Quote:
Originally Posted by PeteMoss
The money thing is McKenna issue about him signing a contract or not - so not the Flames concern.
I disagree that the NCAA is better for putting unquestionably and also disagree that putting on weight is big thing for most of these guys anyways. McKenna can put on weight all he wants and he's still going to be outmuscled in the NHL. Its about learning to adapt to the play.
Parekh doesn't get rocked as often as he did earlier in the season - its not because he put on 15 pounds of muscle in the past few months. He's adapting to the players.
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Ah, I understand where you are coming from now.
100% I agree that Parekh's issues mostly stemmed from a lack of awareness. Weight training does help, but yes, I have also made the point in the past that it was Parekh's on-ice awareness that was his biggest obstacle, rather than putting on weight. 100% agree with you on that, and if that's your concern with McKenna, then yes, I understand why you would be preferring him to go the AHL route over the NCAA route. Even with the influx of top-end CHL players, the AHL is still a faster and more difficult league. Gotcha!
I view McKenna differently. I think his on-ice awareness is already at a high level. I see him avoid hits, and when he takes hits, he sees them coming. I am sure he has had some heavy hits on him as all players will eventually get hit hard, but I haven't seen him taking contact that he wasn't ready for. I think his issue is mainly from his frame. I don't think he ever will be a 'robust' type of build, but weight training does make your tendons and ligaments stronger, and your bones to thicken up a bit, as well as your muscles. This does help against injury. Opposing players could rag-doll him too easily, puck battles, going to the corners, etc. Hughes (and Pettersson) got abused in their first year or two. Had they benefited from an additional year in the NCAA (in Hughes case), I think it probably would have helped. I don't think it was an awareness issue with Hughes either.
Anyway, I get where we have a difference of opinion now. It is most likely a moot argument anyway, since I will also be surprised if McKenna isn't in the NHL next season.