I don't think I focused on him in my AHL watchings this year to be honest. I know he got off to a horrid start, he had like 1 point in his first 10 games or whatever, right? I'll comment on the hundred or so minutes I've seen in the NHL so far...and it's really basically an expansion on what I said above already. He's in a spot where he doesn't have to manage anything, he can just focus on his "A" game without being a play driver. I think he looks a touch quicker, and that might be enough. He can get to pucks a little quicker, his closing speed on puck retrievals is just a touch quicker and that's huge for him.
It's tough to be 5'9", just average-ish feet, and not super dynamic in space. But this is a really good spot for him - doesn't have to carry a puck, doesn't get the attention of a player that will finish the play (71 and Smith can really shoot too)...so he can just play "weightless" in a way, and he's good enough and smart enough to not have plays die with him. And that's another big part of the equation for getting players into the right spots in the lineup...who is a play killer? You get a puck to Zohorna, for instance, you're not getting it back...Puustinen has just enough going for him to keep things alive, which is all those guys need. The most impressive thing I've seen from him is actually his puck poise (and really his overall hockey IQ package). He's not rushing it, which might have ended this experiment already...he looks fairly comfortable on the half wall surveying things and just making the simple play and moving off the puck to support things well. That's a really nice bonus at this level for me, because I thought he had the puck so much in WBS out of necessity because there was no one else around...it turns out that it might be somewhat transferable, which would be huge.
Obviously, I don't think his numbers in this small sample are representing his impact...I'm not sure anyone thinks this is a player playing "60 point hockey" but he doesn't have to to be a success...we've seen over the years that the Malkin third wheel can be real hit or miss, and he's made no bones (in his play) about simply not passing to the winger he doesn't like, he'll take pucks from him and then ignore him haha (Eric Tangradi comes to mind...well, not for Geno) - that's not happening with Puustinen, which is a good sign.
He doesn't have the "pop gun" skill of Sheary - another also-ran that got a look in a big spot and made it work - but I think Puustinen has a better shot (how about the first NHL goal, eh?) and better puck poise...and although Sheary was faster, at least Puustinen doesn't fall down all the time haha
In short, I like duos at forward because I think whole lines are difficult to put together consistently in this league...I need my third guy to not kill plays. Puustinen isn't killing any plays. I like that.
