aragorn
Do The Right Thing
- Aug 8, 2004
- 28,620
- 9,131
His game and his physical maturity have really come along. Hands , vision, passing, physicality, puck battles.. His release and his shot are outstanding. Top line RW.
I think Norris has been good as well but not great even though he leads the team in goals 10, 4 on the PP. I do think as Stutzle gains more strength and experience at C he could grow into our #1C. To me it looks like Batherson and Tkachuk have taken another step while Norris has stayed about the same but that can change .. he has a little less experience and his step is still to come.
Speaks to how good Batherson has been and also the lack of depth on this team but when Batherson has been out of the lineup it leaves a huge hole. Batherson is rolling along with 20 pts in 18 games.
Tkachuk has 18 pts in 20 games , all at even strength. He has definitely shaken off any rust he had from the late start now.
We are a 1 line team. That may not be fair to Stu and C Brown perhaps, but we do not have a complete 2nd line. Everyone is willing to live with that but when we played the best D together Chabot and Zub.. there was a lot of clamoring to break that pair up to balance it out... we don't have that same clamoring with the forwards. While Chabot and Zub have been good... they were great together.
Good post! While I agree with you on Batherson & Tkachuk, I would like to say that Norris at 22 yrs old plays against the best centres in the league most nights & doesn't usually look out of place. He is also IMO the defensive concience on that line & is usually the first guy back defending when they lose the puck. Of the three his offence is less dramatic as he usually scores on one timers & rarely if ever dangles. I see no reason to split those three guys up just to try & bolster other lines or players, it could even hurt the team more.
This is also why Pinto is so imporant, he seems like one of the guys who can play with Stutzle & help create another good scoring line which they desperately need, secondary scoring. They played well together with C. Brown, but IMO need someone a little better or different. C. Brown IMO can make his own offence & does most nights but he also seems to have good chemistry with Paul & they form two thirds of a good line too. Greig is having a very good yr in junior & I expect he could surprise next yr as another young addition who could be NHL ready sooner rather than later.
IMO Thomson has done well in the top 4 whether paired with Chabot or others & should likely start there next yr. With the addition of Sanderson that should give Ottawa four decent defencemen at least to start the yr & we'll see how they progress from there. It would be great if they add a top 4 RD, but I doubt we see that since those guys are at a premium. JBD is also a RD that I expect to start challenging for a roster spot next season & the positions that need to be filled are slowly being filled from within.
Next yr:
Tkachuk - Norris - Batherson
Formenton - Stutzle - Pinto
Paul - White/Greig - C. Brown
Chabot - Thomson
Sanderson - Zub/JBD