Always liked Bourdon better from the start and glad to see the organization agrees with me. He didn't play poorly but he certainly didn't play well either.
Exceeded my expectations, which were ridiculously low. Not quite ready yet, but now we know he can play in the NHL without getting embarrassed. I DID think he would've brought more of a physical game than he did. That disappointed me.
Not confident enough with the puck, and turned the puck over too much because of his inability to make good breakout passes. Basically what we knew he struggled at, he struggled at.
He had an absolutely terrible game at Boston. If they want to see what Walker can do (and Lilja and Gustafsson are pretty close to return, I think), it's better that he's playing with the Phantoms than sitting in the press box.
He filled in decently considering it was his first cup of tea. Bourdon has clearly been better. It feels good to believe that there will be some competition for the 6-7 spots on d next year. I had pretty much given up on Bourdon after his struggles last season, and Marshall didn't have the best training camp, so I'm very pleased with what I've seen from them the past couple of weeks.
He had an absolutely terrible game at Boston. If they want to see what Walker can do (and Lilja and Gustafsson are pretty close to return, I think), it's better that he's playing with the Phantoms than sitting in the press box.
He filled in decently considering it was his first cup of tea. Bourdon has clearly been better. It feels good to believe that there will be some competition for the 6-7 spots on d next year. I had pretty much given up on Bourdon after his struggles last season, and Marshall didn't have the best training camp, so I'm very pleased with what I've seen from them the past couple of weeks.
Lilja is closer. Gustafsson is more likely to be later this month though that can always change. However, he is having problems shooting as a result of the wrist surgery.
I was actually disappointed with his play. Two years ago I had really high hopes for him when they talking about the possibility of him making the team right out of rookie camp. I specifically remember an interview with Lappy where he was talking about how the two were training together and he was so impressed with Marshalls dedication and hard work in the gym. He said that guys who work that hard understand the sacrifice needed to make the NHL and so on. I guess since it came from Lappy I put too much emphasis on his being NHL ready. There is certainly still time for him though. D take forever to develop sometimes. He sure seems like a great guy so it's hard not to pull for him, but I thought his turnovers were horrid and couldn't help but notice how many poor decisions he made with the puck.
To me, Marshall looked like a guy that was average at best, at basically everything. I'd say his physicality is above average, and his puck moving is certainly below average.
If I had to project him, I'd say he looks to be a bottom pairing guy, or perhaps just a 7th d-man.
Last edited by MiamiScreamingEagles: 12-20-2011 at 04:55 PM.
