Charlie Conway
Oxford Comma
- Nov 2, 2013
- 5,012
- 2,623
You could make a case for any of these guys (with my exceptions being Strome, and though it pains me to say it, Buch). I went with Shesty. When he's on, he's stealing a game for you. If it's like last night, well... The team will live or die by goaltending with this current defense.
For me, Fox is definitely up there. He's a smart player, and he moves the puck well. Seeing him in-person for the first time last night solidified how good he is. Always noticeable and reads the play well.
Trouba is pretty unheralded in these polls, but he plays a big role on the defense in my opinion. He takes the tough assignments, and some of his advanced stats suffer for it, but he makes things easier on TDA and Fox. With Smith, I think it's actually made both of them look better.
I love Buch, but he takes too much time off. You'll see him work his ass off and dominate a shift, and then you'll see him float. It's frustrating as hell because you know that level is there. It reminds me of a lot of the complaints against young Ovi, not that Buch is anywhere near that level. But if he rounds out his game and stays consistent, he'd be a very good player for this team. I still have hope.
Kreider falls a bit into the Trouba category for me. A lot of what he does might not show up on the score sheet, but his net-front presence is second to none. He skates ridiculously well. He forechecks. He'll play physical. He'll take tough assignments. He'll put up some points. He's the guy that you need on a quality team.
Strome is frustrating to me. He'll make great plays and then he'll make asinine plays. Fortunately, playing with Panarin has helped him a lot and covered up some of his shit.
I like Tony a lot, but playing with Staal is hurting him this season, and yet he's still putting up points like crazy. Watching him and Panarin work on the PP is a thing of beauty. Getting him a real partner needs to be a priority. In a league where quality RD is near-impossible to find, we have three of them.
For me, Fox is definitely up there. He's a smart player, and he moves the puck well. Seeing him in-person for the first time last night solidified how good he is. Always noticeable and reads the play well.
Trouba is pretty unheralded in these polls, but he plays a big role on the defense in my opinion. He takes the tough assignments, and some of his advanced stats suffer for it, but he makes things easier on TDA and Fox. With Smith, I think it's actually made both of them look better.
I love Buch, but he takes too much time off. You'll see him work his ass off and dominate a shift, and then you'll see him float. It's frustrating as hell because you know that level is there. It reminds me of a lot of the complaints against young Ovi, not that Buch is anywhere near that level. But if he rounds out his game and stays consistent, he'd be a very good player for this team. I still have hope.
Kreider falls a bit into the Trouba category for me. A lot of what he does might not show up on the score sheet, but his net-front presence is second to none. He skates ridiculously well. He forechecks. He'll play physical. He'll take tough assignments. He'll put up some points. He's the guy that you need on a quality team.
Strome is frustrating to me. He'll make great plays and then he'll make asinine plays. Fortunately, playing with Panarin has helped him a lot and covered up some of his shit.
I like Tony a lot, but playing with Staal is hurting him this season, and yet he's still putting up points like crazy. Watching him and Panarin work on the PP is a thing of beauty. Getting him a real partner needs to be a priority. In a league where quality RD is near-impossible to find, we have three of them.
