under Lifelong Leafs fan: New Leafs, quarter mark of the season thoughts.

Sunday, November 26, 2017

New Leafs, quarter mark of the season thoughts.

We are fast approaching the end of November, over one quarter of the games have been played. So i wanted to take a minute and review a couple of the players that have caught my eye so far. And that's strictly what this blog is, everything i base my opinion on is from what i see. I may look at a few stats here and there. But i try to keep my opinion based on the stats and plays that average fans see.

The first person i want to talk about is Andreas Borgman, i have to admit that i am a huge fan of this kid. A quick look at his numbers which are 2 goals and 4 assists. Nothing special about those numbers, but that's not surprising for a 3rd pairing defenceman. He plays around 14 minutes per game and that is only more than his partner Carrick by about 20 seconds. The number that jumps out at me and one of the things that makes his stand out to me is his number of hits, which is 62 as of today. That is 3rd most hits on the team behind Martin(no surprise) and Komorov. I really enjoy the physicality of his game and i think that is something that will develop to be a big part of his game. Where he played previously overseas hitting was not a big part of his game, so that will only continue to improve the more games he has under his belt. What was a big part of his game in the SHL was offence. Borgman himself has said that he is use to jumping up into the play and carrying the puck into the offensive zone. One thing i have noticed about him, is that if he gets the puck passed to him at the point, the puck is going on net. You can almost count on it. A forward draws in the player who should be covering the point, then the puck slides out to Borgman and his eyes light up. Again, he only has 6 points on the year but in the SHL last year he had a total of 15 points(5 goals, 10 assists). So even with limited minuted and only 2 seconds player play time, his numbers are relatively positive. I would personally like to see him get more time on the power play with his eagerness to shoot the puck. Even if the initial shots don't find the back of the net, it creates lose pucks and rebounds in front of the net. Which is great for powerplay forwards like JVR and Marleau who have made a living around the crease. So overall my opinion of Borgman is that the Leafs scouts have done a great job finding this young man and bringing him over to the NHL. I think he will continue to learn and grow and will eventually become a top 4 defenceman in the NHL. Like always, that's just my opinion.

The second player i want to talk about is Ron Hainsey. Wow. What a workhorse this guy has become for us. Zaitsev and himself practically kill every penalty, every game. 4 miniutes and 40 seconds of PK time per game. His 2 goal and 10 assists are nice, but what really grabs my attention is his minutes on the PK. Also 40 hits and 48 blocks show his willingness to use his body to make plays. He is a steady hand with the puck and rarely does he lose composure and turn the puck over. He also only has 8 PIM, which is surprising for the amount of minutes he logs every game. Hainsey was suppose to be the replacement for Matt Hunwick, but my opinion is that he is not only a replacement for Hunwick, but an improvement. He is a veteran of the league and knows what it takes to win. He is accountable for his actions and expects the same from his teammates, a good leader to have in the dressing room. Some people thought at the time that 3.6M was a lot to pay for him, but considering the minutes he plays and how dependable he is, he deserves every penny of his contract. Another good off season move done by Leafs management.

Again, just my opinion.

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