Phanuthier*
Guest
Well putVlad The Impaler said:Jay Bouwmeester is an awesome defenseman, no doubt about it. But his flaw is he doesn't take charge nearly often enough. You could put back this guy on a junior team right now and I'm not sure he would look dominant.
The flip side to this is, he is so talented you can put him on an elite squad (like a team Canada) and he isn't out of place at all. He can play with and against the very best.
All this to say, those stats in the AHL just reflect the fact he doesn't dominate and take charge. You could throw him in a world class tournament tomorrow and he'd be talented enough to play well.
I'm not worried at all by the stats, except I was hoping maybe someone would light a fire under his ass. If this guy could take charge... sky is the limit. Even if he remains as he is, he is still one of the safest youngster as far as developing into a star player at the highest level.
Jay Bouwmeester is a guy who doesn't excel at any level. He'll never be a star defenseman, but he can play at any level.