He is playing pretty well. But I think Hedman will have something to say about the Lightning d-man lead. Kid lead rushes, determined plays, and, in general, looked awesome out there.
You may be right but for second it will come down to Salo (if he stays healthy) or Brewer in my opinion. Who plays on the top Powerplay?
I believe Brewer does....Ive seen Hedman out there as well, though I think that is the second unit. Honestly I wouldn't mind seeing him out there on the first Unit before the end of the season. Hes really been stepping his game up.
Hedman will be the points leader. He has been giving the green light for offense and hes starting to like doing it. Hes also getting some decent PP time now finally. And is shooting more. I think Hedman breaks 25 points in this shortened season.
And Brewer has been great but thats because hes slotted where he should as a 3/4 guy and he isnt having to play 25+ mins a game now either.
Picking up two top 4 guys put everyone in the proper slots. Its working out beautifully right now.
Its amazing what time off to heal combined with more defenders to cut big minutes with him change what he looks like when we're over 45 minutes into a game. Its like night and day. His legs are still moving, he isn't panicked, making crisp passes. Lets just hope Salo stays healthy and Aulie continues to take a bigger role, just in case.
Its amazing what time off to heal combined with more defenders to cut big minutes with him change what he looks like when we're over 45 minutes into a game. Its like night and day. His legs are still moving, he isn't panicked, making crisp passes. Lets just hope Salo stays healthy and Aulie continues to take a bigger role, just in case.
Speaking of Aulie. I wasnt a big fan of his last year. Wasnt sure about him overall. But he has been a nice surprise thus far. Poor guy has been having to do double duty being pair with Lee.
Speaking of Aulie. I wasnt a big fan of his last year. Wasnt sure about him overall. But he has been a nice surprise thus far. Poor guy has been having to do double duty being pair with Lee.
Oh I downright hated his play last year. He would disappear into corners and chase people like a puppy that was just brought home. His time in Syracuse has been nothing short of wonderful for him, he hasn't had that nervousness he had last year, hes just being smart and sound while playing the body and keeping people away from Anders. If anything, my biggest knock on him so far is that hes not playing enough - i'd like to see him consistently at the 15:00 range. His little flash of offensive ability tonight was excellent, too. He has a damn decent first pass and footspeed really isn't bad at all. I've been so happy to see this version of him, the kid that looked like a big top four guy when he was in Toronto.
Another great thing about Aulie this year is how Ashton seems to have failed (so far) in Toronto. Poor numbers in the AHL this year to go with his 0 points in the bigs last year.
The only two of our defenders I haven't liked this year so far are MAB and Lee. Liking 5 out of 7 is a massive improvement compared to the previous years though.
Brewer had to do everything last season. Hedman and him were our only two legit top-4 defenders and when Hedman went down with a concussion all hell broke loose.
Thank god Yzerman got Carle and Salo to spread the workload more evenly.
I think Yzerman re-earned the moniker SFY. Salo has been beyond clutch. I love the way our D is playing. Ashton for Aulie is looking like a steal, Downie for Vasilevski is looking great, Crombeen is so much more than an enforcer, and Carle is fitting in well. Plus Conacher and our organizational depth...
So glad to see Salo is playing well for you guys. He was far from finished last season, and a shortened season is just what he needed to keep that leve lof play up.
As long as there is the talent in place to replace him when the inevitable injury happens, he is a great guy to have on the backend.
The only two of our defenders I haven't liked this year so far are MAB and Lee. Liking 5 out of 7 is a massive improvement compared to the previous years though.
This is the truth!! In years past it's been 2-3 defenders that I haven't had problems with, with the rest driving me crazy.
MAB's shot is good, but I can't fault the guy for being a little more offensive. It's nice to have him available for PP. Lee has been a bit diabolical (to quote English football managers) on defense so far this season. His mistakes have been easy to notice on D along with some of his awful penalties. Hopefully he can get it together...if he doesn't, someone from Syracuse may need to see a chance.
