Blake Lizotte and Brendan Lemieux excited to add Carl Grundstrom to buzzing, physical line
# Blake Lizotte and Brendan Lemieux excited to add Carl Grundstrom to buzzing, physical line
# Contributors
# Players
# Staff
# Summary
Last season, Blake Lizotte and Brendan Lemieux became a pair up front, as they two players carved out a niche on the team’s fourth line.
# Notes and Quotes
Anytime you have familiarity with players, it’s way easier to pick up versus trying to create new chemistry. Coming into camp, for sure some confidence right off the bat with both Pep and Grundy too actually, I played a few games with him last year so we kind of knew what he brought to the table. Right from the get go, it’s been really comfortable. –Blake Lizotte
Yeah, I would say that they’ve become a pair. I thought both of them missed each other when they were hurt last year, for different reasons, but I do see them being a pair. They’re wired in completely different ways, Pep is a big personality, Lizzo is a little more of a quiet personality, but it blends well and that’s the personal part of it. The on-ice part, they both play that tenacious style of hockey, they enjoy forechecking, they don’t have to be cute. Pretty straight and direct production from them and I think they push each other too, they keep each other honest and they push each other. – Todd McLellan
I think Grunny is as skilled as a depth player as I’ve played with and I’ve played with a few highly skilled ones. He makes a lot of really good plays, he’s got great hands and a terrific shot, but I love the simplicity that his game has and I think that’s when he’s at his best. He’s got two guys that complement that simplicity well, but it’s nice to have the guy you know you can get the puck too and he can beat someone 1-on-1 or he can make a backhand sauce pass right on the tape. A lot of guys who play in those bottom six roles don’t have the ability to do that, so it’s an ideal line. – Brendan Lemieux
I think he’s gotten better every year, he’s shown that he’s very capable of playing in high pressure situations, in playoffs last year. Even leading up to that, yeah he wasn’t in the lineup for a couple of nights but there were other reasons for that. We think he can be a full-time player and be an effective full-time player. – Todd McLellan
I think Grundy brings a different element to Pep and my games, he’s shown so far in preseason that his skill has grown and he’s become more of a complete player, especially in the d-zone. He’s a workhorse, Pep and I have both already talked about it and there’s no shortage of work on our line. It’s really nice to have a guy that’s willing to get in there in the trenches with us. It seems like it’s been clicking so far in camp. – Blake Lizotte
Grunny has a little bit more forechecking and a little bit more skating to his game, a little bit more speed in the tighter areas. It’s a bit different, but it actually makes Lizzo and my loads easier as far as skating, it helps us conserve a little bit of energy so that it can be used for more forechecking and more offense. It’s just a different look, you know, Arty is a pure shooter he likes to be high, in different areas and Grunny likes to be lower, in the paint and around the net and digging pucks. It’s a different look but it’s obviously one that works whether we play with Arty, Grunny or not together. I think our games always try to stay the same. – Brendan Lemieux
It’s been pretty good, I played a little bit with [Lizotte] last year too, so I kind of knew what to expect and we’re finding each other well so far, so it’s been good. All of us want to play North-South and play directly. I think that fits us really, really well to play that way. – Carl Grundstrom
We think Grunny complements [Lizotte and Lemieux]. They play, I call it a hunt game, they’re on top of teams, creating turnovers, buzzing, physicality and momentum. It can be really effective, we do trust them defensively, they do good job there. We believe they can be a real good line but when it really gets going, they’re going to have to live up to that. They’re very capable of it. – Todd McLellan