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JJ1532 · 11-07-2015, 05:43 AM

I do think the team/management have put far too much pressure on him. I feel like he has been kinda chucked under a bus this season. Last season, Gaudreau and Hudler helped him out and they all got form together, so there was never an extra pressure on any them, even though they were the top line. Add in the secondary scoring of Jooris, Backlund, Bouma, the d core etc and the pressure was minimal, which allowed Monahan to succeed.

This season though, the secondary scoring has been virtually non-existant. So Monahan probably feels extra pressure as the first line centre to create and score and play above everyone else. I mean, he has played the most minutes on average of all our forwards, a hell of a burden at 21 on a team that was expected to win.

He probably also feels responsible defensively, so his need to focus on all aspects of his game has affected him I reckon.

But the main reason for his under par performances I think is because they gave him an "A" this season. I dunno, I just never saw Monahan as being leadership material. Maybe he was, maybe he was a leader in the room over the last 2 seasons. But not this early. Giving the 'A' to a 20/21 year old seems way too early for me. I think the mental burden of giving him the letter has really knocked him as it just heaped extra pressure on him to perform every week. Maybe I'm way off, maybe it's another issue, I don't know. Or most likely, it's just a combination of all issues all adding up.

But I tell you what, if he comes out of this stretch(which I have no doubt he will), then I don't see what else could possibly faze him. The fact that he has 8 points in 14 games despite all the apparent issues is a credit to him. He I think is showings stacks of mental strength to even contribute anything at the moment. He just needs everyone else to find their game and ease the pressure on him. Then we'll see the Monahan of last year return.

11-07-2015, 05:43 AM	#54
JJ1532 First Line Centre Join Date: Dec 2013 Exp:	I do think the team/management have put far too much pressure on him. I feel like he has been kinda chucked under a bus this season. Last season, Gaudreau and Hudler helped him out and they all got form together, so there was never an extra pressure on any them, even though they were the top line. Add in the secondary scoring of Jooris, Backlund, Bouma, the d core etc and the pressure was minimal, which allowed Monahan to succeed. This season though, the secondary scoring has been virtually non-existant. So Monahan probably feels extra pressure as the first line centre to create and score and play above everyone else. I mean, he has played the most minutes on average of all our forwards, a hell of a burden at 21 on a team that was expected to win. He probably also feels responsible defensively, so his need to focus on all aspects of his game has affected him I reckon. But the main reason for his under par performances I think is because they gave him an "A" this season. I dunno, I just never saw Monahan as being leadership material. Maybe he was, maybe he was a leader in the room over the last 2 seasons. But not this early. Giving the 'A' to a 20/21 year old seems way too early for me. I think the mental burden of giving him the letter has really knocked him as it just heaped extra pressure on him to perform every week. Maybe I'm way off, maybe it's another issue, I don't know. Or most likely, it's just a combination of all issues all adding up. But I tell you what, if he comes out of this stretch(which I have no doubt he will), then I don't see what else could possibly faze him. The fact that he has 8 points in 14 games despite all the apparent issues is a credit to him. He I think is showings stacks of mental strength to even contribute anything at the moment. He just needs everyone else to find their game and ease the pressure on him. Then we'll see the Monahan of last year return.