Blind Gardien
nexus of the crisis
I think Wellwood definitely has become quick enough and shifty enough that it's not fair to knock his skating anymore. At the same time, I watched him in junior, and I completely understand why he once carried that knock. It's actually a relatively common affliction for that style of player. On our Habs, Ribeiro and Locke had similar knocks on them coming from junior. But the thing is, back there they had lots of extra time, could coast around and look for plays, etc, live off their elite creativity and vision alone. As pros, they figure out that's not enough, and they adapt the necessary survival techniques. Ribeiro isn't slow anymore either, he is quick enough and slippery enough to survive. And in camp so far, Locke is showing signs of following the same path. You don't need to line them up at the redlines and have them win sprints anyway, they are at their best setting up plays on the PP, where skating is much much less of a factor.
