Quote:
Originally Posted by Huntingwhale
I agree with most of your points, especially the blocking shots part. But reality is, Gaudreau is a small player and isn't going to win many 1 on 1 battles along the boards. But he does things other players can't do, and that's to utilise his shiftiness and quickness. IMO it's a worthwhile trade-off.
But I will say that I have noticed him using his body A LOT more in ways that benefit him. He'll often put his back to the player attempting to check him and often leans on the other player and rolls off him. He's getting really good at doing it, and it reminds me of what Jagr does when he sticks his ass out and the opponent can't get to his stick. Wouldn't surprise me one bit if he picked that up from Jagr. Gaudreau isn't going to win a physical battle going face to face with a bigger guy. But when his back is turned to the checker, he's quite good at rolling off the player and protecting the puck by not letting the opponent getting to his front.
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IMO Jagr earned every single penny of his contract this season. Sure he didn't play much but the younger players like Johnny, Benny and Chucky seemed to have really soaked up everything from him. Chucky is absoutley dominate behind the net by utilizing that sticking his ass out play, something he didn't quite do last year.