Quote:
Originally Posted by Kolsch
It might just be my excitement for the player, but I still think Zary might grow into a bit more than he's predicted from the article: "He’s not going to be a star but he’s going to have a long career as a contributing top-nine forward."
The thing I see with Zary is his composure and awareness in all situations. When he gets the puck anywhere near the net he reminds me a bit of Monahan - although leaning more pass first than Monny. Also, his stick handling through traffic is underrated. I've seen so many examples of him carrying into the zone where the puck somehow just remains glued to his stick even through multiple checks.
Wheeler mentions Zary's speed as underrated, but watching him closely the last few games I hope he can pick up another half step working with Fujita.
I definitely don't know how players get predicted as wingers vs. centers, but it seems with Zary's defensive strengths and his awareness and puck handing, maybe he still has a chance to be a top 6 'C'. Either way I'm really excited to see how high his ceiling ends up, because I think there's a chance it's as one of this team's core players for a long time.
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Playing on Kadri's line makes it easier to notice, I find it quite remarkable that he displays better awareness and manages the puck (especially at the offensive blue line) better than Kadri does. I find Kadri is quite careless with the puck around the blue line. But, yeah, Zary's speed is an issue. Are there contending teams that have a top 6C that is that slow?