Quote:
Originally Posted by mikephoen
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.
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Disagree. For a few reasons. First, at WC, he was playing with fast linemates like Mackinnon, who he could dish to quickly, and he was playing against less structured defences. With the speed and lack of physicality in that series the defence were not going to play him as tightly. Second, he carries up the left a lot, and when he makes a cut to the middle at the blue line, he often loses the puck to quality defenders, with really bad results. Third, not a single player on Team NA was a natural RW. The only RH shots were playing at C.
It's not a "he won't make it because of size" argument. It's a "how is his game best served" argument.