In sports it’s almost foolish to assume anything. Assuming that Brian Burke will somehow acquire a skilled top-line center before next season should be almost common sense.
If the Maple Leafs are to start the 2010-11 season with Tyler Bozak and Mikhail Grabovski as their top two pivots, quite frankly it’s going to be a long season. Nothing against either of the two, but where the Leafs currently stand at center simply won’t cut it.
Tyler Bozak is a second-line center at best. After being signed last year out of the collegiate ranks, and eventually paying some dues in the AHL before making the big club, expecting any more of him right now is a little far-fetched.
He can play a secondary role on the power play and exhibits an all-round game to go along with excellent faceoff ability, but Bozak cannot be counted on as the primary pivot just yet. At only 24 years old, there’s plenty of time down the road for that possibility.
Grabovski, on the other hand, is a speedy center who’s pretty brutal in his own end and does little to nothing on the power play. As a top-two middle man, he simply isn’t on the ...
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Article written by Ryan Fancey
Maple Leafs Will Have To Address Issue at Center
April 29th, 2010 by Ryan Fancey Leave a reply »
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