GDT: Devils @ Hurricanes - 7:00 PM - ESPN+

[glenwo2]

Dougie is HUGE in person, so him being slow is expected.

I'll bet.

 

[Whaddagoal]

You have to at least give them another game together.

It’s hilarious how they were thrown together off the end of a PP shift and they ran away with the game.

I dug around last years stats for him. He actually seemed to have a lot of assists from Janne Kuokkannen. He did have a few from mercer and McLeod (separately)

Jesper Boqvist 2021-22 Scoring Log | Hockey-Reference.com

Scoring for Jesper Boqvist for 2021-22

www.hockey-reference.com

I guess that is where his chemistry was.

But yeah another game to see if that line is for real.

 

[Better Call Sal]

I’m a Boqvist supporter and was thrilled to see him break through finally last night. I think it’s tough to see him sticking in the lineup when we’re fully healthy but having him as an option where he can play center and wing capably at least is a plus. You can do much worse for your 13th forward if that is what he ends up for the rest of the year.

Hell, we’ve done much worse for some of our forwards in our lineup for years.

 

[glenwo2]

I'll bet.

You walked right into that one, @Bleedred

 

[TBF1972]

I don’t think you can win 4 playoff series en route to a cup with three guys who are gamblers, even if they comprise the best offensive D corps. in the league.

I’m not saying I expect Luke or Nemec to develop that way but if neither of them are better in zone defenders than Hamilton, yeah, I’d worry. Easy bar to clear, though.

transition defence worries me more with hamilton, than his work in the defensive zone. as other mentioned he often gives up early, if the opposing team is on the rush and he is last player back. obviously speed is an issue, but effort seems to be as well, which is kind of trouble. it sets a bad example for a young team like the devils, if the highest paid and one of the veteran players doesn't even try.

I’m a Boqvist supporter and was thrilled to see him break through finally last night. I think it’s tough to see him sticking in the lineup when we’re fully healthy but having him as an option where he can play center and wing capably at least is a plus. You can do much worse for your 13th forward if that is what he ends up for the rest of the year.

Hell, we’ve done much worse for some of our forwards in our lineup for years.

i will search for you on the IUCN red list

 

[Devils731]

transition defence worries me more with hamilton, than his work in the defensive zone. as other mentioned he often gives up early, if the opposing team is on the rush and he is last player back. obviously speed is an issue, but effort seems to be as well, which is kind of trouble. it sets a bad example for a young team like the devils, if the highest paid and one of the veteran players doesn't even try.


i will search for you on the IUCN red list

I don’t think Hamilton doesn’t try, I just think his pace is always slow and measured. That’s not always good but it’s who he is as a player.

Due to his wingspan, he waits on the offensive players to come into his window and then engage. Hamilton is going to try and fill the area of the ice he thinks is correct and use his stick to disrupt and win battles. Sometimes he will fail and we will wish he had used his body more or skated harder to recover but I don’t think it’s because he’s not trying. This is how he thinks is best to play.

Hamilton is really good in the offensive zone and we see the same measured pacing there as well. Sometimes we wish he would try and quickly make a play but he’s going to glide around to where he thinks he’s filling the best space.

I wish Hamilton played with more pace but I think this is a case where you have to not let perfect be the enemy of great when it comes to what Hamilton brings. Accept the warts for all the benefits.

——————

This reminds me a bit of Viktor Kozlov.

Big guy, not physical, good stick work, and slow/measured pacing. Someone who good things normally happen around but doesn’t look like he’s trying very hard. Lack of pace becomes a very visually obvious thing to criticize him for.

I wonder if the analytics era would have helped Kozlov’s reputation, I bet it would have.

 

[Better Call Sal]

I'll bet.

 

[ninetyeight]

Everytime I'm ready to give up on Boqvist for good, he has a good game or two. He has the tools and potential, him becoming a solid all around 40pts middle6er would be a big win for our depth. There's still a long way to go and he's already 24 on his 4th season (on and off the lineup though).

If this Boq Mercer Mikey chemistry keeps up that could be huge for us, first step getting back to 4 good lines.

 

[Nubmer6]

Everytime I'm ready to give up on Boqvist for good, he has a good game or two. He has the tools and potential, him becoming a solid all around 40pts middle6er would be a big win for our depth.

For some reason this sentence reminds me of Zacha.

 

[My3Sons]

For some reason this sentence reminds me of Zacha.

I think they arrive at a similar destination by different routes.