Comparing Sandin's first 20 games this season to last year's; plus, Sandman is about to get a huge promotion due to Rielly's injury
Now that the Toronto Maple Leafs are 20 games into the season, this is a good time to gauge where they are in the standings, and how individual players are performing. One player in particular to look at is Defenseman Rasmus Sandin, who hasn't exactly had the best of starts, but will play a larger role for the Leafs in light of injuries to Jake Muzzin, T.J. Brodie and most recently, Morgan Rielly.
Sandin has played all 20 games for the Leafs this season, registering 6 assists, averaging 16:42 in TOI, and is a -2. That level of production isn't awful, but the Buds are probably looking for a bit more offence from the 22-year-old. Where his play has really stood out this season (and not in a good way) has been defensively, where he has certainly not met team expectations. While Sandin has had a disappointing start, there are some factors to consider that should give hope he will turn his season around.
For starters, he missed most of training camp, playing in his first pre-season game on October 7th, just five nights before the season opener against Montreal. Missing camp can have an effect on the best of athletes, and especially as a younger player who hasn't had consistent minutes over his career, that could definitely cause a bit of a slow start to the regular season.
Additionally, he has had to play a lot of his minutes on the right-side as a left-shot. While Brodie may make it look easy at times, this transition can be difficult for many players, and we are definitely seeing some growing pains in Sandin's game.
When you compare Sandin's production this season to his first 20 games from last season, you'll notice that his start isn't all that bad. The 22-year-old had 7 assists in his first 20 games last year, with a +3 rating and an average of around 16:30 TOI. Those numbers are quite similar to this season's performance, and while you would want a young player to improve after each year, a late start to the season and adjusting to a new assignment on the ice can certainly delay that development.
With the aforementioned injuries to three of the Leafs top-four defensemen, Sandin will be tasked with playing more minutes, likely on his natural side with more power play time, which should improve his production both offensively and defensively. While you never want injuries on your blueline, this could help Sandin gain confidence and find his game, which would be great for his development. Toronto's next game is against the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday and that will be a big test for Sandin and the rest of the Leafs, down 3 pretty important players.
| POLL | ||
NOVEMBRE 22 | 189 ANSWERS Comparing Sandin's first 20 games this season to last year's; plus, Sandman is about to get a huge promotion due to Rielly's injury Will Sandin's play improve now that he has more opportunity? | ||
| Yes | 135 | 71.4 % |
| No | 31 | 16.4 % |
| He was doing fine already | 23 | 12.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
