Post-Game Talk: Flyers 4 at Kings 2 | Oct. 14, 2016 | Regular Season Game 1

[Lyons89]

I think he did a really good job last year... and is a pretty good hockey player.

The only questions I have with him is where does he fit in the Flyers NHL line-up going forward. He is pesky and gritty but is not too strong player defensively and while he has improved his skating is not explosive for his size. And our top 6 is already pretty darn good with more players coming soon, especially at wing.

I think 'his' slot on the roster going forward is really 3C. Especially with Raffl & Weise both locked in on the wings, and Laughton, Leier, Lindblom, Aube-Kubel etc all looking for a roster spot either right now or next year.

I mean, I think we know he has the talent to produce at the level of a good 3C already. (i.e. ~30 points) But the questions that remain unanswered relate to if he can do the other things that make a good 3rd liner. There are not too many good, long-term 3C's in the NHL who are not either in the PK rotation or capable of taking some tougher minutes.

If Cousins can expand his retinue this year and show better D I think he could well be a piece on the roster going forward... but if he does not I think he is likely a stop-gap.

I mean, if we look at recent cup finalists and their 3C's:

Kelly, Malhotra, Stoll, Zajac, Shaw, Kelly, Stoll, Brassard, Vermette, Filpulla, Bonino, Tierney

They averaged ~31 point pace the year their teams got to the final... which I think Cousins is capable of for sure, but:

Their PKTOI was as follows:

Kelly: 1:54
Malhotra: 2:45
Stoll: 2:02
Zajac: 1:18
Shaw: 0:04
Kelly: 2:17
Stoll: 2:06
Brassard: 0:14
Vermette: 1:26
Filpulla: 1:13
Bonino: 2:19
Tierney: 1:31

The only players not a regular on their teams PK units were Shaw & Brassard... Cousins is never going to be Derek Brassard (and Brassard is a good 5v5 defensive player.)

So that leaves Shaw... who is probably actually the guy on the list most similar to Cousins in a lot of ways. Both gritty, both have some offensive ability, neither are great defensively and are not really 'conventional' 3C's.


I mean, I hope Cousins can continue to round out his game and become the kind of player who could be a legit 3C on a contender... but he needs to add more strings to his bow in all likelihood to still be a Flyer ~2 years down the line... as there are quite a lot of guys who can get ~30 points at 3C with better D than he does at the present time.

I know this means absolutely nothing, funny how you compared cousins to Shaw. They are both from belleville Ontario as well.