As we continue to watch the Rick Nash Trade Watch drag on, I reached out to fellow SBNation blogger Peter Raaymakers over at Silver Seven to get his thoughts on one of the newest Blue Jackets.
Here’s what he had to say:
Nick Foligno is a bold, brash player, but he’s one fans will probably develop an affinity for thanks to his community involvement and outgoing personality–not to mention his offensive effectiveness, defensive awareness, and general pestiness. (If you can’t tell, I’m a fan of Foligno.) Still, not all is peachy with the former first-round pick. One thing that has long frustrated Sens fans about Foligno is the obvious level of talent he has while with the puck, but his inability to regularly convert that talent into regular, reliable offensive production. I can’t count the number of times I’ve seen Foligno break into the zone and down the wing, or impressively controlling the puck while in the offensive zone corners, until he breaks away from his check and… does nothing with it. Foligno’s got good moves, but he can’t seem to finish them; he can control the puck, but he seems to have a much harder time breaking away and bringing it to the front of the net or the slot.
Still, Foligno’s improvement has been steady and obvious since he began his pro career. He’s never broken 20 goals, but he’s been a good complementary player on the second line, and looked even better as a leader on the third line. He seems to be a “tweener” stuck between the second and third line, but he’s only 24 years old so there’s still plenty of time for him to mature into a good top-six forward. Personally, I think he’s got what it takes to get there, but he’s got to prove it to some doubters that do exist out there.
The more I hear about this guy, the more I like this deal. He’s clearly got some talent, he’s young, he’s hungry, and he might be right on the verge of breaking through. Here’s hoping that it works as well on the ice as it does on paper.
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