DollarAndADream 3,356 Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 A Comparison of Players: Boychuk and Zherdev Edition The draft is coming up, and with that there are a lot of questions regarding who each team will pick for their futures. It will be a big day for each franchise as they try and land a player who they hope will bring many successes in the years to come. Travis Boychuk is gearing himself up for the moment his name gets called to be placed into his next VHLM team. It will be a memorable time, indeed. One thing that has not gone unnoticed, is the comparisons that Boychuk has been receiving to a certain player who has been through the NHL. That player is Nikolai Zherdev. It is no surprise to Boychuk that the name gets thrown around with his, as he has modeled his play after him. Both being from the Ukraine, Travis Boychuk chose Zherdev as his idol. "I watched a lot of his games growing up while playing hockey myself. My father would always tell me that one day I can be as successful as Zherdev is in his career. I hope to be that, plus more. It is nice to be compared to someone as skilled as he is, and I am working to get to that level." Boychuk said about the comparison. ---------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------- Anybody will notice one major similarity between the two players, and that is their skating. The strides in their legs look eerily similar and the power in which they push is a thing to watch. When Zherdev broke into the NHL, he was a speedy winger. Much of the same will be in Boychuk's game. He obtains top speed in quick fashion and surprisingly handles the puck well in this situation. Many players have troubles early on in their career keeping their stick up with foot speed. This is not something to worry about in TB's career thus far. Travis Boychuk possesses a quick wrister not far off from Zherdev's either. The release of which can startle goaltenders in different ways. Being mostly a playmaker in his first VHLM season in Ottawa, he takes many goaltenders off guard. He sat in the shadows of a superstar on the Ottawa Lynx, and with that developed a pass-first mentality. In the upcoming season after he finds his next team, we hope to see him release his shot more. -------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------- Another thing that Nikolai Zherdev has is personality. He has a certain swagger to his stride and is a great teammate to have in the locker room. Much of Boychuk's game in the juniors you could see he was waiting to burst when he got the puck. Teammates on any club that Travis Boychuk is on have said nothing but good things about his confidence and loyalty to his team. It is not difficult to predict that there will be good things to come in Boychuk's future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fire Tortorella 2,653 Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 Nikolai Zherdev has is personality. He has a certain swagger He was only in Philly for a year, but oh yeah. He never really clicked with any of our top 3 lines so we would put him out on the 4th and he would just go out there and do his thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doomsday 4,053 Posted March 3, 2014 Share Posted March 3, 2014 Content: 3/3 - Your name has been getting lost in the shuffle, which I'm sure is making some GMs very happy people. I have the feeling you will be a great pick and have a tremendous career ahead of you and any team would be ecstatic to have you! Grammar: 2/2 - Not a thing, great job! Appearance: 1/1 - Overall: 6/6 - Good luck with the upcoming draft! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ball 453 Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 Claimed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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