Quote:
Originally Posted by Monahammer
What has Austin Czarnik ever done outside of preseason to deserve this praise/loyalty?
To me, Czarnik is a dime a dozen, offensive/ pp specialist who plays bad D.
|
Bad take.
Yes he could stand to be more consistent in the defensive zone, but it's not as if he was ever the worst defensive player on his line last year. He's a natural center so of course an undersized guy like him struggled with some areas that come naturally to wingers. But that doesn't mean he can't be better defensively in year 2 with more familiarity with his teammates, the system, the league, the travel in the west, the coaching staff, and the positional expectations.
But what has he ever done outside of preseason?
How about 5v5 production of 1.61p/60 minutes, which was eighth on the 2018-19 Flames?
How about 4 goals, and 8 assists for 12 points in his final 24 games of last season - which no surprise came after he was finally put on a line with... Sam Bennett. Despite limited minutes.
How about more-than-respectable 54.71% score-adjusted shot attempt rate last season? When other bottom sixers like Jankowski, Neal, and Hathaway were well below that mark.
How about being a right handed shot, on a team where only Ryan and Lindholm, and if you wanna reach, Matthew Phillips, shoot right?
He's not proven to be dime a dozen. I do not believe last season was the pinnacle of his ability level. He creates havoc at ES with his speed and tenacity, he has a great wrister, powerplay success is fickle, and at no point last season was he put on a line 5v5 that made any sense. Jankowski was a limited center. Ryan and Dube were, like him, undersized, resulting in a small line. Tkachuk and Backlund had the most defensive responsibility on the team.