Quote:
Originally Posted by Ryan Coke
You know players that just seem to have the puck follow them around? Neal is the opposite of that.
The pass comes to him but he is looking the wrong way, the rebound pops out in front just after he’s skated away from the net, can’t make a pass or receive one cleanly.
I know he can play better, but it is amazing how bad he looks out there so often.
I hope he figures it out, but I am definitely getting worried.
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I'm not worried because he's not hurting the team. But I am not as hopeful as I was - I wanted to give him a 1/4 season top get accustomed to the team. That's come and gone with no change.
You are right - he gets no bounces. Passes come just outside of prime position, pucks bounce the wrong way, etc. I think he's not found a good matchup linemate wise and I think he's not in the right spot on the PP.
I think Backlund isn't a fit due to his role, Jankowski doesn't have the vision to find Neal most of the time and Ryan doesn't have the passing ability. Dube when he was up is too up-tempo.
I'd still like to see Tkachuk-Bennett-Neal. I think Bennett's agressiveness would rub off some, Tkachuk is a decent playmaker, and works the puck well.