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Originally Posted by Munchausen
I saw the same thing as you from him but we have to be careful and not start impulsive "trade Perreault right now" ideas because Ribeiro has always for some reason looked good at pre-season and then vanished during regular season. If he's eagered (for real this time) to steel and keep the 2nd line center job, he will be able to do it for he has the tools but the problem with Ribeiro has always been that he seems to want it much less when the season starts. We'll see...
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I agree and disagree here. I am a strong believer that Ribeiro has potential to become a good playmaker but I don't think his problem is about "wanting it or not wanting it" during the regular season.
What you have to realize is that preseason games are played against opponents with less talent than regular season games. Once the season starts, Ribeiro is dealing with the biggest, fastest, skilled players the opposition has to offer. In most cases so far, it's dealing with the "big" players that have caused him problems. He can't outskate them and they just tower him and push him off the puck.
I'm hoping that the dedication he put into his training this summer to once again increase his leg strength might be just what he needed to give him an extra push around defenders.