Player Evaluation: Marcus Kruger

After entering his first full season last year, Marcus Kruger has been somewhat of an enigma. In his rookie year, Kruger tallied 9 goals and 17 assists for a total of 26 points and a plus-11 in 71 games. His production helped him finish 11th in rookie scoring, keeping him slightly behind a highly touted prospect in Sean Couturier and ahead of alleged blue chip prospects such as Brayden Schenn and Brett Connolly. Kruger saw his ice-time allocated anywhere between the 2nd and 4th line, as well as earning ample opportunities on the penalty-kill and the power-play. He's a good two-way player that has a good read on the play. He isn't necessarily eye-popping because he sticks to meat and potatoes hockey, and that is why Joel Quenneville isn't afraid to utilize him in all game situations. However, at 22 years old, he's far from perfect. His face-off percentage needs to improve, he needs to get stronger on the puck, and he needs to provide more desperation and hunger for ...