Player Discussion: Zach Werenski thread

[majormajor]

It's been a mixed bag with him and injuries in the past but clearly he made some significant changes in his training this offseason. The diet will help the stamina but I'm curious how his training looked in terms of strength/explosiveness/etc compared to before.

It looks like he's probably ten lbs lighter, though that can only explain part of it.

 

[CBJx614]

 

[stevo61]

It looks like he's probably ten lbs lighter, though that can only explain part of it.

It can be wild how different you feel when you find your "sweet spot" weight wise. For me its a semi tight window, like a 5-10lb range where I feel my abosulte best. Honestly something anyone with health/fitness on their mind should play around with.

But yeah there is a lot more to that separation speed. It's wild that we even see guys like Fantilli have to put his head down and just skate as hard as possible to keep up while Werenski just looks like he's a speed skater making it look easy.

For an untrained person strength will be the biggest boost to explosiveness by far. For Z... I'd actually love to see what a routine would look like

 

[majormajor]

It can be wild how different you feel when you find your "sweet spot" weight wise. For me its a semi tight window, like a 5-10lb range where I feel my abosulte best. Honestly something anyone with health/fitness on their mind should play around with.

But yeah there is a lot more to that separation speed. It's wild that we even see guys like Fantilli have to put his head down and just skate as hard as possible to keep up while Werenski just looks like he's a speed skater making it look easy.

For an untrained person strength will be the biggest boost to explosiveness by far. For Z... I'd actually love to see what a routine would look like

He always had an incredibly powerful stride - and had underrated speed. He would get through the whole neutral zone on three or four big strides, and people sometimes thought he was lazy because of how few strides he took. So I suspect it was mostly about finding a way to increase his foot speed, along with the lighter weight and improved energy.

 

[CBJWerenski8]

 

[NotCommitted]

Maybe I’m just being dumb, but where did this burst come from? Werenski has always been a pretty good skater, but his stride always kinda looked like Nash’s where he was skating hard and fast, but didn’t always look like it

He has finally unlocked number 8 secret power, Starburst Speed Acceleration.

Seriously though I didn't see a season like this coming from Werenski.

 

[CBJWerenski8]

 

[Youngguns1380]

 

[S1N4TR4]

yahoo fantasy app’s write up about Z from last nights performance.

 

[Youngguns1380]

 

[Double-Shift Lasse]

Maybe Zach will get nominated for the Silky?

 

[ThirdPeriodTurtle]

Was also one of the seven players debated for MVP of the tournament in NHL.com article:

Zach Werenski, United States​

Sure, I could go this route because he's one of the leading point scorers in the tournament but it's also about how he's leading the defense. The way the U.S. kept Canada to one goal Saturday was impressive. Certainly, some credit here goes to Charlie McAvoy for his hit on McDavid, which many of McAvoy's teammates said was one of the biggest plays of the game, but Werenski's doing it at both ends of the ice. The Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman is making the most of his time on the international stage. He's most valuable to me. -- Tracey Myers

 

[Youngguns1380]

 

[Xoggz22]

So psyched to see all the love for Zach. Not sure how much it shows in Norris or Hart voting, but he should be a serious consideration given what he's not only done but what he means to Columbus. Guy is a complete beast this year. Can't wait for him to have another year of growth around him if he can maintain this level of play through the life of his contract. Damn... this team could be really really good for several years.

 

[Cowumbus]

 

[majormajor]

Cool that 4 of the 7 were in this game.

More best on best please.

 

[CBJWerenski8]

He had a great tournament.

Hope he stayed healthy (both with injury and sickness) and gets back here ready to start the playoff push.

 

[ThirdPeriodTurtle]

Zach also got some love in the Finnish broadcast, they mentioned him leading the scoring for US and in the studio said he might even be the best 5-on-5 defenseman right now above Hughes and Makar. (Lots of love for Slavin too.)

 

[Ice9]

Did himself, the US and the CBJ proud...

Nice tournament Z!

 

[SteelCityCannon]

I'm so fired up that the world is seeing what we've seen for years now.

Really stinks he gets 1 day off and it's right back to the grind. Wish that was scheduled a little better.

 

[VT]

 

[Long Live Lyle]

4 Nations technically isn’t supposed to be a factor in the season awards… but we all know it is / will be. And I think Zach helped his Norris campaign with his tournament.

 

[TingleBiscuit]

4 Nations technically isn’t supposed to be a factor in the season awards… but we all know it is / will be. And I think Zach helped his Norris campaign with his tournament.

Its success at growing the game made it an unavoidable factor - it simply made the league too much money, and too much attention, not to be.

And the story of the tournament for Team USA was its "suffocating, stifling defense." And we know that Fox was a disappointment- Slavin and Werenski will be the prime beneficiaries of this narrative.

It absolutely helped his Norris campaign. At minimum, those tournament-leading six assists will be virtually calculated by the judges into his full-season points total.

 

[MAHJ71]

Its success at growing the game made it an unavoidable factor - it simply made the league too much money, and too much attention, not to be.

And the story of the tournament for Team USA was its "suffocating, stifling defense." And we know that Fox was a disappointment- Slavin and Werenski will be the prime beneficiaries of this narrative.

It absolutely helped his Norris campaign. At minimum, those tournament-leading six assists will be virtually calculated by the judges into his full-season points total.

Going into the tournament I knew Slavin was a "good" player, but after the tournament I can't help but think he may be the best defensive d-man in the game right now. His pass deflecting/interception ability really stands out. Skates really well too.

 

[TingleBiscuit]

Going into the tournament I knew Slavin was a "good" player, but after the tournament I can't help but think he may be the best defensive d-man in the game right now. His pass deflecting/interception ability really stands out. Skates really well too.

It's unreal to me that the Canes managed to lock him up, so unbelievably cheap, for the longest-term possible, exactly before the cap is going to the moon and his 4Nations made his stock ultra-premium.

Barring a serious injury that I wouldn't wish on anyone, that in my opinion may be the most-value contract ever. I'm super stoked that we got KJ and Marchy locked for 3 years on such amazing deals, but 8 years for a premiere defenseman is an entirely different level. I hate knowing this, while (of course) they're in our division...