Dustin Penner at Joe Louis Arena
Dustin Penner has been playing well lately, and I don't think that's by accident.
There's something about his mental make-up that changes when the team is struggling. Perhaps he feels less pressure and performs better. Perhaps the injuries to his teammates have forced him into a spotlight role.
I suspect the latter. I wanted Penner to be given the A or even the C for this season. Many of the criticisms against him are exaggerated; that he's disinterested, skates lazy, or isn't focused. I think, however, there may be a kernel of truth to Penner being somewhat disinterested during an 82-game season. He is human, and most hockey players, never mind us mere mortals, lose their motivation in a season.
Do you watch game 39 with as much interest as the first few or last few of the season? What about the playoffs? Everyone steps it up. Yes, even Jumbo Joe.
Which brings us back to Penner. Last year, he thrived for a long time when he was The Man on the team. No Hemsky, no Souray, no Visnovsky, a Horcoff that couldn't be traded for a bag of cracked pucks - and that's when Penner played at his best. He tailed off during the middle of the season, and then came on strong at the end.
The very best players in the world have great physical gifts and are able to challenge themselves daily. Michael Jordan is the ultimate example for casual sports fans - he created massive grudges out of the smallest perceived slights. He played angry, furious. Sidney Crosby is the best current hockey example. Every season he improves at some aspect of the game in a noticeable way, to the point where this year there's no Crosby vs Ovechkin debate. There wouldn't be a debate even if Ovechkin was scoring at his usual torrid pace.
Penner has undeniable physical talents. He is, despite appearances, a fairly fast player. With his height and weight he'll never be as agile as an Omark or Gagner - the sheer physical stress of his skates on the ice make that impossible - but he is still above average. His puck handling is quite good and he has a very good shot.
Where Dustin Penner falls from the superstar mould is in motivation. Most players don't have superstar motivation. Oilers fans pick on Penner because he clearly has the tools to be a superstar, or at least a physical power forward, but isn't.
Penner needs to be challenged, he needs to be angry. Maybe Craig MacTavish realized this when he ripped on him every night in the media, but I never liked MacT's public approach and I think it did more harm than good in Dustin's case.
It doesn't seem like Tom Renney knows how to turn #27 from Gentle Giant to Beast Within, but I think over the next few weeks we'll see more of The Incredible Hulk rather than Bruce Banner. Horcoff is still out, Eberle is down, Whitney (our most irreplaceable player) is a long term injury. The spotlight comes on Penner naturally, it's not some coach blasting him publicly and focusing negative attention. I believe Dustin will respond.
I also hope he manages to find a way to Hulk up on his own.
Against a team that can control the puck like Detroit, with their face-off and special teams expertise, the Oilers are extremely weak. A mean, angry Penner playing on the edge can be like the mean, angry Canada the smooth-skating Americans saw at the 2011 World Juniors. There's no slick pass or dangle that will peel your face off the glass once Penner's 6'4, 250lb frame leans into it, his elbow "slipping" from its pinning position on your back and sliding into the back of your head repeatedly.
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