No way would anyone classify him as our #1 d-man. He's our #1 PP option, for sure though, and he'll see tons of time on the top PP unit with Gaborik and whoever else is there.
I'd guess he'll fluctuate from 15-16 minutes to some nights where he'll log over 20. I feel like it'll be very game to game for him, based on how he, Staal, Rozy, and Girardi are playing at any given moment.
I see him being back in the 40 point range, but hopefully that's accompanied by somewhat better defensive play this year.
MDZ looks to be getting the #1 QB position on the PP... This alone should get him a ton of assists/points passing to Gaborik and crew... I can see 35-50 points next year...
the only thing I would be worried about with mdz, from a fantasy perspective, is that he got a good portion of his points in the first 15 games of the year when the whole offense was lethal.
If mdz was on a league-leading offense there's no reason to think he wouldnt put up 60 points or so. He's just that skilled and always involved in the play. In the NHL though, a lot of points come from touching the puck and then 10 seconds later it finds its way in the back of the net and the player didnt really effect it all that much. Every point-getter pads their stats this way and the easiest way to do it is if your on an offensively imposing squad.
Del Zotto doesn't get his points from touching it and then not doing anything.
He gets a lot of his points because he's a phenomenal passer.
I hated having to go through this when he was Tavares' teammate. "Del Zotto rides Tavares' coat tails" really? He rode his coat tails last year surely, right?
I don't care what anyone says a 19 year old rookie DEFENSEMAN putting up 30+ points on an offensively inept team is outstanding.
I agree that MDZ will be somewhere in the 35-50 point range and I think he'll get top 4 minutes or at least average 20 minutes per. It's not that big a step up from 18 to 20 or so minutes per game. He had defensive issues and strength issues last year. He's a competitive kid though--even if a little small for a defenseman. He's aggressive and likes to take the body. This summer working out at Gary Roberts camp I expect he's going to come in to training camp a few pounds heavier and a lot stronger. I would expect as well that his defense will improve a bit which should be why his minutes go up a little. He's going to be a really good one but at his age he still needs some work.
He will get by far the most PP minutes of any Ranger defenseman. ES he will stack up either 3rd or 4th depending on how well Rozsival plays.
Obviously he has a ton of raw talent, and even showed some physicality last year but the defensive positioning is not at the point where he is a comfortable fit on the PK. Hopefully that area will improve this year, but it doesn't necessarily have to for him to be an effective player.
I had MDZ on my team last year from the get go. His yearly +/- looks horrible but it took a nose dive before the olympic break, after that he leveled off a bit, +2/-2 over the corse of the rest of the season, it's just that his overall +/- stat never recoverd fully due to the pre break nose dive, it was just to big a number to make up later.
His +/- didnt hurt me the last few months of the season, and if you have a strong +/- player to balance it MDZ's points will help out emensly in other columns if you are in a deep league, especially if you have a bottom 6 draft position and can nab him in a later round.
I re-watched about a dozen or so games this summer.. MDZ, Gilroy, Anisimov, and Boyle were guys I tried to keep an eye on. I just don't understand how MDZ finished a -20.. I'm telling you, half those GA had nothing to do with his play. The more I (re)watched the more impressed I was with his defensive work.
1-on-1 he's solid. He knows how to keep forwards to the outside. He knows how to get leverage when he's getting physical. He's got good balance too...
The only area he needs to work on defensively, is just awareness. When teams are cycling down low on us and dmen need to switch off.. Or when there's an odd-man rush.. Instances like that is where I felt MDZ was green. Experience should remedy that aspect of his game though.
He has the smarts. There is a lot going on in that kids head when he's playing.
He's 10X superior to Gilroy defensively, despite their +/- difference.
MDZ's defensive work is underrated, imo.. He's not one-dimensional.
I still want to see a Staal-MDZ pairing at some point. Plenty of left-handed dmen have played on the right side (and vice-versa) so that shouldn't be an issue.
i see del zotto as reaching 35-40 points again this year... he will be more sound defensively this season ... I'm pretty sure this offseason he worked on his defensive awareness more then his stick handling, speed and shot...
del zotto is a beast and will score 50 points somewhere down the line... i just don't think it will be next year....
he is going to deal with the adversity of the sophmore year... steve mason couldn't handle it ... hopefully mdz pulls a stamkos ... we can only wait and see
I re-watched about a dozen or so games this summer.. MDZ, Gilroy, Anisimov, and Boyle were guys I tried to keep an eye on. I just don't understand how MDZ finished a -20.. I'm telling you, half those GA had nothing to do with his play. The more I (re)watched the more impressed I was with his defensive work.
1-on-1 he's solid. He knows how to keep forwards to the outside. He knows how to get leverage when he's getting physical. He's got good balance too...
The only area he needs to work on defensively, is just awareness. When teams are cycling down low on us and dmen need to switch off.. Or when there's an odd-man rush.. Instances like that is where I felt MDZ was green. Experience should remedy that aspect of his game though.
He has the smarts. There is a lot going on in that kids head when he's playing.
He's 10X superior to Gilroy defensively, despite their +/- difference.
MDZ's defensive work is underrated, imo.. He's not one-dimensional.
I still want to see a Staal-MDZ pairing at some point. Plenty of left-handed dmen have played on the right side (and vice-versa) so that shouldn't be an issue.
I would get a huge chuckle every time Del Zotto had a -3 game because he couldn't catch a break. He was usually in the right position making a good play, it was either his partner ****ing up, or forwards forgetting to backcheck.
I know right, we should send this overpaid vet packing
LOL,If this team ever plans on winning this SC, We Need More Experienced players.
In My Mind MDZ is still very immature for this legue. In addition to.....
LOL,If this team ever plans on winning this SC, We Need More Experienced players.
In My Mind MDZ is still very immature for this legue. In addition to.....
Just my humble opinion
MDZ will be experienced long before we ever compete for the cup.
