"He's a natural centerman. That's what he grew up playing. That's what he's played his whole life. He's been moved to the wing in Florida's organization for parts of his time in the American League, he can play the wing, but we think there's potentially a centerman there at the NHL level. And so I liked it a lot. I'm looking for any opportunity I can get him in the middle of the ice to see what that looks like."
"A third-round pick of the Florida Panthers in 2020, Sourdif spent time at both positions while with the AHL's Charlotte Checkers, something Washington brass got to see up close in May when he faced the Hershey Bears in the Atlantic Division Finals. Capitals assistant general manager Ross Mahoney cited both Sourdif's positional versatility and his strong play in Hershey when discussing the decision to acquire him this summer for the relatively high price of a second and sixth-round pick."
Justin Sourdif took shifts at third-line center as Washington shuffled its lines following a poor start. He committed a critical tripping penalty in the third period but otherwise showed traits of a natural centerman who also can play wing. Washington acquired Sourdif from Florida after he split time between center and wing in the AHL and impressed during the Hershey series. He has mainly skated on the fourth line with Nic Dowd and Brandon Duhaime and generated strong five-on-five underlying results: 60.9% of shot attempts, 59.6% of expected goals, 61.8% of scoring chances, and 72.5% of high-danger chances.
Read at RMNB
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