Hivemind
We're Touched
Djoos at forward makes no sense. An offensive defensemen isn't the same skillset as forward. People need to let that idea die out.
Djoos' strengths are his hockey IQ, skating, four way mobility, and ranged shot. Those would largely be wasted at forward. Djoos isn't going to do well on the forecheck or digging pucks out of the corners or crashing the net. He does well at walking the blueline, leading the breakout, rushing the puck up ice, reading the play from the back-end, and getting shots on net through traffic. He's much better suited to play as a defenseman than a forward.
Not every defenseman needs to be a Norris contender. Even if Djoos never fully develops enough to entirely overcome his size deficiencies and handle opposing top 6 forwards on a regular basis, he can still be a very useful player. Having a 15-18 minute 3rd pairing defender who can help keep the puck out of his own zone and chip in on the powerplay isn't a bad thing.
Djoos' strengths are his hockey IQ, skating, four way mobility, and ranged shot. Those would largely be wasted at forward. Djoos isn't going to do well on the forecheck or digging pucks out of the corners or crashing the net. He does well at walking the blueline, leading the breakout, rushing the puck up ice, reading the play from the back-end, and getting shots on net through traffic. He's much better suited to play as a defenseman than a forward.
Not every defenseman needs to be a Norris contender. Even if Djoos never fully develops enough to entirely overcome his size deficiencies and handle opposing top 6 forwards on a regular basis, he can still be a very useful player. Having a 15-18 minute 3rd pairing defender who can help keep the puck out of his own zone and chip in on the powerplay isn't a bad thing.