But Jake Gardiner trails only Dion Phaneuf as the Leafs best defenceman. Right now. The beautifully understated Carl Gunnarsson and John-Michael Liles are next. Everyone else is more or less in a tie for fifth and sixth.
Forget, for A second Gardiner?s skating, the thing that makes all things possible. Tonight against Boston, watch the way he wedges out opposition forwards.
Now notice how effective he is with his stick.
One of Gardiner?s greatest gifts is his reach, not because he has freakishly long arms - he is an honest six-foot-one - but because his prodigious hand skills would allow him to reach around an opposition player and redo the knot on the guy?s drawstring.
Look at his vision; the way he drives toward a spot in the opposition end, beats a defender then finds a teammate in an area a Leaf attacker is only then reaching.
Now go back to the skating. Sometimes it looks like everyone else is wearing boots on the pond.
Cannily tutored by Dion Phaneuf, Gardiner owns a cast-iron mental architecture. He approaches the game like hungry bear at a company picnic.
Gardiner shook off sitting out two games despite a much better training camp than Cody Franson, the player who took his place. He played 25 minutes In the Leafs 4-3 shootout win over Winnipeg, Wednesday, and finished plus one. He can, and will, be used in all situations.
He follows bad shifts with good ones. He plays a leisurely, solo game of keepaway when his team needs a line change.
Yes, like any defenceman young or old, he can be forced into bad decisions but those rarely involve a pass into the middle of the ice. And yes, he surrenders odd-man rushes, but his ferocious speed largely negates what is a necessary by-product of his game.
And yes, he may never score more than 10 goals because of a shot that is usually well-directed but not overpowering.
But it is because of Jake Gardiner that the Leafs didn?t have to settle for a poor camp from Keith Aulie. And while there seems no doubt Cody Franson can and will be a good NHL defenceman, Gardiner is going to be a great one.
more here
Forget, for A second Gardiner?s skating, the thing that makes all things possible. Tonight against Boston, watch the way he wedges out opposition forwards.
Now notice how effective he is with his stick.
One of Gardiner?s greatest gifts is his reach, not because he has freakishly long arms - he is an honest six-foot-one - but because his prodigious hand skills would allow him to reach around an opposition player and redo the knot on the guy?s drawstring.
Look at his vision; the way he drives toward a spot in the opposition end, beats a defender then finds a teammate in an area a Leaf attacker is only then reaching.
Now go back to the skating. Sometimes it looks like everyone else is wearing boots on the pond.
Cannily tutored by Dion Phaneuf, Gardiner owns a cast-iron mental architecture. He approaches the game like hungry bear at a company picnic.
Gardiner shook off sitting out two games despite a much better training camp than Cody Franson, the player who took his place. He played 25 minutes In the Leafs 4-3 shootout win over Winnipeg, Wednesday, and finished plus one. He can, and will, be used in all situations.
He follows bad shifts with good ones. He plays a leisurely, solo game of keepaway when his team needs a line change.
Yes, like any defenceman young or old, he can be forced into bad decisions but those rarely involve a pass into the middle of the ice. And yes, he surrenders odd-man rushes, but his ferocious speed largely negates what is a necessary by-product of his game.
And yes, he may never score more than 10 goals because of a shot that is usually well-directed but not overpowering.
But it is because of Jake Gardiner that the Leafs didn?t have to settle for a poor camp from Keith Aulie. And while there seems no doubt Cody Franson can and will be a good NHL defenceman, Gardiner is going to be a great one.
more here
