Quote:
Originally Posted by Groot
Bahl is a legitimate top 4. Parekh should easily be able to slot in as #2 RD next year, so that's 3 of 4. We have a wealth of LD ready to make a jump, plus Brzustewicz as #3 RD. It's not nearly as dire as you make it out.
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Recently I watched a Gio interview where he reflects on how D. Sutter used to always tell him that it takes an NHL defenseman 300 games to become a true NHL defender, to know the game, not to run around, not to make bad reads in your own zone, etc. With hindsight now Gio agrees. He mentioned that it takes time to learn when to take a run at a player because as a young guy you want to run around and hit everything, so you take a lot of penalties. He also mentioned studying tendencies was very important because you need to know where the forwards release the puck from on their shots, who are the best skaters, who cuts in which way etc.
My point is that it will take Parekh some time and it definitely won't be easy. The same applies to Brzustewicz , Kuznetsov, Solovyov and so on. On the other hand Bahl has 220GP, Bean 260GP, and Hanley 245GP. There's a good chance Bahl and maybe even all 3 take big strides in their defensive game this year.
I actually found the interview:
I recommend watching it if any of you are starved for hockey content. Gio talked about why it took him so long to become a good player, Iginla, Regehr, Bennett, Tkachuk and Gaudreau.