My first viewing of Martone in any capacity other than a highlight reel -- I prefer the shift-by-shift, here are my first observations
- Very smooth skater, not explosive, not sluggish.
- Makes up for it by being very positionally sound -- responsible on the backcheck and in DZ, and intelligent in the OZ. Puck "finds him" because of this.
- Most impressed with cross-ice and incisive passing in transition and in the OZ.
- Suffered mightily from a horrific D-corps showing and lack of finish from his linemates.
- Given his rep (and that highlight reel), expected to see more dangling/hero hockey/"wow" moments but instead came away impressed by an intelligent, complete, possession-centric game with simple but effective decisions... however, at least from this game, didn't see the "pop" you'd want from a top 3 pick.
Has he ever been tried at C?