Huberdeau on PK?

[Niemo]

Been hoping all season last year that Huberdeau would be put on the PK to get him going but it didn’t happen.

He was really good on the Panthers PK the year before with 7 SHP and seemed to put some more ‘umpf’ to his overall game.

Do we think Huberdeau on the 2nd PK unit will be an option this year with our coaching staff? I seem to remember reading that he asked for it in Florida 2 yrs ago and did very well.

[Flames1217]

All depends who is moved.

I would assume that our PK pairings for forwards at the moment are :

Backlund and Coleman
Lindholm and Dube
Shaggy and Mangiapane/Deuhr

If someone is moved than it's safe to assume that he would be one of the forwards that would slide in. All depends how much even strength minutes he is getting also.

[Canada 02]

Lindy, Backs and Lewis were the top 3 forwards in PK minutes; Toffoli was 7th
Hanifin was the top D-man in PK min followed by Tanev
The PK might turn over the top 5 killers by TDL day, if not sooner.

Will need quite a few new killers. Sharangovich is likely one. Coronato was a very good PKer at Harvard

[Flamesfan05]

Free Huberdeau

[GullFoss]

Leave Huber Alone

[BagoPucks]

I think its nice to build confidence but the last thing we need is him getting injured blocking a shot. So it will really be a thing that the coaching staff will have to evaluate for the upcoming season

[Snuffleupagus]

Originally Posted by BagoPucks

I think its nice to build confidence but the last thing we need is him getting injured blocking a shot. So it will really be a thing that the coaching staff will have to evaluate for the upcoming season

The minute you try and shelter players from injury, they seem to slip on a banana and get injured.

[GioforPM]

Pros and cons:

Pro: He’d be fine on the PK as a player - good hands, good reach, decent on the boards and a guy who can make the passes he can can certainly find holes to get the puck out. Plus it would give him more ice time which in turn gets him into the game more.

Con: Takes ice time from guys who don’t play PP and need PK to keep themselves in the game. And who maybe are better defensive forwards.

[Snuffleupagus]

I would play him late on a PK especially against teams who over play their PP guys (cough cough Edmonton) to manufacture PK points

[Enoch Root]

I'd rather give him more offensive zone starts than PK time

[gvitaly]

I think that zone defense instead of man to man would do wonders to Huberdeau's game. It would create less confusion and lost coverage, and speed up the transition game.

As for the PK, I'm not against the idea. Short handed goals are exciting, and if Huberdeau doesn't hurt the team it should be fine. That said, I hope it doesn't create a situation where Huberdeau is gassed on the PP, meanwhile other forwards have a hard time getting into a rhythm.

[timbit]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Pros and cons:

Pro: He’d be fine on the PK as a player - good hands, good reach, decent on the boards and a guy who can make the passes he can can certainly find holes to get the puck out. Plus it would give him more ice time which in turn gets him into the game more.

Con: Takes ice time from guys who don’t play PP and need PK to keep themselves in the game. And who maybe are better defensive forwards.

Would he get in shooting lanes?

Would he sacrifice his body to block shots?

Two pretty important facets of being an effective PKer. No?

[DoubleK]

Originally Posted by Flames1217

Shaggy and Mangiapane/Deuhr.

Who?

[FlamesAddiction]

I'd put him on the PK if you are behind in the game and desperate. Typically, the best defenders aren't playing on the PP, so it makes sense that Huberdeau can occasionally produce on the PK. But unless Huberdeau is actually good at killing penalties and not just occasionally able to produce on them, I wouldn't make him a staple on the PK. It's nice when it happens, but hoping to score on the PK shouldn't be a main focus.

[Macindoc]

I agree with the suggestion of putting him on the 2nd unit, limits minutes and the possibility of playing gassed in the event of sustained possession, and he’s probably the best player to try to get a pass to someone just getting out of the box.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by timbit

Would he get in shooting lanes?

Would he sacrifice his body to block shots?

Two pretty important facets of being an effective PKer. No?

Yes he would, imo. But it depends on where you play as well.

FWIW he was 6th in shot blocks among fwds last year, and all the guys ahead of him were PKers, so more opportunity. Even at that he had only 4 less than Backlund and Kadri, and 6 less than Lewis. More blocks than Toffoli, Mangiapane and Dube, all of who saw PK time IIRC. 12 less than Coleman and a whopping 23 less than the blocking machine that was Lindholm.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Macindoc

I agree with the suggestion of putting him on the 2nd unit, limits minutes and the possibility of playing gassed in the event of sustained possession, and he’s probably the best player to try to get a pass to someone just getting out of the box.

Edmonton (spit) did that pretty effectively with McDavid. Lots of breakaways and two on ones.

[Paulie Walnuts]

When he got here last season he talked about how being on the PK helped him a lot and kept him engaged in the play.

He wants to play he's said it to Conroy and I think the staff and management understand that he needs ice time.

It was baffling to not only reduce his ice time but not play him on the PK when he wanted to be on the unit.

I'd focus on getting his game back on the PP first and maybe integrate him into the PK like others have suggested towards the end of the kill.

[Harry Lime]

Depends on who moves. Dube and Mangiapane were excellent on the PK, and Backlund and Coleman also good. If Backs moves, is Coleman still good on the draw?

[Toonage]

Considering he's coming off the worst offensive season of his career and his confidence is at an all time low perhaps they don't saddle him with new defensive responsibilities until he gets his house in order offensively.