Pat Svoboda on Strengths

[StamkosFan 72]

Pat Svoboda talked about his recent growth and player development, seeming quite proud of what he had accomplished. "I think in spite of my stature I've gotten a lot faster and I'm conditioning every day. I have the athleticism now to match my elite shot, and even that elite shot has gotten meaner. I learned that at the top level, I can't hog the puck the way I did in juniors, so I've been practicing my passing a lot, and I've got so much more finesse going for. I think Dahlberg and I now can play off each other's strengths, which makes for some exciting hockey. I'm also getting better and less lazy in my own end, which should help with all around positioning and maybe even help offensively. It'll help with plus minus for sure, I don't want to be a minus player. And I think I just assumed my size would keep me from getting pushed off the puck but it doesn't; I needed to strength my shoulders and really build that strength not just to stay on the puck but to shoot harder. Not much but just added a touch of physicality to my game, I've practiced a bit of checking just so I'm able to go in the corners and win the puck."