One, it was a secondary assist. He wasn't super noticeable today.
I thought Holloway was quietly excellent. He's a very smart and strong defensive player and is doing a strong job playing in straight lines. He puts a lot of pressure on the other team as a fore checker and is always readily available in support. He's very effective in transition with his speed and pushes defenders back with his speed in support. He's very effective physically. The question from what I've seen is whether he's got the creativity to beat defenders and goalies one on one and be a consistent threat on the rush. The feet are so fast I wonder if the hands will catch up, but he's got enough talent I'm not betting against it.
I do think Holloway is likely being asked to bring a hard simple game while being defensively responsible as he was often coming down very low in support and even sometimes as the center in the defensive zone. He was very good on the PK and used for key faceoffs as well. Holloway is going to be hardmatched in a shut down role all tournament I suspect and with the injury to Dach I think Canada wanted to make that a bit more of a power vs power matchup by putting Couzens with him and Newhook. His line was very dominate and Holloway was a big part of it. I think one needs to consider role when assessing a player, Holloway is a guy who I'd hate to play against and is a player we've been lacking for a long time.
He's going to be a good pro I think. He looks to be a natural center who knows how to effectively play the wing which is nice for flexibility. Based on what I've seen in Wisconsin and Canada, and it's really early, I think worst case scenario is Ethan Moreau and I thought Moreau was the ideal 3rd liner. Best case scenario might be a guy like Kesler minus the being a POS part. I've always felt power forwards often take longer to reach their upside offensively but based on what I've seen I think he'll transition to the pro game very effectively and start his career as a strong checker. He seems to be a player we could really use on the Oilers.