Quote:
Originally Posted by New Era
Don't see much difference. What exactly has changed?
Please expand on this. Monahan has played a much more engaged game, a defensively responsible game, and has been solid in both ends of the ice. Not a shooter now because he is playing higher in the offensive zone to be the first forward back. So he's the passer on the line and has been just as successful in that role as being the shooter. What exactly was your expectation?
Wow, picked a player that hasn't been in the NHL for over a decade and then almost two decades since he achieved that plateau. Fedorov hadn't scored 30 goals since the lockout, when the game changed dramatically, so again a player that no longer existed in the league. Fedorov was a great player and one we haven't seen in almost two decades. Probably what made him a great player and Hall of Famer.
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I think we set the bar so low that when Monahan takes 2-3 strides with the puck on his stick we are in awe and get ideas that he has somehow become a different player.
He does carry the puck more this year but that may be the result of the system they play. It's not just JGs job to enter the zone.
But even if it's not, his zone entries are nothing to write home about. Often times he dumps it in and turns it over. Again, may not be his fault, it may be the system.
To me it's all very similar, Monahan does not want the puck on his stick until it's near the net. That's his go to and he is great at it.
I mentioned this the other day, why can't Monahan power through to the net like Mangipane did when he scored that beauty vs Vancouver ? Don't just dump it in, skate to the net and shoot. That's how you make the D back off and you make room for others.
It's a huge part of the game that all good centres have. He isn't just bad at it, that part of the game is completely missing from him. I have never seen him do that.