Quote:
Originally Posted by Enoch Root
He can really protect the puck along the boards. That, combined with his love and ability to throw thunderous checks, will make him an NHLer.
His skating speed is simply not as bad as some people claim - I wonder if they are being swayed by his style, which is less than pretty.
As for conditioning and the 3rd period, sure, there is some getting used to the NHL pace. But I think part of it too is that, right now, he is trying to make the most of every shift. After 10 wrecking ball shifts, he's spent. When he settles in and starts to pick his spots a bit, he'll be fine.
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I did think the biggest issue with him last night was his first step, got beat in the second in a chase for the puck that was about 8 feet from him, he just couldn't get any jump towards the puck. Once he gets moving though his speed is just fine, and I was pretty impressed with his crossovers and strength on his skates along the boards.
That first step issue definitely could have just been a conditioning issue, because whenever I noticed it, he was closer to the ends of his shifts and like you said, he acts like a wrecking ball out there, can't be easy to keep that energy up. Lots of that is probably still just jitters and wanting to make an impression, will be nice to see how he acts out there once he's comfortable on the team.