Before I get into this, let me ask a totally subjective and slightly ridiculous question. If you could pick any defensemen to have on your team for the next five years, anyone in the league, how far do you objectively have to go down that list until you get to Tyler Myers? Forget about contracts and money. Just based on talent and what’s reasonable to expect in the following years, where does Tyler Myers rank on your list?
I’ve been waiting to put something together on Tyler Myers until I got a chance to see him over an extended period of time. I didn’t want to rush to judgment. He’s a rookie and he’s a defensemen. It’s always difficult to judge either of those players separate but together, it’s extra tricky.
I remember before the season started all that was really being said about Myers was that he’s tall and he’s a great skater. I was more than a little skeptical mostly because I questioned whether his strength as a 19-year-old coupled with the adjustment from amateur to the NHL level would be too much to overcome so early in his professional career. Obviously Myers has proved me wrong. So what has made him so successful?
When you talk about rookie forwards there are a number of different ways to describe them, all of which are usually based on their ability to score. It’s usually just that simple. If you think about it, it’s pretty clear what makes a forward effective. But for defensemen, their first job is to prevent others from scoring. There isn’t a true quantitative measure of how well a defensemen is playing that compares to how well scoring valuates forwards. The nature of the position of defensemen suggests that the moments of the greatest value to the team are the defensemen’s actions without the puck. Not to understate their responsibilities with the puck, but so much of hockey for defensemen is positioning both of the body and the stick. That’s determined, in my opinion at least, by a player’s fundamentals, instincts, and physical attributes.
I wouldn’t mention the following if I didn’t think it were applicable but I probably watch the Maple Leafs play more than of any other team other than the Sabres, of course. There are some ridiculously talented writers out there that cover the Leafs who I love reading. One of the things I’ve noticed from watching the Leafs and reading some of the poorer Leafs’ bloggers is that many of them tend to overrate Tomas Kaberle. I think it’s probably because he makes a lot of smart decisions with the puck but I’m always shocked with how frequently he gets caught out of position without it and how frequently the Leafs’ bloggers ignore it. People fall in love with his scoring production, accumulated mostly from secondary assists and very smart outlet passes, but he’s actually a liability in the Leafs’ zone. I’ve been saying the same thing about Brian Campbell to my friends for years.
Myers is different. His fundamentals and instincts are tremendous. At this point in his career, Myers is still in safe-play-right-play mode, kind of how Butler was playing last year, instead of playing-your-own-game-on-the-threshold-of-your-limitations mode, kind of like how Butler is playing this year. That style has worked better for Myers than it ever has for Butler because he’s so much more physically gifted. Even though he, Myers, doesn’t really have the core strength to physically control the middle of the ice yet, his reach alone makes him a very effective defender.
Then there is his puck carrying ability. He’s not a very fluid skater but his long, powerful strides tend to surprise people with how fast he gets going. I mean, how many critics and fans have watched Myers skate in awe, saying things like how can a guy so tall, cut and turn so fast? I’ve thought long and hard about this and I think I have an answer: it’s his balance. If you watch Myers, he skates in a really forward position, almost like he’s crouching or leaning over the puck. He gets really compact and then his leg strength takes over. Myers’ reputation for years has been that he’s a fast skater. For that reason, it’s tough to really question his leg strength. Upper body and core strength, definitely, but not his leg strength. Unlike most other players that get labeled as great skaters, Myers’ feet don’t move very quickly in comparison. But Myers doesn’t need to burst like a small forward. Once he gains some speed and gets in that forward-lean position, how can opponents check him? Myers has the wingspan of an NBA player and the balance/leg-strength to dig in and make deceptive cuts when he needs to.
Speaking of cuts, has anyone else noticed how well Myers pivots with the puck in his own zone? I’m talking about the moments when a forechecking line is bearing down on Myers and Tallinder and instead of forcing the puck up the middle or dumping it out along the boards to what will almost certainly result in a quick turnover, Myers back-peddles, turns, and swings the puck over to Tallinder. Smart and safe. The kind of play that Jim Lorentz probably spits up his soup over when watching the game from his home. How is Myers able to do it better than other defensemen? I think he does it by utilizing his great balance, his ridiculous reach, and his deceptively powerful leg strength. How he stays so calm and composed in those kinds of pressure situations, your guess is as good as mine.
As for how far down Myers is on my list of defensemen-I-would-want-on-my-team-for-the-next-five-years? Ignoring salary and including potential over the time period, I don’t think that there are even ten other defensemen in this league I would take ahead of Myers. I watch a lot of hockey and I don’t exactly say things like that very often. I guess you’ll just have to trust me on that though.