Quote:
Originally Posted by GioforPM
The issue is that Johnny needs to protect the puck as the guy who carries it most. Because of his size he needs every advantage, and playing left side gives him that - the puck is to the board side, away from defenders. If he carries up the right side, he's going to lose the puck a lot to guys with reach.
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This sounds like the argument that his size would be a problem when he got to the NHL, and he wouldn't be able to do the things he did in college against NHL defensemen. He had no problem playing the right side in the World Cup against teams far better than NHL ones, so I see no reason he can't do it for the Flames. He rarely carries the puck up along the boards from the left side either. When he's at his best, he's cutting it into the middle more often than not and going straight at defensemen and making them make mistakes.