Monahan's assist totals are definitely hurting because of his linemates. Can't blame it at all on his play making abilities, seeing as 7 of his 8 assists are first assists, meaning he set up the goal directly. The kid can make a perfect pass, and his smarts tend to have those passes lead to goals, if the shooter can hit the net. In his first Game, he set up Jones, his next assist was a feed to Baertschi, next 2, to Hudler. He set up Russel on the PP, Cammi on the PP, and Brodie and Backlund in OT. Outside of Jones, those are all guys who can score, and set themselves up to score. His current Linemates do not play that style. Its not necessarily a bad thing though, because of it, Monahan is playing a stronger 2 way game, rather than being primarily offensive (yet he is still the teams primary offense). It's a great way to develop, and when he finally has wingers that can put the puck in the net on a regular basis, I think his stats will speak for themselves.
|