Breaking the Hinges- Zadorov, Cole and Gudbranson add Grit & Toughness
While young defenseman like Moritz Seider, Filip Hronek, and Simon Edvinsson give promise to an outstanding back-end, there are obvious and gaping holes in the defense. The team needs grit and stability to pair with their young defense. Three names that come to mind that can help bridge the gap, show toughness, and give stability are Ian Cole, Nikita Zadorov, and Erik Gudbranson. Each player can protect the front of the net.
That was an area that had no consequences for opposing forwards’ last season. If anyone one of the three are signed, the opposition will need to keep their head up. This will give the talented youngsters more time and space to make plays and develop appropriately. Each player has had experiences on rebuilding teams and playoff contenders making them great assets for the transition, they know good pro behavior.
Their ability to kill penalties will give rest to Seider and Hronek from feeling that they need to do everything. They will not show up on the scoresheet in the offensive categories, but the team will benefit from their ability to keep the opposition at bay.
Look for Seider and Hronek to up their production and the team goals against to drop significantly with these potential additions.