Something stood out for Tyler Seguin in the Dallas Stars first preseason game about Alexander Radulov.
Sure, the Stars new top line featuring Seguin centering Jamie Benn and Radulov didn’t light up the scoresheet right away, but something about Radulov’s game excited the Stars top-line center.
“You can’t take the puck off him,” Seguin said. “There are times he’d win the battle against maybe two guys and you don’t have to dig in their to help him out. That can open up a ton of space for us this year.”
It’s something Stars general manager Jim Nill had in mind when he signed Radulov to a five-year, $31.25 million contract on July 2. The Stars needed to get better on offense, and Radulov was going to make life easier for the rest of the forwards.
Under Ken Hitchcock the Stars are going to be more focussed on possessing the puck. While the high-scoring team in the 2015-16 season was built on a north-south speed game, this season the Stars will focus heavily on holding the zone and cycling.
The speed game will still be there, especially when gaining the zone, but holding the puck and grinding on the other team will be even more important in the second Hitchcock era.
“I think he works with what Ken wants to do,” a scout said while watching the Stars back-to-back preseason games last week. “Hitch has always wanted to grind teams down and leave a mark physically. Radulov does that. He punishes guys without hitting them. He’s difficult to contain and you have to work your arms and legs to get the puck from him, especially in those board battles, then once there is an opening he’s gone and the opposing player is worse for the wear.”
And it works perfectly for Radulov, who is already feeling at home in the Stars system.
“That’s how I play,” Radulov said. “It’s our job to keep the puck and I enjoy that. You have to take time to get used to everything completely, but it’s going well so far.”
Radulov said he could be primed for a better start to this season than the 2016-17 season with the Montreal Canadiens, where he scored 54 points in 76 games.
At this time last season Radulov was returning from the KHL for the second time. He knew the NHL game and it wasn’t a shock to his system, but there were habits he had to break from the larger ice surface and the KHL’s slower pace.
“It probably took me 20 games to be completely back to (the NHL style),” Radulov said. “After that things started going much better and the game got easier.”
There are times Radulov is simply enjoyable to watch. Dallas fans got a first-hand look of that last season when he split between Dan Hamhuis and Esa Lindel, then left Kari Lehtonen sprawled out with a forehand to backhand deke.
While that goal was fresh in Stars fans minds, another goal sticks out for an Eastern Conference scout that watched Radulov closely in the Canadiens playoff series with the New York Rangers last season.
“He scored a goal that most guys can’t pull off, I’d argue most NHL players can actually pull off that Forsberg move on a breakaway or in a shootout,” the scout said. “There aren’t many players in this league strong enough and skilled enough, or confident enough, to do it with a guy on their back and two others closing in.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tiRSKsiY-A
Radulov is going to create his share of highlights this season, he’s simply a dynamic player. But as Seguin, said he’s going to impact the game even on the nights he’s not on the scoresheet.
“He’s going to be a fun guy to play with every night,” Seguin said. “Plus I’ve heard he’s got some good celebrations so, I’m looking forward to that.”
Doing a quick YouTube search, the celebration thing checks out.
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