Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

It Will Be A Learning Process For Alex Galchenyuk

02/25/2017 at 1:57pm EST

from Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe,

There is no denying Alex Galchenyuk’s touch with the puck. The 23-year-old is Montreal’s best player when he has the puck on his stick. It’s hard for opponents to take it off his blade. He can drive to the net and create his own chances, or he can distribute it for linemates to do their thing. The 6-foot-1-inch, 210-pound pivot has a good mix of physicality and skill, similar to Patrice Bergeron’s playing style.

But what makes Galchenyuk an inaccurate overall comparable to Bergeron is the former’s flickering presence without the puck compared with the latter’s. Bergeron is manic in his precise and smothering defensive approach. Galchenyuk, even with five seasons of NHL experience, is more in the scatterbrain category when it comes to own-zone play. Defensively, Galchenyuk has more in common with Ryan Spooner than Bergeron.

Now that he’s playing for Claude Julien, Galchenyuk will have no choice but to learn how to skate, think, and position himself without the puck.

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About Kukla's Korner Hockey

Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

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