IMO, Duehr should have been an upgrade on Hathaway. People forget that Hathaway was really an on/off player for a while. It took him a while for him to figure out that he needs to be ON every single game in order to carve-out an NHL career.
Duehr was doing that - he seemed bigger, definitely faster, and I would argue had a better shot too. That first season was great - definitely a breath of fresh air. Then he just disappeared. This season after finally getting called up, I thought he was back to being 'on'. I would argue that he played well at first, but then just faded. He needs to be more like Hathaway and Nystrom, and I think he had more to give than either of those two players. He just keeps fading, and often that's what happens with players trying to crack the NHL.
I wish him well, and I hope that he figures out he simply can't take his foot off the gas at any point now.
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