Quote:
Originally Posted by Harry Lime
Transplant has a point. Another is that it takes a longer amount of time to be an effective player of defense, it's a more difficult skill set. So you do see some defensemen come out of the draft with an emphasis on the offensive side.
I'm not sure what to do with the 4 defensemen on the left. Gio is not going anywhere, and neither is Valimaki. Hanifin has the better overall talent level compared to Kylington, but Kylington is the best skater on the team and spent all year concentrating on the defensive side of the game.
I almost lean towards trading Hanifin because I like Kylington's work ethic and dedication to his position. It was thought that he would be an offensive specialist, but now I'm starting to think that if he can build his defensive game he can more easily recapture the offense after the fact.
I worry that Hanifin is floating on natural ability, and it hasn't sunk in that he needs to work as hard as Kylington to maintain his place on the second pairing.
If you trade one, there is a chance that player is going to explode on the new team. I mean, good problem to have I guess.
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Everybody is trying to solve the problem of what to do with 4 NHL calibre LD but I think we are missing the most obvious solution. As I said above Kylington is comfortable on the right side, he has played that position in Sweden. Let him switch to the right side and keep Gio, Hanifin, Valimaki in their most comfortable roles.
And then while Valimaki gets back up to speed with everything, really test Hanifin to see what we have. Give Hanifin-Andersson the tough minutes but also the offensive roles. If Hanifin isn't up to snuff, think about trading him and giving Valimaki a shot to see what he can do.
I like Hanifin and I'm not against trading him but I am against trading him before we give him the chance to be what he was drafted to be. He has never been given the opportunity the way some guys like Werenski are and it's not because he never seized the opportunity its because there was never any need for him to be forced into those roles. He has always been a part of a deep defence.