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Next Great Leafs Writer #2: Andrea. “ Can Heroes of 6 Finish it off?” |
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Ek’s Note…Here’s our second possible new lease writer. Her name is Andrea and she is from Mississaugga. If you’re interested in possibly writing for hockeybuzz and covering the Leafs send a story about the team in general to eklund@ hockeybuzz.com. Make sure to put leaf writer in the subject of the email. Let us know in the comments what you think of Andrea.
Hey everyone! Thanks for this chance to write for hockeybuzz.com today. I know we’ve all been through this before, but Game 6 felt a bit different, at least for me. I’ve been a close observer of the Auston Matthews era, and I couldn’t quite put my finger on why it felt different last night. But I think it’s because coach Berube has his players in a different mindset than we’ve seen before. He’s not just asking them to slay ghosts. he’s asking them to be the best versions of themselves.
And we saw that last night with certain players.
Matthews: Watching Sportsnet after the game with Nick Kypreos, I was just waiting for him to say something about Auston,, and he said pretty much right away. He said he was aggressive and playing big. The implication was familiar: Matthews doesn’t use his size or strength to his advantage when forchecking or elsewhere. I lived in LA for a few years, and they used to say the same thing about Ryan Getzlaf. I agree with Kipper. Matthews is an intimidating character, and when the defense sees him bearing down on them, they need to at least expect or fear some pain.
Pacioretty: It’s still hard for me to believe that a HAB is playing his heart out in the blue and white. But in a way, it’s not surprising that it took someone from outside leafs nation to help lend stability in a game with everything on the line. I just have grown to love this man. The goal last night, and the no-stick clear. Yes, I love this man.
Benoit: I’m still relatively young, but I don’t recall a Toronto defender who’s willing to make such sacrifices as Benoit. That hit on Brad Marchand was intense, it felt like something out of an NFL documentary. And he also makes smart decisions when it comes to jumping into the play.
Laughton: I think we’re finally seeing why Berube wanted this guy in the first place. Last night, he was above average and showed he can play on almost any line. It’s just a gut feeling, but I’m starting to feel better when he’s on the ice in certain situations. I didn’t have that feeling really before the playoffs.
Marner: I still don’t think we’ve seen anything close to what Marner needs to bring if we want to actually take a shot at winning the Stanley Cup. I know everyone credits him with the power play kills, but I feel like he can either play offense or defense, but never both at the same time on the ice for some reason. When he’s not killing penalties, he’s not really good defensively at all…
Anyway, hope you enjoyed my audition tape
Andrea
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