Midway Players
A strong defender with a wicked shot from the blue paint that can find the back of the net. Several years ago you would be thinking that I was speaking of Justin Faulk. Who would have guessed that it would be the man who came back as part of a trade package that involved a prospect in the return as well. Joel Edmundson has been an excellent surprise.
But will he continue to surprise us?
Performance: 2-3-5 At Potential
Having Reimer on this list is breaking the one rule I set for it since he has only had eight starts for the Carolina Hurricanes. But he is a goaltender and they need not follow the rules. Just like he won’t be spending time in the penalty box, he won’t be sitting this list out. Although many Caniacs want him to be sitting out of most games.
Truth is, he is better than his record and is not playing to his full potential. His best games are still ahead of him.
Performance: 3-4-0, 3.07 GAA, 0.903 sv% Underachieving
I really wanted Pesce to be higher on this list, I really did. But he has pretty much disappeared after a stellar first 10 games of the season. Someone get his brother back into the arena to give him another brotherly lesson, Bradlee style. But seriously let’s do something for him, he has been non-existent on the ice.
But perhaps thats a good thing for a shutdown defender. But this team needs more offense, it always will, so he will fall below his defensive peers.
Performance: 2-5-7 Underachieving
While some guys are disappearing into the abyss Nino Niederreiter is one of the few that have finally started to appear from within it. Although he only has a pair of goals under his belt he is starting to benefit from a new linemates and a faster pace of play. He is still overall underachieving but trending in the right direction.
Once again this is the part where we remind everyone that the trade was ONE FOR ONE.