this is almost to a T my assessment of joey as well. I had no idea on the player prior to him coming to Toronto. We were told Hyman 2.0, which is a huge boot to fill. I see a ton of compete, and actually pleasantly surprised by his shot. He has some finish. Was not expecting that. Other than that he is as meat and potatoes as you get. I think his game will translate well to the NHL IMO, because he is a player with high adaptability. Obviously the dream would be Hyman, but it took a while for Zach to become the player he is now. His success did not come by luck, or by attrition. He worked his absolute bag off to become the player he is now. At the current moment, I see a lot of the same qualities in Joey's game, it will really just come down to how hard he wants to work to get to that next level like Hym's did
I think Hoglander is a great example of what I'd like to see from Nick eventually when it comes to on the puck strength. Of course Nils is 10 months older and has had the luxury of playing against men for the last 3 seasons, so he likely has a better idea on how to use every lb/inch he has to his advantage. But Nils is actually pretty strong on his wheels. Wins alot of 50/50 battles he shouldn't and has found a way to play with the deck he was given. I think you are misinterpreting what my assessment is of Nick. His strength will undoubtingly get better. He will put on body mass, and will be heavier on the puck. My concerns at this point is how he takes contact along the boards as he is working a cycle. He has gotten better each passing game with the Marlies in this regard, but there are still far too many times he loses puck battles where he has clear position on the defenders. At this point, he has shown he is relatively easy to push off the puck IMO. He is extremely elusive and can gain space with a cut back here or there, and often makes phenomenal plays doing just that. My worry is that it is not just strength that is causing him to lose puck battles.I've mentioned it before on here that I think he has very awkward body positioning when shielding the puck, almost hunched over. And as a result, even the smallest of pushes result in him losing an edge or puck possession. I used Mitch as a prime example of an "undersized" player who still has the ability to manage that contact, because his skating stance in puck battles is more upright. He leans into contact, versus braces for contact. I am extremely high on Nick, and this is really the only flaw I see that would hold him back from being an impactful player in the NHL at the current moment. I fully expect him to get better in this regard, but its the only thing holding him back from the NHL at this moment
And Hyman’s evolved. He tried plays now that he’d never try a few years ago.
Yeah too all those things. NHL Bottom 6 for sure, but you need those players too.
we don't have many options at the moment unfortunately. hopefully campbell can get healthy ASAP so woll can go back down.
D'Agostini has done an admiral job filling in but yeah - why are you stating him 12 games in 20 days/on b2b etc.?!
