The Athletic’s Topher Scott–their resident coach—discusses the play of the Wings’ top young players this morning.
He suggests that Andreas Athanasiou, Anthony Mantha, Tyler Bertuzzi, Dominic Turgeon and Joe Hicketts all have room for growth:
Defensively, Athanasiou needs to clean up his game. He often runs around the defensive zone instead of sticking with the process. He also frequently takes the long way to get 50/50 pucks. In a 50/50 race, taking the short route to get possession of the puck first often means you are going to take some contact. Athanasiou often lets the other guy get there first, and then tries to get the puck. Eddie Olczyk called him out for this on national TV earlier this year, but it still shows up in his game (clips 4 and 5).
Continued (Paywall)…
