What i see when i watch Pionk goes hand in hand with what i see when i look at the numbers. He gets stuck in his own zone because he's way too passive defending the blueline and he is really bad at moving the puck. His decision making is poor and slow so he ends up tossing the puck up the boards a lot which leads to a turnover where the opponents attack our blueline and get a free entry because once again, he can't defend the blueline…
He does have the tools to be a good D-man but he's not using those tools in a good way right now. He needs to be coached to skate the puck out more and to actually hold onto it and find good outlet passes instead of giving it away by tossing it up the boards. And defensively he needs to be more aggressive and use any kind of gap Control to not give up free entries.
yes.
being "good defensively" is more than defending. ill compare pionk and ADA.
pionk isnt there yet on the parts you mentioned and accurately i must say.
actually, deangelo excels in those areas pionk is weak. ADA can move the puck crisply, exit and enter the zone and skate it out of trouble. he doesnt give the puck up too quickly but pionk indeed does and sometimes without pressure. hes very mechanical in that way. ADA thinks more and reacts.
as far as actually playing defense, ADA is quite competent. his gaps are usually solid, his stop/start and hip swivel is good and his ability to read plays and turn the puck the other way is a strength.
pionk gives up too much space , backs up too much and doesnt engage enough. hes passive.
its an understanding of the position that pionk lacks. pionk doesnt process the game yet while ADA has that part down.