Yannetti, on what stands out about Vilardi�s dominance deep in the offensive zone:
His versatility offensively. He�s 6-foot-3. He�s not close to filled out yet, and he still has the ability to create depth and to create a line of protection � he�s got a physicality to him not due to hitting, not due to physical play, but because his line of protection, people have to take a long way away. He can make plays at length, plus, he can make plays in tight. He�s got the hands of a smaller guy. He�s an elite, skilled player, and his cerebral ability, his Hockey IQ � and id say more his creativity than his hockey IQ � is what really separates him. So he�s got the ability to create individual offense and to create complementary offense. It�s a win-win.
Yannetti, on whether it�s too early to project whether he�ll stay at center or move to wing:
Again, I said he�s versatile in the way he can create offense and he�s versatile in the position he can create offense from. Time will certainly tell. It�s nice � I view him equally as a center as a wing. Obviously I like the position of center better. It�s just a harder position to fill, and when a guy has shown he can fill it, it�s certainly your first choice, but as I said, time bears that. In terms of everything, there�s a development path we�ll create. In terms of the position he ultimately plays, that�ll just determine itself.
Yannetti, on Vilardi�s skating being critiqued:
I know what the knock is. The hockey cognoscenti�s perceived knock on him is his skating. I don�t find his skating to be subpar. I guess if you want to be critical and conservative, you could say his skating is slightly below average. I don�t know � those two Erie games in the Memorial Cup were as high-speed of a game as you could play, and he led both games. He was the dominant force in both games. Again, I don�t like in the players � Tyler Toffoli and Vilardi � but in terms of their skating, there was a very similar knock. Although their skating styles are different, they were both aesthetically non-pleasing to the eye. But in terms of the efficacy of their skating, they both got to where they needed to go, and they both got their faster than it looked like they got there. I view Gabriel�s skating as I don�t think his ceiling to improve is as high as Tyler�sceiling to improve his skating, but I certainly see when Gabriel�s ready to play in the NHL, I don�t see his skating as being anything worse than a normalized NHL skater.
