TSP: Arizona Coyotes Prospects and Scouting Reports
- Thread starter LastWordArmy
- Start date
OriginalJetsCoyotes
Registered User
pretty good write up there, strome, keller should make nhl from start and if wood impresses then waived/trade kevin c or schenn
Bonsai Tree
Turning a new leaf
- Feb 2, 2014
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I agree with you. Keller would do fine in the attacking zone as a 2C but defensively, against the bigger 2C's in the league, he may struggle. His defensive responsibilities are a lot less on the wing.
LastWordArmy
Registered User
Possible given that Stepan is only 26, and you have Strome and Dvorak. It might make sense to keep him on the wing with less work to do defensively.
I like him in the middle though. He's not as bad defensively as some in the thread have implied, and in the middle he's more dangerous. It just gives a lot more passing options to be in the middle of the ice, as well as a lot more options on where to go without the puck in the offensive zone, and he's such a smart player he takes advantage of that well.
PhoPhan
Registered User
- Feb 27, 2002
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I think it's a matter of "should" versus "will." Despite the increased acceptance of smaller players, teams still have a bias toward pushing little guys to the wing. I've said since before he was drafted that he projects well as a center, though.
Despite his size, I think he's a plus defensive player given his acceleration, motor and anticipation ability. He's great at letting passing lanes seem open before flashing through and stealing the pass, and he's sneaky good at swiping pucks directly from opposing players. It remains to be seen how much of those skills dissipate against bigger, stronger players, especially once they've seen him a bit, but he's been legitimately dangerous against his peers, so I suspect he'll remain a valuable defensive contributor. I don't think he'll be a Selke candidate necessarily, but he can play a similar style to Pavel Datsyuk in that regard. His offensive prowess is based on his ability to think a few steps ahead of his opponents, and I think he applies that same intelligence to defense.
Offensively, I think you nailed it. He's got a pretty diverse bag of tricks with the puck, but whether he's firing cross-ice passes on the tape or dangling through traffic, he benefits from having a lot of options. Pushing him to the wing basically cuts his choices in half. Again, he'll be pushed around more in the NHL than he ever was in college or any of the other levels he's played (WC included, which is why I don't put too much stock into his numbers there), but he's got the smarts and skills to make it work. I think putting him on the wing would do more to hinder his offense than any oversized center (whose strength advantage would likely be somewhat neutralized by Keller's relative speed and quickness anyway).
There aren't many Claude Girouxs in the league anymore, but he's a good proof of concept. Maybe it makes sense to ease Keller into the league on the wing, but I think a pretty good long term strategy would be to have him play center in the neutral and offensive zone (and even take faceoffs in the defensive zone if he continues to excel there against tougher competition), but give him a defensively capable wing who can pick up center coverage on defense. Someone like Martinook or even Rieder could work, especially if the other wing is able to capitalize better on the offensive chances Keller creates.
