chabot and Wolanin are the only d men who fit the criteria.
What is your take on Wolanin's defensive play? Do you evaluate a puck moving d man's defensive play differently than other types of d men? Should they be judged differently given their capacity to carry the puck out of the zone and how that style of play might effect their aggressiveness and positioning?
Well even outside of his actual point production he was making some good plays and his overall play style was much more like an offensive d man early on. But as the season has progressed it is becoming more clear that Lajoie is more of a well rounded d men with some flashes of offensive talent than a pure offensive d man.
Given that he is a bit small (at least in terms of weight) and doesn't have much of a physical element in his game I am curious to see what his upside is. What do you think he peaks out as? Do you think the physical side will come with added weight and experience or do you not expect him to develop that element of his game?
I think as he puts on some man muscle (he’s only 20 years old) he can become a good two way dman who can put up 40 points and play all situation (pp, pk). Someone in the mold of Ekholm (maybe not the last year or so since he really became a star), Spurgeon, Braun or Goligoski (good two way dmen who are in between offensive and defensive dman based on their role).