Listed at five feet and seven inches, the shifty 161 pound Mats Zuccarello-Aasen should have everything going against him hockey-wise. That's not the case for the tiny Norwegian anymore.
In training camp, it was clear that Zuccarello had to adapt to the North American rink and game. Compared to European rinks, North American rinks are much smaller and pose more of a threat for smaller players as they have less room to maneuver in. The game is also very different. The North American style calls for a hard hitting, north-south game while the European game requires more finesse and is an east-west game.
So Rangers management made the right decision and assigned him to the Hartford Wolf Pack, now known as the Connecticut Whale. He started off very slowly, but eventually became a scoring machine at the AHL level. Scoring most of his points in the last 20 games, Zuccarello has managed 24 points in 32 games with 13 of those points being goals. He has become a star at the AHL level, but will he top out as an AHL star/NHL tweener?
The answer is no. The kid's skill is off the chart. He was the league-leading scorer in the Swedish Elite League for a reason ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by John Tabone
Mats Zuccarello-Aasen And What He Can Do For The New York Rangers
December 24th, 2010 by John Tabone Leave a reply »
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