Where did you hear he'd be willing to play forward, if you're at liberty to say?
Unfortunately, I think the Devils, and Keefe in particular, are too conservative to make that move (also, not enough grit for Fitz!). Which is a shame, because don't think his trade value lines up with his skill level. I would love to see them give him a shot at forward, just to see what he brings.
I was told by someone close to the organization that he'd be willing. I'm all for it, too.
I do agree with you, though, re: how conservative the organization is. It would be a shame to not even give it a try at some point -- even if it's next preseason.
Curious, I have been thinking of Dougie Hamilton as a forward for some time. Clearly he has a nose for the net. Booming shot off the wing, and a huge body in the offensive crease. Maybe he'll stay healthy? I do like the Casey idea too. Devils need to add some talent to the forwards.
He has done it before in amateur hockey. My question is this.. how are players slotted into their positions in youth hockey. I mean I always thought it was the best skater/stickhandler played center (Jack Hughes), bigger guys with some speed played wing, guys who were big but could not shoot played defense. (As an overgeneralization of course.) Having never been exposed to ice hockey as a kid, I am using how we put kids when we played street hockey. Because Casey obviously doesn't fit that mold, nor does Luke Hughes or Quinn for that matter. Thanks for any insight.
Yep! He did it with UMich against the USNTDP, scored two goals and an assist and went 9/14 in the dot that game.
As far as picking positions, most NHL players as kids played multiple sports and didn't isolate it to just hockey until they entered high school. Even then, a key development motto is "players, not positions," so they often do play both positions (goalies are the exception) through high school. From there, the kids usually pick what they're best at before going through the rest of their development arc -- Juniors -> Pros -> NHL. Occasionally you see NHLers switch positions -- Brent Burns made the move from F to D early in his career, Dustin Byfuglien in the middle of his career, and even Sergei Federov late in his career.
Where did you hear he'd be willing to play forward, if you're at liberty to say?
Unfortunately, I think the Devils, and Keefe in particular, are too conservative to make that move (also, not enough grit for Fitz!). Which is a shame, because don't think his trade value lines up with his skill level. I would love to see them give him a shot at forward, just to see what he brings.
I was told by someone close to the organization that he'd be willing. I'm all for it, too.
I do agree with you, though, re: how conservative the organization is. It would be a shame to not even give it a try at some point -- even if it's next preseason.
Curious, I have been thinking of Dougie Hamilton as a forward for some time. Clearly he has a nose for the net. Booming shot off the wing, and a huge body in the offensive crease. Maybe he'll stay healthy? I do like the Casey idea too. Devils need to add some talent to the forwards.
He has done it before in amateur hockey. My question is this.. how are players slotted into their positions in youth hockey. I mean I always thought it was the best skater/stickhandler played center (Jack Hughes), bigger guys with some speed played wing, guys who were big but could not shoot played defense. (As an overgeneralization of course.) Having never been exposed to ice hockey as a kid, I am using how we put kids when we played street hockey. Because Casey obviously doesn't fit that mold, nor does Luke Hughes or Quinn for that matter. Thanks for any insight.
Yep! He did it with UMich against the USNTDP, scored two goals and an assist and went 9/14 in the dot that game.
As far as picking positions, most NHL players as kids played multiple sports and didn't isolate it to just hockey until they entered high school. Even then, a key development motto is "players, not positions," so they often do play both positions (goalies are the exception) through high school. From there, the kids usually pick what they're best at before going through the rest of their development arc -- Juniors -> Pros -> NHL. Occasionally you see NHLers switch positions -- Brent Burns made the move from F to D early in his career, Dustin Byfuglien in the middle of his career, and even Sergei Federov late in his career.