Boone Jenner self made man

[yave1964]

Boone Jenner is my favorite player in the game today not wearing the winged wheel. Usually I latch on to defenseman for that role, guys like Shea Weber but Jenner is it. He simply plays the game the right way. 

 

  He was drafted by the Jackets and came up through theri system, after a couple of decent years as a bottom liner he burst on the scene in 2015-16 with 30 goals. The season damn near ruined him because it set up expectations that he simply will never be able to reach. 

 

  I have watched him since he joined the league, he was an awful faceoff man, he had this weird kick thing with his right leg which seemed to always leave him offbalance on faceoffs, Tortorella fixed that and he is now among the very best in the game in the dot. In spite of that Torts kept moving him to the wing because he is a poor passer, he lacks vision so he kept getting moved to the wing under Torts never complaining or taking a shift off like Dubois but then injuries or poor play by other centers would move Boone back into the middle where he would win faceoffs, crash bodies, do whatever needed done. He has settled into a role as a 15 goal 40 point guy who can bounce up and down on any line, playing center or either wing with equal efficiency.  

 

  what is different this year is coachBrad Larsen has more or less told Jenner that he is the top line center along with sniper laine and the soft passing hands of Voracek. He is to win faceoffs, set up the play, move in front of the net and crash bodies. He is playing over 20 minutes a night in all sitiations, is winning an insane 65.6 percent of his faceoffs playing against other clubs top lines, is diving to block shots, he blocked a shot by Raymond last night with his shoulder when he dove in front of it, jumped up fired the puck down ice and started an instant transition. He won 14 of 18 faceoffs mostly going against Larkin who is no slouch in the dot. He is playing the power play which is something Torts never let him do. In his breakout year he had 9 power play goals, in the five seasons since, playing for Torts he had 6 total. Torts said he was too valuable to use strictly as a scorer and he never complained, he just did the job asked of him.

 

  He has been awarded a long term contract, the captaincy and centering the top line with two players that quite frankly are perfect for his skill set. win the faceoff, get it back to Jake, crash the net wait for the pass to Laine and the one timer and be there to clean up the garbage. His two goals to start the year in three games totaled about four feet at most.

 

  So he started as a lousy faceoff man with poor vision who could shoot, he now is a great faceoff specialist who can play in any situation who through hard work is playing some amazing hockey, and playing it the right way. Love the kid, hope he has a brilliant year. He could finish top ten in faceoff wins and hits with over 200 shots. The points are an added bonus to his game, not that important some guys live to pad their stats, he is the opposite of them but a 60 point season is certainly possible. Just love to watch him play.