Barron had a bad game, but you re making it look as if the other guys had been a lot better in the pre season games.
All Ds were lost in this game, the systems are not in place / not understood at all, they were all lost on the ice.
Barron was good in the AHL last year, and showed good things at NHL level why discard 39 games (+ AHL reps) for the sake of one pre season game ?
I'm not discarding anything for the sake one meaningless preseason game.
I'm just not in awe of Barron after his call-up last season at all. As an offense-first D, sure, his point production after his call-up was promising -- for that aspect of his nature.
Being easier to knock off the puck than Harris, though, isn't.
Not recognizing your defensive assignments near the net in your own zone isn't.
Playing softly, isn't.
Being La-di-da with the puck your stick isn't.
Not rising to the occasion two times in a row when a spot is wide-open for your taking at training camphor lack any serious RHD candidates, ready for the NHL, isn't.
This is not the question of one bad game, although, for that one, his pairing partner couldn't shield Barron from himself, defensively, either, nor could he complete him, offensively.
When we're looking at which LHDs could play well on their off side, it must be because Barron can't carry the mail right now, no?
AllI'm saying -- pointing out -- is that Barron is still a long ways from being an NHL D, much less a top-4 D and definitely not a first pairing D as some are farcically suggesting.
Mailloux brings a physical element that, for Barron, appears more complicated than reading hieroglyphics.
Despite defensive liabilities of his own -- that also need to be improved upon -- that physically at least addssomethinl for the player when he is on the ice.
Mailloux also causes turnovers, but those come because of Mailloux's over-eagerness to create something when he has the puck on his stick.
For Barron, it's because he gets the puck picked away from him as he loses battles for the puck, or because he is caught in an overconfident, daydreaming session at critical moments.
Sometimes, I wonder about Barron's overall hockey IQ, beyond his reluctance together involved, physically.
His own words cause this concern... He talks about wanting to make the right play, but the game being fast and so many reads to make in his latest post game interview. (Sorry, can't find the article with the exact quotes that I think are even worse than what I just wrote)
Doesn't sound like someone ready for the NHL yet and provides ample reason to have Barron start in Laval again.
Unless it's a question of how Barron handles playing under pressure (pressure of playing well enough to grab a chair, VS playing on an injury-plagued team in a meaningless end to a meaningless season)?
If that's the problem, I'm even more concerned.
Don't get me wrong, I'd be happy to see Barron play like a solid, top-4 D, but that's certainly not what I'm seeing now, or in the immediate future -- or ever, even, if Barron doesn't address key components of his game.
Montreal could certainly use a top-4 RHD as there currently none playing at the NHL level; not Savard, not Kovacevic, not Barron, not Lindstrom and not Harris or Xhekaj playing on their off sides.
That lack quality on the right side is what makes Mailloux all that more alluring. Just hope it won't lead to him playing immediately the NHL as he still needs to work on aspects his game, away from the limelight and with more TOI to iron out the kinks.
Mailloux has already missed so much time in the last few years...
