Quote:
Originally Posted by Gaudreauvertime
Does he have the ability to play center at the NHL level or not?
I'll rely in Joel Quenneville and Paul Maurice's determination of that over someone who apparently never watched him before becoming a Flame
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Frolik played center in Junior and has played LW or RW for his entire NHL career.
Could he "play centre"? Sure.
But Frolik is a centre only in the same sense that Alex Tanguay is a centre. Or Lance Bouma is a centre. Or Joe Colborne is a centre. Or Jiri Hudler is a centre. Or Tyler Toffoli is a centre. Or Blake Wheeler is a centre. Academically speaking yes Frolik can give you spot minutes down the middle and probably not even embarass himself. But you can't let the success of an entire season be pissed away based on that gamble.
The number of active top 9 calibre players who have played much of their careers at wing yet can slide back into the middle successfully is limited. We're talking Jeff Carter, Joe Pavelski, Ryan O'Rielly, and Henrik Zetterberg. And even these players have played 40-60% of their careers down the middle.
The positioning to play centre is different from the positioning to play wing. You need to cover the low slot, the corners, and know where your defenseman are on the ice in order to cover for what they do. This needs to be instinctive. I would sooner trust a career minor leaguer like Freddie Hamilton to play those spot minutes at centre than to throw a career winger there and hope he remembers quickly.
Not that taking Bennett out of the 3C spot is necessary or any good for his development. I am not Galchenyuk-ing the best young centre this team has had in ages. Backlund can drive his own line and Monahan should be able to drive his own if he's worth anything in this league. Neither needs Bennett nor Gaudreau on their wing to be competent.