this was good. i could pick apart a couple minor plays, but i saw things i liked all over the ice
- took my hard to play against critique to heart, boarded the crap out of a guy in the 1st (and i dont think he really went that hard on him either lol)
- nice off zone play on the ensuing shift. took the puck down the right boards and cut to the middle for a decent shot attempt. confident possession. couple other pinches today (and an extended carry off an entry) that didnt really go anywhere but showed good willingness
- specifically liked his intent to follow up on a rebound opportunity late 1st. saw his teammate intercept the puck, recognized he had space in front of him, and booked it to the net. couldnt get a stick on the puck but he was right outside the crease for a chance. great idea/awareness here
- on the NKH goal he effectively ended up double covering a guy, but i dont think its on him. Fs were really light on the backcheck and let a streaking attacker shoot from the slot, and from silayev's pov i dont think he trusted that his partner was gonna cut off the backdoor opportunity in time
- defensive stick is always good but he was straight money with it today, clean contact on first poke attempts over and over
- also seemed extra sturdy/proactively physical. at least 5 separate instances of an attacker trying to challenge him and winding up on the ice. really steady/more contact focused outside the crease, too
we're still not at the execution/results stage yet, but this is the type of game you look at and start to think his projection could be greater than just defensive specialist