Joined: May 2023
Posts: 455
Likes: 595
Hmmm... Didn't he start, too, on the lower lines at the U-20 World Juniors team this year? I remember being mystified by that... Maybe that was why; i.e., he was often slotted too low at U-M? By the end of that tournament, though, he'd become an assist machine - playing up higher, IIRC, and being VERY effective.
That may explain, too, what I saw in two games when U-M visited South Bend this past season (and why Nazar seemed inconsistent to me this year)... The first game, both he and the entire team got shellacked by the Irish, 6-1. (Slaggert was terrific that game.) U-M looked like they had "jet lag" or something. The second game was entirely different, and U-M beat ND in a good game.
I guess reasons for his deployment can only be speculative, without knowing their coach's mind or the dynamics of the U-M team.
Whatever the case there, though, he seemed to fit right in everywhere last night - 5-5; when he almost initially scored crashing the net (prior to his breakaway); and, even on the PK. I know, I know... it was only one game. Luke had good things to say about his overall game - in addition to the threat he presents offensively, he (Luke) emphasized that Frank played a responsible full 200-ft game, as well.
How great to contemplate what the future portends for us beleaguered Hawk fans after the last two-plus years! The fun should continue, too, as recent draftees graduate into the NHL (fingers crossed).