I don't know if people remember when Todd Bertuzzi was 23 years old. They used to say that Bert was lazy and wasn't trying hard even though he had the toughness and skill to be a top power forward in the NHL. We traded for him and he found the right linemate and he suddenly was hard working and trying hard on every shift. What i'm trying to say is that Jake will not show us what he will turn out to be until he is 24-26. He plays a type of game that needs maturing. It requires hard skating for a big kid like him, which needs lots of effort and commitment to training. That's where his youth is still behind in. He isn't a mature old soul like Bo and Brock, but a lot of kids at that age aren't. Bo and Brock are the exception. With the right coaching and right amount of tough love, Jake will perfect his training and off ice programming and that will translate to his on ice game.
I have no doubt Jake will be fine. He isn't going to be a 80 point high skilled player, but I know that when this team is gonna have future big game battles in playoffs, we're gonna be so glad to have Jake as one of the main keys to our abilities to win those playoff games. He is going to be a very impactful player. It doesn't have to be high scoring numbers, but it's a combo of hard hitting, closing down the opposition defense and pushing the defense back with his high speed in the neutral zone. Include those things with good share of points and he will be one of the main reasons we will win majority of our games.