Flowers Finds His Groove

[CowboyinAmerica 2,889]

 Nothing Wrong With Being A Defensive Defenseman 

 

Manhattan -- For a few years, New York Americans defenseman Lance Flowers was between a rock and a hard place. He was racking up hit totals, but those hit totals were resulting in penalty minutes. So he tried backing down on the hits, but his offense wasn't keeping pace to match his high price tag. The back and forth led to two supremely down seasons in Flowers' second and third years.

 

But now, a little more than halfway through Season 72, Flowers' fifth in the VHL, he seems to have found the right balance. His penalty minute numbers aren't small, but at 90 PIMs (tied for 7th in the VHL), he's felt free to do a bit more hitting and shot blocking. And hitting and blocking he is - Flowers' 164 hits through 41 games is the best among defensemen in the league, while his 91 shots blocked sits fourth, only nine behind first. His offense, meanwhile, has not suffered with this defensive focus, as his 39 points is tied for eighth among defensemen, and his nine goals are already the second-best of his career.

 

Last season, Flowers finished second in Wylde Trophy voting. But his numbers this year on the defensive end have even surpassed last year, and he could be in line for his second Wylde Trophy (and first since his rookie year). And after so many years of struggling, he's happy to see some of his hard work finally take root.

 

"Just like New York's been building to this season, so have I. I'm not going to lie, some of those days back a few seasons ago were frustrating. But I really do think it helped me become the player that I am right now," Flowers recently said at a press conference. "I've had to experiment more with what works and what doesn't in the practice room, a lot more than other players my agency has had. To see it all turn out okay might even be a little bit sweeter, then, because I know the work it took to get here."