This year, I got my eyes on you James Thomas Wyman. A fourth round pick (100th overall) from the 2004 draft, the 24-year-old Minnesota right-winger who spent four years at Dartmouth, and four more years with the Bulldogs and Cyclones, seems to have finally discovered his true calling: the intellectual two-way forward.
Firstly, he's got the ability to play all 3 forward positions and his size of 6'2", 200lbs are definitely a bonus even if he's not the type of guy you'll see throwing the body more than he needs to. He also shoots right, which is a rare thing! Then after dabbling on defense for a bit, once as a necessity to cure an injury-plagued defensive squad and later because it might have gotten him a job to show some versatility like Mathieu Dandenault, it created a monster. This monster is keen on making life miserable for rival defenders because a hockey smart guy like Wyman discovered what struggles defencemen deal with to benefit his own offensive capabilities. If evaluations in pre-season are anything, and the absence of a few of the Bulldogs' offensive staples gave him the opportunity to do so, Wyman stepped on the ice and helped kicked the BingySens collective asses.
Game 1 he had two goals and an assist in the 3-0 victory. Except he never held the puck on his stick when he scored the two goals. The reason for this is where he set up shop. His spot is right in front of the net or by the lower circles/hash marks, having scored goals by getting the puck bounced off him. This is another plus: he stands in the sweet spot. How many times have we yelled at our Habs to "GO TO THE NET!!!GRR!FROTH!". The first goal, Fred St. Denis snapped a shot from the blueline, off Wyman and in. The second, Desharnais took a shot from the blueline and banked it off him because he was at the net.
Game 3 he picked up the puck at center ice and wristed it over Mike Brodeur's left shoulder, which if you know Mike Brodeur...well, it's hard to score on that guy if you're not bouncing pucks in off people. That goal was unassisted. But it was his overall play on the ice that piqued the attention of Derek Wills' broadcast, and Brad May who was a guest for all three games. It was a new and improved Wyman, according to Wills. And when you're looking at the kids on the farm, improvement is key.
This is a typical J. T. Wyman goal, and as you can see, he's got the presence of mind to notice and follow PK on his crazy rush, match his speed accordingly, and made himself open, ready to tip in the shot.
His empty net goals are pretty fantastic too, usually shot with accuracy from behind the blueline if he sees he'll be bothered by a defenceman.
Wyman is on a new one-year deal, which tells me it could be the last time we see him because he'll most likely get replaced by new depth players if he finds something better elsewhere. It would be a shame to lose him after he spent all this time developing into a good depth forward. Perhaps he'll get another shot at the NHL this season on call-up duty. And perhaps then he'll know more of what he'll be getting into. Because players like Wyman test the water first and work to improve on what they've seen. However if they opt to keep him past his one-year deal to allow the newer, younger prospects a chance to continue their development pace, there's a shutdown role in his future. Especially when he seems born to play in the Jacques Martin system, using his speed, defense, leadership, and hockey smarts.
No comments:
Post a Comment