Expectations for Alex Debrincat from Blackhawks fans were high coming into the season and thus far he has lived up to them. We all hear and read what everyone thinks about him around Chicago but it’s nice to get an objective opinion from outside the market. I turned to hockey expert Bob McKenzie on Twitter for his #AskBob segment on NHL on NBC’s Wednesday Night Rivalry Night.
I’m a fan of Debrincat and wrote about his success in the OHL on a few occasions last season. In the 312 Podcast Blackhawks season preview episode I said he’d probably be a good 20-30 goal scorer but not a superstar. I just didn’t want to set my expectations for him too high at the NHL level. That’s why I sought out that elusive objective opinion from McKenzie.
He of course mentioned his lack of size but said he has one very special ability. The ability to score. McKenzie noted that Debrincat is already on pace to score more than 30 goals this season (34 to be exact) after scoring 51, 51 and 65 in the OHL the previous three seasons. With that he believes Brinksy can be a 30+ goal scorer every season. To wrap it up, Bob said that Debrincat is going to be a very good NHL player and a “borderline superstar.” You can view the whole #AskBob segment here. This was high praise for Debrincat from a well-respected, great hockey mind outside of Chicago and surprised me somewhat. I knew we had high hopes for him here but I didn’t know if that was a hometown bias. I like going to Bob McKenzie to reaffirm my beliefs but it’s even better when he responds with great news. As a Blackhawks and Debrincat fan I might take this to the bank and pick up that #12 sweater. Follow @Pappy_Hour on Twitter for more Blackhawks news and musings.
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