This piece will be another in my series of player profiles, where I’ll give some thoughts on the performance of a member of the New York Islanders this season. This article will focus on Jordan Eberle.
After Eberle’s underwhelming season last year, it was great to see him bounce back, especially after signing a five-year contract this summer (which now looks like great value). Despite a slow start this year, he was great after returning from injury and even scored 13 goals and 23 points in his final 27 games of the year.
That’s a snapshot into how effective Eberle can be. We’ve seen him score 25 goals and 60+ points multiple times in his career but it’s a matter of finding the one thing that many other Islanders forwards lack as well: consistency.
When Eberle is at his best, he’s an effective top-six forward, buzzing around the net for passes or loose pucks. He’s dangerous when New York is set up in the offensive zone and can be deadly on the power play. It’s like a switch though. When he’s not at his best, we see a player who’s disengaged and is very soft on the puck in battles.
Eberle is a key piece for the Islanders up front and will be for several years. But in order to be that, he needs to be consistent as an impact player, like we saw from him for most of the season. If he can replicate that performance on a consistent basis, Eberle has the ability to be a great top-six forward for the Islanders in the coming years.
Continuing on the new idea of adding a poll to each article, here’s today’s question:
How do you feel about Jordan Eberle playing on Mathew Barzal's wing?
New York Islanders Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»