He’s great on the boards in both ends, has pretty sound IQ, and is strong on the puck. Like Kopitar, I just don’t think he has the skating ability to be that effective as a defenseman.
That’s not a slight on him at all, as I think players who could switch positions that drastically are very few at the NHL level. Like you, as a kid, I played defense and center, mostly because I was strong for my age and a solid skater (in any direction). But I don’t think that anecdote is applicable when competing with the best of the best. In the NHL, there are a few players who have switched back and forth from forward to defense or vice versa (5 on 5): Fedorov, Burns, Walker, Dandenault, and a truckload of goons. Most who did weren’t elite at either position.