Flowah
Registered User
- Nov 30, 2009
- 10,249
- 547
Haha, I'll jump in with the 3rd of 3 possible opinions. I think Marchenko's ability to stop pucks, and move pucks is highly valuable, and works perfect with rangy guys like Dekeyser or Green. His hyper aggressive pinches can be really effective, as long as he continues to improve his spot picking. And he quietly drives more offense than most people think, often driving the net on rushes and getting back unnoticed.
When his confidence is peaking, Marchenko has also shown glimpses of good in zone offense, which hasn't been consistent enough to result in production, but he has the ability to move the puck quickly, and zip some pucks at the goalies ankles.
For what it's worth(not much) Marchenko led all russian d-men in TOI at the World Cup.
I've noticed this. It's worrying to me that no one else has. It means either I'm delusional or everyone else is wrong and I tend not to bet on the latter.
I see Marchenko pinching better than most of our guys though obviously he can get better. I see him joining the play often. I see him thinking and looking for the smart pass instead of just dumping it like most of our d-men and THAT is the part I like the most. We need more possession. Maybe he's not good enough to do that but I like that he tries it at least. He seems to want to play the Russian style. I really wish he and Pavel could have had more time together.