Seguin fighting sophomore streaks

Share

OTTAWAIts been pretty stunning to see the contrast between the red-hot Tyler Seguin over the first six weeks of the season, and the offensive bystander donning the No. 19 jersey over the last month.

Through the first 15 games of the season, the 19-year-old stormed out of the gate and was leading the way for a group of Bruins teammates that werent quite ready for optimum output to start the year. Seguin had 20 points (11 goals, 9 assists) in his first 15 games and was among the NHLs leading scorers while fulfilling some of the promise expected of him when he was the No. 2 overall pick.

But Seguin has hit a bit of a sophomore wall in the last 15 games with two goals and four assists along with the healthy scratch when he missed the morning meetings in Winnipeg prior to a game against the Jets. Theres little doubt Seguin isnt quite as aggressive or dogged as he was in the first two months, and the one-on-one battles for pucks have reverted to rookie mode.

But one area Seguin hasnt slacked off with is playing responsibly in his own end, and thats something Claude Julien will always approve. Seguin still leads the NHL with a plus-21 rating, and both linemates Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron are also in the leagues top five with more than a 13 of the regular season in the books.

With the pace that Seguin was on to start the season, there was almost too big of a gap in between his rookie year and second year, said Julien. Realistically we knew he wasnt going to be able to keep up that pace. Hes still growing. But hes not a guy thats costing us at the defensive end. Thats important.

Hes not a liability. When you become a liability at one end and youre not producing at the other thats when it becomes a problem. Were trying to be a little bit patient while helping him through his situation to make him a more consistent player. Hes going through it as a young player, but we have veterans that go through the same thing.

The difference: the veterans dont have the same kind of offensive upside when things are clicking like Seguin does. Its about time for things to start clicking in for the talented youngster while hes fighting some growing pangs.

Contact Us