Tuch-Xhekaj-Heineman
Obviously that's if Florian can continue to grow as a center. They'd be a royal pain in the ass to deal with. But yes, i'm seeing more as a 4th line physical center.
I think people here are being overly influenced by Florian's size and physical play and are wrongly pigeonholing him as a fourth line player.
This kid has above average straight-forward speed; possesses a powerful shot; sees the ice well and exhibits excellent playmaking ability which skills all compliment his physical play. There's a reason he plays on the Brantford's power play. And his presence on the power play is not just standing in front of the crease and acting as a screen. Florian plays the right half boards ( like Suzuki) and much of the Bulldogs' power play runs through him. He also plays on Brantford's penalty killing unit. This is hardly the roles of a fourth line thug. In some ways, Florian's skating style and play making ability makes me think of a young Dach.
Florian needs to be much quicker and he is still growing into his body as there still is an element of clumsiness to his play. For example, he really has trouble coordinating and executing his one-timers. There's a lot of swings and misses.
I watched him play against Kingston and Florian had a largely tepid game. While he played in all high leverage situations and made several highly skilled passes, I was expecting more offensive push from this promising player. One player who didn't disappoint was
Marek Vanacker. This kid is gold. He has great speed, strong hockey skills and a high compete level. If we somehow have a resurgence in the second half of the season and drop down to the 10 to 15 draft position, this kid is at the top of my list. Think Kyle Connor with more speed and a bit more edge. I can only hope that when the Canadiens are following up on Florian they have taken note of this kid. I'm sure other teams have.
thanks for posting it, he's an intriguing prospect
