You did not overshoot, I believe. Like you said the second PP unit might be a difference maker. Compared to the beginning of last season, it's a night and day difference : Duchene, Dadonov, Harley. These guys were not in the team.
I hope Stars can build two strong PP units with different dynamics. Similar than we had in the bubble days. PP1 was very good with veteran players : Benn, Seguin, Pavs, Klinger. When that didn't work then came the young guns blazing, looking for quick resolution : Miro, Roope, Guri, ...
This kind of setup would be a difference maker with Wyatt leading. I have no doubt that it will happen.
I can't remember if you've thrown out a preferred line combo with ideal wings for Wyatt (you have written 10 articles on the young man). I know you mentioned Duchene, but I'm thinking longer term. Doesn't even have to be someone(s) currently on the roster, but maybe a prototype. If you have discussed this, I apologize.
I haven't! I know. It's quite the gift: write a shitload about one player, and still can't get to the good stuff (not being self-deprecating here; I legitimately have this problem). To be honest I never even fully thought about it until now, so thank you Jon. Now I know what to write about next. (I'll find a topic about something other than Johnston though, I swear)
No, I love all the Wyatt info. We can't get these kind of deep dives anywhere else. I've been watching hockey for a long time, and your articles are teaching so much about the nuances I never thought to pay attention to. If only you could write about all of the other things in my life I where the blind-spots remain blind! Keep up the beyond entertaining and excellent work. This is by far the best subscription I've paid for. Cheers.
That's truly great to hear and one of the reasons why I'm driven to do this. The whole point of coverage is to add context for readers. Enough context should prompt broader discussions rather than just leave fans with "so Player A said this, and Team Y is doing that", so comments like these mean a lot. I think lost in the "analytics debate" is that we tend to understate just how much the game has changed. Like you, I've been watching hockey for a long time. And so much of it is different in sometimes fundamental, and sometimes granular ways.
It's not just the offense either. But the defense, the on-puck movement (hockey becoming rush oriented), the off-puck movement (the different ways zone defense is played), the tactics, the lineups, the systems, etc. In some ways I think the fancy numbers simply help us keep up with what's constantly changing in front of us.
Interesting article; one thing that I am interested in seeing next year is just how much Wyatt grows physically. People forget that he was only 19, and playing against full grown men. I don’t believe that he was/is finished growing yet in size or strength. Honestly, I thought he should’ve been given a game off every week or two to give his body a chance to recover from the strain of going against larger, stronger guys. Incidentally, I suspect that may have played a part in him being assigned to the same line with Benn. Certain liberties may not have been taken with Jamie near by.
He's officially 20, so I wouldn't expect a ton of growth. It's possible for him to put on muscle, but players usually don't put on that much muscle in general. Especially in hockey where upper body strength is not a priority. I'm not ruling it out or ignoring any added benefit to him getting bigger (and it's certainly something to watch for with Dallas' other prospects, as Stankoven and Bourque are even smaller than Johnston). But I think his agility and nimbleness happens to be one of his strengths. Regardless, it's only upward from here. Of that I'm sure.
Yvon Cournyer (sp?) had (has?) the largest forearms I’ve ever seen on a hockey player. His dad worked in a foundry and made him a lead puck. He showed a group of us kids how he could stick handle it like it was nothing... effortlessly lifting it 5’ vertical w 1’ horizontal. As a 14 yr old I could barely slide it back and forth! Of course he also had the legs and superior skating for his time.
Hockey trainers and smaller players today are missing an opportunity to separate from the pack by not focusing on arm strength (psst Tyler Seguin).
You did not overshoot, I believe. Like you said the second PP unit might be a difference maker. Compared to the beginning of last season, it's a night and day difference : Duchene, Dadonov, Harley. These guys were not in the team.
I hope Stars can build two strong PP units with different dynamics. Similar than we had in the bubble days. PP1 was very good with veteran players : Benn, Seguin, Pavs, Klinger. When that didn't work then came the young guns blazing, looking for quick resolution : Miro, Roope, Guri, ...
This kind of setup would be a difference maker with Wyatt leading. I have no doubt that it will happen.
I can't remember if you've thrown out a preferred line combo with ideal wings for Wyatt (you have written 10 articles on the young man). I know you mentioned Duchene, but I'm thinking longer term. Doesn't even have to be someone(s) currently on the roster, but maybe a prototype. If you have discussed this, I apologize.
I haven't! I know. It's quite the gift: write a shitload about one player, and still can't get to the good stuff (not being self-deprecating here; I legitimately have this problem). To be honest I never even fully thought about it until now, so thank you Jon. Now I know what to write about next. (I'll find a topic about something other than Johnston though, I swear)
No, I love all the Wyatt info. We can't get these kind of deep dives anywhere else. I've been watching hockey for a long time, and your articles are teaching so much about the nuances I never thought to pay attention to. If only you could write about all of the other things in my life I where the blind-spots remain blind! Keep up the beyond entertaining and excellent work. This is by far the best subscription I've paid for. Cheers.
That's truly great to hear and one of the reasons why I'm driven to do this. The whole point of coverage is to add context for readers. Enough context should prompt broader discussions rather than just leave fans with "so Player A said this, and Team Y is doing that", so comments like these mean a lot. I think lost in the "analytics debate" is that we tend to understate just how much the game has changed. Like you, I've been watching hockey for a long time. And so much of it is different in sometimes fundamental, and sometimes granular ways.
It's not just the offense either. But the defense, the on-puck movement (hockey becoming rush oriented), the off-puck movement (the different ways zone defense is played), the tactics, the lineups, the systems, etc. In some ways I think the fancy numbers simply help us keep up with what's constantly changing in front of us.
Surprising that Off! gets a shoutout but WAR just keeps riding low and getting no notice.
Touche!
Interesting article; one thing that I am interested in seeing next year is just how much Wyatt grows physically. People forget that he was only 19, and playing against full grown men. I don’t believe that he was/is finished growing yet in size or strength. Honestly, I thought he should’ve been given a game off every week or two to give his body a chance to recover from the strain of going against larger, stronger guys. Incidentally, I suspect that may have played a part in him being assigned to the same line with Benn. Certain liberties may not have been taken with Jamie near by.
He's officially 20, so I wouldn't expect a ton of growth. It's possible for him to put on muscle, but players usually don't put on that much muscle in general. Especially in hockey where upper body strength is not a priority. I'm not ruling it out or ignoring any added benefit to him getting bigger (and it's certainly something to watch for with Dallas' other prospects, as Stankoven and Bourque are even smaller than Johnston). But I think his agility and nimbleness happens to be one of his strengths. Regardless, it's only upward from here. Of that I'm sure.
Yvon Cournyer (sp?) had (has?) the largest forearms I’ve ever seen on a hockey player. His dad worked in a foundry and made him a lead puck. He showed a group of us kids how he could stick handle it like it was nothing... effortlessly lifting it 5’ vertical w 1’ horizontal. As a 14 yr old I could barely slide it back and forth! Of course he also had the legs and superior skating for his time.
Hockey trainers and smaller players today are missing an opportunity to separate from the pack by not focusing on arm strength (psst Tyler Seguin).
Wyatt has such great vision........ much like Gretzky , he sees the game really well .