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Sheng’s Daily: Han “Extremely Worried” About Karlsson’s Game
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Jack Han on why he’s “extremely worried” about Erik Karlsson’s game. (The Hockey Tactics Newsletter)
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Meh. It’s hard to take seriously a Toronto talking head with a Leafs bias. I don’t agree that Karlsson is no longer a good skater. He may not have that elite elite speed anymore, but he’s above average still. I mean, come on Dude… there are a lot of things that you can nit pick about EK65’s game, but his skating isn’t the thing that I worry about.
Speaking for Jack, he’s a former Leafs organization coach/analyst, so he’s a lot more than just a talking head. I don’t think it’s a Leafs bias, those are just the players and examples that are most immediate to his expertise, who he closely scouted or coached when he worked there. Skating is an issue with Karlsson — I didn’t think it was as bad as Jack has described — but it’s reduced from Ottawa and 2018-19 in San Jose before the groin surgery. I wrote about it here last year ICYMI: https://www.fearthefin.com/2019/11/15/20967358/david-geier-erik-karlsson-skating-groin-surgery-recovery-san-jose-sharks Any diminishment of Karlsson’s skating is a serious… Read more »
I’ve been following Jack’s newsletter since I found out about it here, so I certainly can’t say his work isn’t thorough or thoughtful. As far as Karlsson’s skating goes, though, I’ll hold off on making a final judgment until I see him whenever the next season starts. He seemed to be making improvements to his skating as last season progressed, and injuries (and recoveries) like he faced seem like they can take some time to return to 100% from. It’s certainly possible the form of even the previous season won’t be achievable again, but I’m going to hold out hope… Read more »
I think Jack’s point is though, as my new interview alludes to, is that Karlsson may be able to get back some of his skating, but he’s not getting back 2012. So he needs to be working on other things — if he gets his skating back to say 90-95 percent of 2012, and adds other elements, may be he has a Norris impact? Just speculating.
Fair enough Sheng. As I mentioned, I personally am less concerned about Karlsson’s skating and more concerned that EK65 doesn’t realize that his game needs to adapt as he ages. Which is basically what I understand you to be saying.
Yea, that’s what I’m saying and Jack alludes to it in yesterday’s interview