Who have you liked game to game?
Nico - He's not making a difference but he's been better than his stat line. Tatar and Holtz have missed some nice passing plays and Nico has missed some good looks. Still, I'm giving him a pass
Bratt - Liked him for 80% of his minutes. He can disappear, but again, he's getting a pass
Tatar - I don't see what others see. He reminds me of 2020-1 Mango
Mercer - other than some rookie penalties, absolutely impact every game
McLeod - expendable
Vesey - come down to earth from a really solid start
Kuokk - expendable but seems to be more involved than start of the year
Zacha - Liked him for most of his minutes. He's getting a pass
Shara - Can he get consistent ice-time in Utica, because he looks like a shell of himself
Johnsson - More decisive, confident and positive almost every shift
Boqvist - coming on; I want to see him stick
Zetterlund - actually like his Miles Wood-iness aggression.
Hamilton - Lidstrom-esque. Yeah, I'm going there. I don't know what he can't do
Graves - Today was a slow mental game on top of a slow physical game. Liked 80% of his minutes. He gets a pass
Subban - Cannot cover space anymore. Hands are still ok. Edges look ok, but he looks like a guy that had hip replacements. His inability to make defensive plays creates trouble for everyone on the ice. replaceable
Siegs - Positive relative to competition.
Severson - total gambler who seems to lose focus for 3 shifts per game
Smith - soft, not delivering on the other end. I'm not panicking but he needs to get a lot better
Bernier - solid, generally positive
Blackwood - consistency; someone said last year that Blackwood is a player that looks fantastic for 2 weeks and then has 2 games that make you shake your head
PK - not as freaked out as I was last year; improved
PP - getting better but far from good
That's an average team and thank the heavens for His royal presence, Sir Vicount Douglas Hamilton and those games where Mercer's line can really score a few.
