I have an unpleasant feeling that McTavish will become the biggest blemish on Madden's drafting record. I just don't see how he'll become anything deserving his draft spot.
He has a shot, but he doesn't use it. He has a frame, but he's not aware enough to use that to generate offense. He's not a good enough passer or a good enough skater. That's not a top six player unless he really starts developing by leaps and bounds. They're counting on him becoming a ROR type player, but I'm not sure he has it in him.
I was surprised that Mac wasn't centering Vatrano and Strome this season since they hit it off very well last season until Mac hit his injuries. He was a ppg player with Vatrano-Strome in Mac's first 20 games. Mac was also a ppg player for 9 games with LW Vatrano and RW Terry (6 gms)/Leason (3 gms).
During the pre-season, he's been put with different wingers that ended up with Fabbri and Z. We see that Terry with Vatrano-Strome look good. It's possible that the top-6 lines need to find better fits.
Two things about Mac underperforming: 1) he's not being utilized correctly on the PP as they took him off the half wall and negated his big shot and 2) I think he's stuck in his head and his body isn't following what his mind is seeing. You can see him trying to process what's going on in the D-zone and pointing out who's got who. As for the offensive side, I guess Fabbri and Z aren't dump&chase guys like Vatrano and Strome.
It's just five games into the season. While I would have liked Mac to come out like gangbusters, aside from Terry, no one really has popped. Remember Terry didn't pop until his D+7 season. I'm hoping for the best for Mac b/c it makes the Ducks look better. But if the whole team is slogging, then maybe it's system.
I recall someone pointed out that playing D&C as well as playing man-defense wears players physically as they're always in a constant push both ways. Z was a 60 point producer under Eakins for two seasons, but for the past two seasons, it seems like Z's offense has been coached out of him.
Ducks | | | | |
---|
Season | Game Set | ES GF | ES GA | ES GD |
2022-23 | Season | 169 | 250 | -81 |
2023-24 | Season | 150 | 199 | -49 |
It's crazy to see that Cronin had more top-6 offensive weapons and a far better defense, but the ES scoring was worse. Is it the players or the system that's bad? I think it's the system.