Quote:
Originally Posted by Hack&Lube
I wonder if he is a bit hesitant about getting into hard nosed play because of his injury history. It doesn't even need to be a conscious choice but I know from sports injuries that mentally I was always playing with less edge afterward.
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I think some of it is just that he is not playing the right way. At times he gets caught too far up in the offensive zone spends a little time in there then doesn't get back to where he should be. Sutter also likes defensemen who are big and physical; I read one of Sutters interviews years ago, it has to do with wearing teams down especially in the playoffs. When it comes to mobility Valimaki doesn't fill the role as Killington does this better. Valimaki needs to establish what kind of role Sutter is looking for from him and so far he has not done that. Does Valimaki have the skills, absolutely but I think he is having trouble figuring out the role Sutter wants from him; which has to do with fitting into Sutter's team plan.