Player Discussion: Mathew Barzal
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periferal
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I couldn't agree more. Amazing that there's a difference when you're not playing against the other teams' top defenseman/forwards as opposed to being a #2 center behind a #1 franchise center.
It all makes a difference.
The Winter Soldier
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It's all part of maturity. Barzal is still a baby in hockey terms. He had an incredible year last season. I think had Weight stayed on as coach we would still be seeing Barzal put up numbers similar to last year. But having Trotz is an adjustment, but it will just make him better in the long run. This is what you want from Barzal. Better in the long run. Never a doubt when it comes to Barzal for me. Time is on his side.
Isles Junkie
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Barzal is definitely feeling the pressure. he needs to loosen up, pass the puck & realize that he can't do it all himself.
periferal
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But you're not addressing a simple fact:
When you have two #1 centers your team (and that "#2 center") will be in much better shape. Period.
The Winter Soldier
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This is obvious. But I do not subscribe to the fact Barzal did not make his own path to success last year. Since he was the Isles best Center. The stats say this, and the underlying metrics said this. You are not going to get me to admit otherwise. Barzal was his own product, and no one else's. But if you want me to say great players are better when playing with other great players. Yes. Obcourse this is true. Even Gretzky had Messier, Crosby had Malkin. Why should Barzal be exempt from this?
Glory Days
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That's very true but Barzal also has had a tough time adjusting to Trotz system. Staple wrote about it today. Seems Barzal was resistant at first but has been buying in lately. No doubt that has impacted his production.
Sidney the Kidney
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It's kind of strange. Production-wise, Barzal's second season is what I predicted his first season would be like (a bunch of assists with a paltry goal total), with his rookie year being closer to what I thought his prime years would be like.
Apart from holding onto the puck too long and (from the limited games I've seen) playing too much on the perimeter, I think Barzal's issue is he's not a threat to score a goal. He either refuses to shoot, or when he does, it's not very effective right now. Part of that, IMO, is due to the former about playing too perimeter. Unless you've got a shot like Ovechkin or Laine, you're not scoring goals in the NHL if you play that far out.
Apart from holding onto the puck too long and (from the limited games I've seen) playing too much on the perimeter, I think Barzal's issue is he's not a threat to score a goal. He either refuses to shoot, or when he does, it's not very effective right now. Part of that, IMO, is due to the former about playing too perimeter. Unless you've got a shot like Ovechkin or Laine, you're not scoring goals in the NHL if you play that far out.
mm11
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Kevin27NYI
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Both things can be true...
1) Barzal is "struggling" to acclimate to Trotz's system.
2) Barzal is "struggling" in that he's not on the 2nd line anymore with another #1 center shielding him from the opponents' best defenders.
periferal
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The 2nd paragraph is ace.
The 1st paragraph...Not sure why you think Barzal's 1st two seasons are strange. To me they make sense given the changes around him from last year to this. Last year all eyes were on Tavares and Barzal could develop in a 2nd line role in a "system" that didn't exactly ask him to be structured or as defensive as Trotz's does.
Barzal held the puck too long last year too. The difference is that he was elite at keeping the possession and finishing last year. I'm not sure whats going on with him this year. He's still on a 65-70 point pace but the missing goals are really needed to boost his confidence and bring him back to that elite level (85 points).
Pp absolutely pathetic this season another reason why points is down. Not shooting enough another reason. Very low shooting percentage another reason probably affecting his confidence to shoot the puck.
The Winter Soldier
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Glad to see Barzal score a big goal last night. 1+1 night, perhaps this is the start for him to go on a a bit of a run. Last year he went on a tear about this time of year. Anyway good to see for our boy Mat.
PWJunior
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He's been looking very good lately, for the past 5 games or so. It seems like Trotz is finally getting through to him and the effort and maturity in his complete game has been markedly improved. It will be a process, but I am confident that Barzal will morph into an elite 2-way player as he has all the tools to be one.
The Winter Soldier
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Yeah I have no doubts too. This has been a strange year for Mathew. Many assume it was him assuming the #1 Center position on the team. But I think this would have happened regardless of who was here. There are times you have to take a step back to move fwd or become an even better player. Barzal would be following in other great players footsteps. IE Backstrom, Kuzy, and Ovie all became more complete under Trotz. It wasn't immediate either, so I do expect this for Mathew also. Bodes well for the Islanders with this track record of success to look back on.
I'm blown away by the quality of that article. Amazing that there's that kind of talent witing for an islanders blog.
ScaredStreit
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Of course he did...but there's no getting around that it's easier playing 2nd pairing defensemen than 1st. Messier's production dropped without Gretzky.
PWJunior
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The author is also known as Spizzwolf, I subscribe to his YT channel. He is amazing.
My favorite line in the article...
'Barzal’s offensive zone orbits are a sight to behold, but it’s the defensive zone orbits that tell me this must be the cockiest son of a bitch I have ever seen with the puck on his stick.'
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Barzal is definitely having a tougher tim ethis year, as you'd expect now going up against tougher competition. With that, he is certainly starting to make plays consistently again and that top line looks great. I still think the 2nd line struggles with Nelson/Lee/eberle is that you don't have atrue playmaker on that line. They get chances driving the net and being able to control the play, but tey rarely find the holes to pas through to get the high danger chances. Think swapping Bailey and Eberle is a given,
Barzal is definitely needing to work harder this year but he went through a dryspell and it seems like he is coming out of it a better player trhan he ever was. He has less space so he doesnt look as magical, taking 3 laps around the offensive zone before finding th eperfect tic tac toe, but he is shooting more and looks sronger on the puck than ever. I'm actually seeing him fight through defenders rather than just avoid them. You can look at the point pace and see regression but I think he's a better player right now than he was last year no question. The tougher competition tested him and he's finally adjusted and seems to be better for it. I think anyone would have taken 70 points from him this year and that is his pace. If you consider he had 3 5 point gmes last year when even the great elite players rarely get 1, he's right on par with last year with scoring and he seems to be getting better as the year goes on. I feel great about where he is right now
Barzal is definitely needing to work harder this year but he went through a dryspell and it seems like he is coming out of it a better player trhan he ever was. He has less space so he doesnt look as magical, taking 3 laps around the offensive zone before finding th eperfect tic tac toe, but he is shooting more and looks sronger on the puck than ever. I'm actually seeing him fight through defenders rather than just avoid them. You can look at the point pace and see regression but I think he's a better player right now than he was last year no question. The tougher competition tested him and he's finally adjusted and seems to be better for it. I think anyone would have taken 70 points from him this year and that is his pace. If you consider he had 3 5 point gmes last year when even the great elite players rarely get 1, he's right on par with last year with scoring and he seems to be getting better as the year goes on. I feel great about where he is right now
PWJunior
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The kid is as gifted a skater and puck possession player you'll find in the NHL ranks. He was allowed to roam free all last year and the talent was clearly evident. Now Trotz is reigning him in, breaking down his prized colt to mold him into a true thoroughbred racehorse. I'm pretty confident that Barzal will be at his PPG by the end of the year, but the strides made in his complete game will be substantial and I think that will be the biggest boon for him, the organization, and the fans going forward.
Barzal has some really bad habits that need to be eliminated from his game. Thankfully, his problems seem almost completely related to effort and commitment to do the right things. If you had to choose a coach to be in charge of development at this stage of his career, Trotz would be right there as the top candidate. This marriage is probably the best thing to ever happen to our 21-year old franchise player.
It took Trotz a few seasons to get Ovechkin to buy into being defensively responsible. If Barzal will buy into what Trotz is selling we’ll have a perrenial all star in our midst.
PWJunior
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Trotz is getting Barzal at the right time, Ovie was established and a tougher nut to crack at his stage of his career. The fact that Trotz did finally get through to him... the results speak for themselves. Trotz should leave little pictures of Ovie in all of Barzal's stuff is the youngster gets a little out of line. Like the pic with Ovie in bed with the Cup and that type of nonsense. Haha.
I think we're seeing the roots starting to form in Barzal's game now. What I love is that Barzal has never shied away from contact and getting his nose dirty, he's got that fire in his belly. Everyone wants to say that they have a potential Datsyuk on their hands, I think Barzal is as close as you'll find with the exact same tools as the great #13 does. He has the skating, skill, anticipation and compete to be a force in all 3 zones. Maybe Mat chose that number for a reason?
I think we already have a perennial all star in Barzal, Trotz can make him into a top-5 center in the game.
It seems Barzal is waking up. Based on what he said it’s possible the problem wasn’t the matchups he was getting as much as it was getting used to the new system. Remember two seasons ago the team didn’t really wake up til around this time or soon after. It took everyone 30 games to adjust the changes caused by the Nielsen and Okposo departures
