Yeah, I've always been a Stan man but even I was losing a bit of faith.Most of this board were crapping on Stan when ever he made his way into the lineup - every little flub with scrutinized.
Like most players, you need to play often to get better - a couple of significant injuries (one on top of the other) don't help his chances of staying in the lineup.
I'm glad he's coming around and showing his value - hope he keeps it up. Whether or not size is a appreciated as an asset for some, in hockey and on defense, it usually is.
He's been nothing but professional this year. He's obviously worked really hard in the offseason and in practice, and when he's drawn in he's shown real growth. His first pass is excellent, he doesn't ice the puck any more and he has really started to understand his agility limitations and has modified his positioning to compensate.
If he can find a way to get his big shot through, and tune his accuracy (he's getting better at that too) he's a solid everyday guy.
I know people HATE the Zdeno Chara comparisons, and I'm not going to suggest he's going to be that, but, Chara really stated to come into his own at 25-26, in his 5th - 7th pro seasons.
I firmly believe that defensemen tend to have a longer, flatter development curve. This is due to the fact that a really great defenseman is less dependent on pure skill, and moreso on experience and muscle memory.
Offensive ability is more about skill and game processing speed, defense is about predicting, positioning and repetition.
I always go back to my own experience, and I truly believe that I'm a better defenseman today than ever before - even at my advanced age. I'm so much smarter, calmer, and more confident.
I wish I had the same agility and skill I had when I was younger, though.
This is all to say that it probably makes sense for the Jets to move on from some of their d vets, (Schmidt, and one of Dillon or Demelo). Stanley allows that, along with Heinola and Capobianco .