Quote:
Originally Posted by FlameZilla
Everyone is well aware of Johnny's skill. It's been showcased non-stop since he arrived for the summer camps.
Lining Gaudreau up against thuggish goons is a realistic scenario of what will happen on the road, where opposing teams will have the line-change advantage. The Western conference is a tough grind and, as much as we're going to hate it, coaches are going to be getting their thugs to target the little man to put him off his game.
In these situations it's important that Johnny can play with an enforcer riding shotgun (watching his back) from time-to-time to ensure that opposing goons won't take a run at him without paying the price. It honestly wouldn't hurt for JG & Grats to develop a little chemistry together for when that scenario arises. The kid is so good that he should be able to produce with anyone.
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Certainly, you might pair Johnny with one rugged player, but you have to have another high skill guy up front too or the other team can simply key on him and smother him. Gretzky often played with a guy like Semenko but he had Kurri too and often Coffey pinching on D. Johnny knows how the give-and-go works. Whoever plays with him is going to get some early Christmas presents.