Mathew Barzal highlights from the 2014-15 season. Mathew was selected by the New York Islanders in the first round, 16th overall, in the 2015 NHL Draft on Friday, June 26.
Looks like a fun player to add to the Islanders' line up. Beauvillier, Ho Sang and Dal Colle look good too. Lots of skill coming up through the system.
T-Birds season ticket holder here. Barzal was the absolute heart of the T-birds offense last year, which is strange, given the T-birds had two very good 1st and 2nd lines that were loaded with talent and heart. He definitely reminds me and many others of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, but in my opinion, he's better. Noticeably better, I think in the offensive department. RNH and Barzal are about equal, as they both can play very well in their own end, aren't afraid to block shots and are extremely quick skaters.
His ability to read plays and make Patrick Kane type passes on the a powerplay are unbelievable. The cool thing about him is you never know what to expect when he is about to make a play. Sometimes he'll dangle a defender at normal pace, sometimes he'll use his speed and fly past everybody, sometimes he'll wait in position for a stretch pass and go o a breakaway, and sometimes he'll take the puck wide and battle for the puck along the boards (a battle in which he almost always wins). He can connect no look pass after no look pass with ease, and when nothing is available to him while he has the puck, he can still sometimes make plays out of nothing.
In my opinion, he needs to be way more selfish with the puck though. Not only is he pretty much impossible to knock off the puck, but he has a heavy cannon of a shot. He generally only scores when he has a wide open chance and there is nobody else to pass it to. But when I watch him warm up, his shot is so heavy and accurate, there is no way coaches won't be telling him to use it more next season. He will likely end up being the leader in points in the dub next year. He also needs to work on battle more in front of the net, given he usually plays Center. He plays more of a perimeter game, which so far works for him, but if he added some grit he would be even better.
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welcome to the islanders
welcome to the islanders
Looks like Barzal and Gropp will have a bit of a New York rivalry going on. Both look like really good prospects.
Looks like a fun player to add to the Islanders' line up. Beauvillier, Ho Sang and Dal Colle look good too. Lots of skill coming up through the system.
T-Birds season ticket holder here. Barzal was the absolute heart of the T-birds offense last year, which is strange, given the T-birds had two very good 1st and 2nd lines that were loaded with talent and heart. He definitely reminds me and many others of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, but in my opinion, he's better. Noticeably better, I think in the offensive department. RNH and Barzal are about equal, as they both can play very well in their own end, aren't afraid to block shots and are extremely quick skaters.
His ability to read plays and make Patrick Kane type passes on the a powerplay are unbelievable. The cool thing about him is you never know what to expect when he is about to make a play. Sometimes he'll dangle a defender at normal pace, sometimes he'll use his speed and fly past everybody, sometimes he'll wait in position for a stretch pass and go o a breakaway, and sometimes he'll take the puck wide and battle for the puck along the boards (a battle in which he almost always wins). He can connect no look pass after no look pass with ease, and when nothing is available to him while he has the puck, he can still sometimes make plays out of nothing.
In my opinion, he needs to be way more selfish with the puck though. Not only is he pretty much impossible to knock off the puck, but he has a heavy cannon of a shot. He generally only scores when he has a wide open chance and there is nobody else to pass it to. But when I watch him warm up, his shot is so heavy and accurate, there is no way coaches won't be telling him to use it more next season. He will likely end up being the leader in points in the dub next year. He also needs to work on battle more in front of the net, given he usually plays Center. He plays more of a perimeter game, which so far works for him, but if he added some grit he would be even better.