When does player development stop? It is a tricky question, and like with a legal document, it depends on how you define development. NHL players who stick in the league, from the stars to the journeymen, are constantly trying to solidify their strengths and shore up their weaknesses. NHL franchises are more analytical than ever before, which makes demonstrating value an undiminished stressor for players. If performance flags, it is quantifiable not just for the front office, but also for the fans. Every NHL draft brings a fresh new crop of young faces, eager to push the incumbents into smaller roles or off the team.

There is a finite number of jobs on each team, and if you are talented enough to be in the upper crust and have carved out a role in the top-six forwards, or in a top-four defensive spot, the seasons before your second contract, or immediately after it, are formative. For the Lightning, three players are at this stage: Brayden Point, Mikhail Sergachev, and Anthony Cirelli. Stricken by boredom, and with my sorrow intensifying as more and more time passes without hockey, I’ve written down one skill I’d love to see each of these developing players hone that would push them to the next level.

Brayden Point:
At 24, there is a possibility that Point “is who he is.” But there is no shortage of skill coaches. Finding one who could help Point nail the puck on net in stride would make him a consistent 40-goal scorer. Point will never be Steven Stamkos, but he doesn’t have to be. Blessed with speed and vision that allow him to chart a path from his own zone to the slot, Point needs to have someone help him find a better release point and aid him with his torque so he obtains more velocity on the shot.

Even a slight improvement would make a dramatic difference. Right now, some defensemen can sag in order to protect themselves when Point tries to take the puck to the outside and shoot from the low slot. Point often uses the fake shot as a freeze mechanism, but if the middle-distance shot has more bite, the fake will be more effective.

Point collected 41 goals in 2018-19, a career high made possible by his great puck luck from the bumper position on the power play. But once opponents started to take that away as an option, he struggled to convert on the sporadic looks he got from Nikita Kucherov feeds. His goals from the man- advantage dropped from 20 last season to eight in 2019-20 right before the season halted. There are plenty of other speedy, undersized forwards who garner pop on their shots and can find the shooting lanes. If Point achieves this, it also will open up things for him as a playmaker.

Mikhail Sergachev:
Mikhail Sergachev should be watching a highlight tape of Roman Josi. The Swiss defenseman for the Nashville Predators has the same aptitude for skating faster with the puck than his opponents without it. But unlike Josi, Sergachev clenches up once he crosses the far blue line.

My wish for Sergachev is for him to attack after the entry. When Sergachev uses his vaunted acceleration to push the puck to the outside, if doesn’t see the shooting angle because an opposing defenseman is keeping a tight gap, he should take a U-Turn. Between his explosive skating, crafty puck-handling, and deadly shot, there is no reason he shouldn’t be able to push defensemen into a compromised position and either crank a shot on net or open up a seam through the middle for a teammate.

In 2018-19, Sergachev could be out of control with the puck. This season, his decision-making had improved dramatically. Part of his restraint on entries was because he was making an effort to manage the puck better. Accountability is a good thing. But he is so creative and so skilled that a balance could be struck. The Lightning want Sergachev opening up space on the rush. He can find the balance between enterprising and reckless

Anthony Cirelli:
If a puck needs to be retrieved in the corner, Cirelli might be the best option for fetching it. He has an underrated shot and is quick as hell. To wit, he has shown a propensity for creating breakaways and finishing on an impressive amount of them.

But while Cirelli can execute a deke in the crease on the rush, he has only one mode, which is straight ahead. If he were to sharpen his stickhandling so he could move diagonally or laterally, and if he were to utilize this to become more elusive on the cycle, he could be a 30-goal scorer. Cirelli already brings Selke-Trophy-worthy focus and effort in transition defense and in checking opponents’ sticks in his own zone. Combine this with improved stickhandling and his impact would grow exponentially.

Part wish-list, part fever dream. But imagining a better future for Point, Sergachev, and Cirelli is a cathartic exercise.

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