Former Leaf reveals what stood out about Knies' game the most in his NHL debut
In just over 13 minutes in his NHL debut last night against Florida, Matthew Knies didn't do anything spectacular, but he did show that he can play at the NHL level. Sure, the blind pass in his own zone was highlighted as a mistake, but he was bailed out by Ilya Samsonov and nothing came of it, but he also displayed some of the things that made him one of the top prospects the last few seasons.
On Leaf Lunch this afternoon, co-host and former Leaf Frankie Corrado gave his take on Knies' debut and what stood out to him. "Good player, down low, below the goal line. Won some battles, used his body protect the puck. I liked all that," said Corrado. However, that wasn't what impressed Corrado, "The thing that stuck out for me is that he's a player that can play through contact. That's a separator for me, literally and metaphorically. If you can find a way to play through some contact and create some separation for yourself - it's tight quarters down there. He was really good in that regard."
"As far as that being a separator metaphorically, that's something a coach can look at and say when you need a shift, a momentum building shift, that's a guy you put on the ice...to go chew up 25, 30 seconds...he can separate himself from other players that way. I thought Alexander Kerfoot actually had some chances because of Knies' ability win some puck battles on the wall or below the goal line."
Corrado also had a different take than most Leaf fans did about Knies' most glaring mistake, the blind pass saying, "Mistakes are good, you need to make those mistakes to learn what you can do and can't do." Corrado is absolutely right in that regard, in order for Knies to learn he has to be able to make those mistakes and learn from them, not be stapled to the bench. Especially in a game that means nothing to the Leafs. That will be what tonight and Thursday night will be for Knies as well as he looks to earn a spot on the Leafs' roster for game 1 against Tampa next week.
