Anthony Duclair

Or, or...

Is this an opportunity for guys like Anthony Duclair or Pierre Engvall? Engvall certainly does bring speed.

He doesn't have the edge work and the ability to change direction that Barzal has.

And he's not the passer that Barzal is.

But if you're saying, hey, we need more team speed, both Anthony Duclair and Pierre Engvall can give you speed.

And Duclair, if he, again, is motivated and does play the way coaches want him to play, is capable of giving you offense.

He has a 30-goal season under his belt.

And I think the shorter preseason will have a negative impact on some of the players trying to make this roster.

If you have excess centers, you can afford to put skilled wingers on the PP without worrying about sacrificing two-way play.

Look at Andre Pallett and Anthony Duclair.

They're natural wingers, but have center roots.

With the surplus of centers, you can keep your best shooters on the perimeter.

He's got the speed to match Barzal.

But Gary, what about the wings? Anthony Duclair, Andre Pallard, Victor Eklund, there's competition there, too.

Exactly.

Duclair brings power play expertise.

You look at the neutral zone play.

When you can shift Kyle Palmieri or Anthony Duclair up, or slide Casey Cizikas down to grind, you control the tempo.

Opponents don't know who they're matching against.

That confusion leads to turnovers, which leads to high-danger chances for the Isles.

Horvat is the anchor.

He's gonna play significant minutes, likely pairing with Barzal or sitting next to Anthony Duclair on the wing.

But the real battle is between Foudy and Pageau for that secondary scoring impact.

Foudy needs to show he can handle the neutral zone pressure without turning the puck over.

[whooshing sound] Segment two, two more battles.

Let's look at the wingers.

We have Anthony Duclair, Victor Eklund, Emil Heineman, Alex Jeffries, Matias Maccelli, Andre Pallard on the left, and Mitchell Chaffee, Quinn Finley, Simon Holmstrom, Matt Luff on the right.

Who stands out?

In segment two, we're tackling the center depth chart.

Mike in Queens asks, "We have Matthew Barzal, Bo Horvat, Liam Foudy, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Casey Cizikas, Kyle McLain, Calum Ritchie, Brayden Schenn, and Anthony Duclair listed as centers or wingers who play center.

Who is actually playing first line minutes with Barzal?"

[whistle] Okay, Mike, you're listing almost every forward who can touch a puck, but let's look at the realistic top six.

Evolution of roles.

All right, let's keep going with the depth chart.

@HockeyDad42 asks, "With Kyle Palmieri and Anthony Duclair also listed, where do they fit? Are they playing center or wing? And what about the young guns like Victor Eklund and Emil Heineman?"

[drum roll] Palmieri and Duclair are primarily wingers.

Then you need shooters.

Anthony Duclair and Andre Pallard provide that experience.

But the center choice matters immensely here.

[whistle] So do they put Bo Horvat on the power play? He's not known for his shooting touch compared to Foudy.

[ding] Schenn is a wild card.

He's big, he can screen the goalie, and he can take shots from the slot.

I think you'll see a rotating cast, Barzal, Duclair, Pallard, and maybe Schenn or Foudy depending on the matchup.

The key is keeping the puck moving through the neutral zone.