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Originally Posted by stemit14
Fantastic game to watch. Great win. A few take aways from it:
-Posposil has looked so good this year. Honestly had no read on him as a player coming into this season and just assumed he was going to be a career AHL player. He brings speed, hits, and grit. He fits like a glove on that line with Zary and Kadri. He gets under the skin of opponents constantly. Big fan of Posposil so far.
-Zary is so strong on the cycle. He constantly wins puck battles and makes plays out of nothing. Can really see why he was praised for his high hockey IQ along with his raw skills.
-Was surprised that Kuzmenko got benched for most off the third period. Thought he was having a very good game up till then.
-Markstrom is at another level this year. Absolutely fantastic saves all night. What a pro he has been through all the trade speculation. I do agree the flames should trade him (if the right return is available) as this has to be his peak value.
-Biggest point I want to make about this game and the weeks since he has been back is Kyllington. Such a great story. He looks like he did when he left and is playing like a top four defenceman IMO. Good on him after the last two years. It’s hard to imagine now but in his draft year, he was touted as being a clear top five talent in that draft but his attitude in interviews was apparently what made him drop in the draft if I remember correctly. Look at him now… he’s such as positive influence on this team and the organization as a whole. Goes to show we should try not be too quick to judge some of these young kids trying to make their way to being pros.
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Over the last decade, all I have seen from Kylington is a wonderful attitude.
In his draft year, he did have some struggles in the SHL (which is a crazy tier 1 league for a 17 year old to be thrust into anyways) and he and his agent requested a demotion to the tier 2 league to prioritize his development, which was somehow framed as selfish behaviour.
As a prospect, he definitely struggled defending... ehich kind of checks out considering he played forward up until he was a teenager, and had never had someone actually teach him the defense position until he moved to Stockton as a rookie.
I personally feel that the color of his skin was actually a very real factor in how clueless the NHL was about him. Here was a kid being touted in the same sentence as Marner, Eichel, Hanifin and suddenly fell to 58th overall over a 6 month span?
I also think that the D who did get drafted high that year - including Hanifin, Chabot and Werenski - weren't exactly strong defensively themselves at that age. It was a work in progress for all of them. Hanifin may have played in the NHL as a 19 year old but was -53 over his first three seasons despite sheltered third paid minutes. Not trying to overstate plus minus here but there's a good chance that another team may have and arguably should have sent him to the AHL for a few years too to get more ice time in an expanded role.