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With Mark Katic up, and Calvin de Haan somewhere off in the future, I'd been thinking today about young defensemen and their development.
Then I saw this nhl.com piece on Alex Pietrangelo with the following quote from ex-Islander (and now ex-Pietrangelo teammate) Eric Brewer. I didn't know how to make it a post, so I just thought I'd include it here as food for thought, with all the emergency and young D the Isles have in their lineup right now:
"I don't know if people really understand how much goes into a young D-man playing in the NHL, where you can't hook and hold, your foot speed is your biggest weapon and you're not used to guys barreling down on you this fast and making plays so quick," Brewer said. "You're also out there with guys who specialize in checking and taking angles away -- and you're trying to do all of this while trying to play your own game and play a heads-up game. It's fast out there. If there's a mistake, you know, the D-men look ridiculous."
Aye, yes.
This here is your game thread. Let's all make it out alive, shall we?