This post is about Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers and his supposedly "average" season last year. I was giving the kid praise in droves last year, as was then Springfield head coach Kelly Buchberger and other Oilers brass.
Deslauriers was named the Falcons MVP last year despite what appeared to be average AHL numbers. However what many outsiders failed to consider is the fact that the Falcons were routinely out shot, and in many of Deslaurier's 26 wins the Falcons had no business being in the game, let alone winning them.
Deslauriers was to the Falcons what Garon was to the Oilers. I also feel that their style of play is similar. Both are RH catching French Canadian Goaltenders, both are incredibly flexible, both are quick laterally, both are known for the spectacular save, and both are far from great at handling the puck.
So where do they differ?
Deslauriers is bigger, not quite as quick, and not nearly as confident or good in the shoot out.
However who better to mentor Deslauriers than Garon? So many similarities leads me to believe that Deslauriers could fit in very well with this team. Unlike the '05-06 Cup Finalist Oilers, this team is not built around defense. It is built around speed, puck movement, and skill.
This gives Deslauriers a definite advantage over the much slower but more positionally sound Dwayne Roloson.
Here's a post that I made of HF some time ago in regards to Deslauriers' "average" play.
A New Era of Hope
8 years ago
2 comments:
Nice breakdown of his past year. He's been impressive thus far in the preseason no doubt. Look forward to seeing how he handles some regular season competition.
Also look forward to hearing how DD handles the load this year.
He was flat out run down by the end of the year. Prior to that he was phenomenal. Expect JDD to have a solid year this year, however his biggest weakness is his puck handling. If he keeps that to basics, he should be o.k.
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