Let's stop for a moment and reflect on all the happenings of this season.
If the usage of Derek Forbort and Jordan Weal are the primary things we are talking about this season, the Kings must be doing a pretty darn good job. Darryl Sutter, for the criticisms ladened against him for his usage of young players, must be doing a pretty good job.
The Kings have points in nine of their last ten games, they are 19-9-2, and they hold a healthy lead over the rest of their Pacific counterparts (Which is not all that impressive to be honest)
But has the usage of players like Weal and Forbort been acceptable? With Jordan Weal it is understandable to some degree.
Weal is a very small player who has yet to show his capability within the system that the Kings employ. In recent memory, Weal made one exceptional play defensively in the Tampa Bay game where he sealed off the hulking Brian Boyle in the Kings zone in order to move the puck out. This is the only play I can recall where Jordan Weal made something happen. He has been given chances, albeit minor, and has failed to stand out with them. Yes he has skated primarily on the fourth line, yes the quality of his linemates has been questionable, but Jordan Weal himself has been questionable.
Nevertheless, the Kings are sticking with Weal because there may be something there once he gets comfortable. They also really do not have another option at the 13th forward spot currently except for maybe Nic Dowd. When all players come back healthy, then we will really see where Jordan Weal lies within the spectrum.
Derek Forbort is faced with a very different scenario. He is the seventh defenseman. However, he is the seventh defenseman who could easily usurp a position in the starting roster. In fact, he has had several opportunities to do so already this year. Jamie McBain was no certainty to start the season, which led to a platoon scenario in October. Christian Ehrhoff fell out of favor in November which led to Forbort's longest semi-consistent stretch in the lineup. Still, he played just five of the Kings 13 November games, and ran the gamut of ice times and usage.
Against Arizona he played over 20 minutes. Against Chicago that number was seven and change. Recently, in the two December games he has dressed against Columbus and Ottawa, Forbort has played a combined total of about nine minutes. The feather in the cap, a 7th defenseman dressing that saw Forbort take six shift and play a grand total of 3:53 on Monday night against Ottawa.
So what exactly are we doing with Derek Forbort?
The former 1st round selection in 2010 has hardly had time to settle into the roster, but he has also rarely taken an opportunity to put himself in the roster ala Jamie McBain. While the mystique about Jamie McBain is that the Kings somehow win with the former Cane in the lineup, by no means is his grip on the position solid.
In fact, McBain is playing just about 12:53 ATOI (Average time on ice), and as far as fancy stats go...it is hardly conclusive who the better player is. Well, maybe it kind of is:
On-Ice Corsi for Percentage:
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On-Ice Shot Differential
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On-Ice Scoring Chance For Percentage
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While the smaller sample size of Forbort allows for him to be more steady in some of these numbers, and not nearly as volatile as McBain, steady has always been the name of the game for Forbort. From collegiate play to minor leagues, Forbort has always just kind of existed as a steady guy.
What the Kings get with McBain that they do not get with Forbort is an assertiveness with the puck. We have only seen that from Forbort on rare occasions thus far. A sort of (Cliche warning) veteran presence on the puck that Forbort clearly does not have. Especially when it comes to moving it out of the zone. Check out this excellent, patient, heads up breakout from McBain.
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That is not to say however, that we do not get the slip ups that come from a player like Jamie McBain WITHOUT the puck. It can be an adventure sometimes.
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While Ehrhoff has seemingly placed himself back into the lineup and back into semi-decent form, Jamie McBain is kind of on the downswing as of right now. He has played under 11 minutes in three of his last five games, and I am not certain that will fly long with Darryl Sutter. With Forbort dressing as a seventh D, we could see a bit of a position battle ensue in regards to the 6D spot before players get back to health. Maybe the roles switch, and we are talking about McBain playing four minutes and six shifts next time out.
Forbort though, is in a bind. With the recent pseudo call-ups of Jeff Schultz and Nick Ebert, coupled with the ever improving and effective play of Kevin Gravel and Vincent LoVerde, the care in the rearview mirror is not all that far.
There is not much to Forbort's game right now that is not replaceable by someone else. While McBain brings some element of intangible calm on the puck with breakouts, he also brings another option on the powerplay for the Kings. Forbort, thus far, has really brought neither of those things. He has been steady, but he has been steady in an almost replaceable fashion. The competition is not all that far away if he remains a seventh Dman.
To quote Billy Costigan from The Departed:
The question is, and this is the only question, who thinks that they can do what you do better than you?
There are a lot of guys out there right now in the Kings system that probably believe they can do what Forbort is doing better than him.
There is a place in this lineup for Derek Forbort. At his best, at his absolute ceiling, we have seen potential for Forbort to be a steady 4-6 defenseman. He has to take that spot on his own by showing an irreplaceable quality and a killer instinct in his game. It is an "earn it" style system with Darryl Sutter, and that is just how it should be. Until you give us a reason to not take you out of the lineup or not give you minutes, you are probably not going to get the minutes or be in the lineup. Simple as that. Like it or dislike it, it is proving difficult at this juncture for the former UND grad. The opportunity is still there, but for how much longer remains to be seen.
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