SN Staff
As Canadians we’ve all watched far too much hockey.
We’ve all been witness to countless great moments and
plays that will be burned into our mind for years to come.
I witnessed one of those moments on Friday night sitting
on my couch. I was watching Sportsnet’s coverage of Game 1 between the Saint
John Sea Dogs and Cape Breton Screaming Eagles.
It was the second period when Dogs forward Charlie Coyle
put his stamp on the game. With a goal already in the period, Coyle knocked
down the same Cape Breton defenceman twice before heading to the front of the
net, scoring his second goal – all in a span of about 10 seconds.
The play made me laugh out loud, not in a mocking way
towards the Screaming Eagles, but in a “how foolish was that sequence,” kind of
way.
In those few seconds, Coyle was the personification of a power
forward. If you looked up the term in the hockey dictionary – provided it was
online and had imbedded video – that play would run as an example.
Sea Dogs play-by-play man Tim Roszell said Coyle`s marker
might be one of the best goals he`s seen live and he`s seen quite a few of
them.
At this stage in his career, Coyle is playing the
position to a tee. He’s big, strong and knows it. When you watch him play,
there’s no wasted movement. He goes north-south very well and takes his game to
the front of the net.
He uses his body effectively to either shield the puck
from opponents or to keep defenders at bay when he’s parked in front of the
cage. Let’s not forget he doesn’t mind throwing his weight around. On the
double-hit goal, the first of the two checks looked like Coyle merely bumped
the defender, but it sent the Screaming Eagle player to the ground none the
less.
Who knows how he will emerge as a pro player, but one
thing in Coyle’s favour is he seems to get it – it being the type of player he
is. Too often guys get caught, especially at the junior level, trying to show
off their skill by attempting to make the jaw-dropping play rather than the
right one.
Coyle doesn’t seem to be afflicted with this problem, at
least not on my viewings, rather he knows the strengths of his game and plays
to them.
If you want more proof, look at the first two games of
his Quebec League playoff career. Back-to-back hat tricks as well as five
assists for 11 points in two games.
Those are video game numbers and that’s no laughing
matter for Sea Dogs opponents.
Photo Credit: Marc Henwood/Station Nation
Photo Credit: Marc Henwood/Station Nation
He's averaging just under 2 ppp (points per period)
ReplyDeleteanother fine example was his first goal on Saturday night where he essentially came from the corner across the crease and scored while almost literally carrying two Eagles on his back - a man amongst boys
ReplyDelete