Freudian
Clearly deranged
- Jul 3, 2003
- 50,524
- 17,496
A while into the season his defensive awareness became obvious and Sacco leaned on him more and more to defend. He now takes 60% of his draws in our end meaning he has to start his (still quite short) shifts far away from the opponents goal, often playing against the better lines of the opposing teams. Then his skilled line mates got injured and he has to play with Tucker/Svatos who are ice cold/snake bitten and it is no wonder his production will drop off.
He will become stronger, have better line mates and be more comfortable in his role. You can tell he always errs on the side of caution now, he simply is more concerned with not allowing goals instead of creating.
He has above average passing skills, sky high hockey IQ and extreme hand eye coordination. That will translate into offense eventually. If he has two of Jones/Yip/Galiardi on his line, you will see his production turn around.
I don't know if we have gotten spoiled but it is close to unheard of that 18-year olds drafted outside the first round make it into the NHL. And for them to not only stick but being leaned on in a role that normally takes 2-3 years to learn at the NHL level is amazing.
The offense will come. I have no worries about that.
He will become stronger, have better line mates and be more comfortable in his role. You can tell he always errs on the side of caution now, he simply is more concerned with not allowing goals instead of creating.
He has above average passing skills, sky high hockey IQ and extreme hand eye coordination. That will translate into offense eventually. If he has two of Jones/Yip/Galiardi on his line, you will see his production turn around.
I don't know if we have gotten spoiled but it is close to unheard of that 18-year olds drafted outside the first round make it into the NHL. And for them to not only stick but being leaned on in a role that normally takes 2-3 years to learn at the NHL level is amazing.
The offense will come. I have no worries about that.