This is so goofy. Just because young players make mistakes does not mean they have poor hockey IQ.
Have you seriously ever watched EP40, Zegras, or McTavish play? It's the same stuff. EP40 has had a ton of blunders recently. That doesn't mean he has poor hockey IQ.
Now we're comparing Tage/Peterka/Power to Ristolainen? There's not much to say. Can't really take you seriously.
My son plays high level hockey and my daughter plays in college. Hockey games are on all my TVs all the time in my house. I’ve seen all those guys play tons of times.
It’s not just “he made a bad pass.” It’s positioning for puck support and knowing how to anticipate where to be in puck support. That’s literally the single most important trait a center can have. It’s why Ruff said what he did.
It’s also the hockey IQ to know what to do with the puck. Thompson and Peterka constantly make poor puck choices that derail opportunities. It’s maddening, and it’s happened under two coaches now. It’s the player.
Conversely, you almost never see Benson just give the puck away, or over handle, or move the puck in a way that screws up a scoring chance. It’s because he’s a smart, smart player.
Not picking on you in particular, but "Over on the fill-in-the-blank-team's board they're saying ..." is a very questionable rationale I see posted all the time. In this specific case, they just need to wait on Hronek, who is the perfect complement to Quinn.
For the record, Mitts for Byram was a great hockey trade that has hurt the Sabres big time. I like Bo - he knows hockey ;-). But if he wants out, it's absolutely him traded over Power. I can live quite happily with a top-4 anchored by Dahlin and Power.
And a GM who can find partners to complement them.
Oh ya, and if Byram insists on being *the guy* on D, Vancouver is among the worst possible landing spots.
Posters on the Canucks board are talking about their GM, not their own preference. I think it’s from local reporting but I haven’t looked.
