Most of his criticism defensively is that he’s always trying to make a play rather than the safe “hard off the boards” or “put the puck deep”. Instead, he’s looking for the opportunity to create something out of nothing in every situation. It’s what elite players do… it can lead to mistakes and giveaways that frustrate coaches. But it’s pretty common for the top players in the NHL to lead the lead in giveaways.
As others have said, I think his defensive play can be managed as he develops as a pro. The important thing is to not make him abandon his instincts and skills to be more ordinary and safe. You can find safe defencemen easily in the NHL.
I find there are lots of young skilled players that struggle with the transitioning to the NHL because they think mistakes will keep them from making the team. They get stuck in the mindset of “I really want to make the team so I can’t make any mistakes - so I’ll dump the puck in deep and get a change” instead of using the skills that got them there to stand out. It’s the same reason they usually tend to defer to other players too much when they first enter the league.
|