At one point, Alex Ovechkin was the undisputed best left winger in the NHL, getting named to the first All-Star team in five straight seasons from 2006 to 2010. Then diminishing point totals allowed the likes of Ilya Kovalchuk and Daniel Sedin to make their case, until he switched to right wing last season and won the Hart Trophy.
Now you can make an argument that Taylor Hall is the best left winger in the league or, at the very least, soon will be as he continues to gain experience. Like Ovechkin, however, Hall will also be making a switch in position, as he is likely to start the season as a centre with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on the shelf with a shoulder injury.
If moving Hall to centre is successful for the Oilers—he had a goal 24 seconds into his first preseason game at the position and won 65 percent of his faceoffs—the move may prove permanent, as the Oilers have a wealth of wingers but limited depth down the middle. Unfortunately for Hall, it may have a significantly negative impact on one of Hall's individual goals for this season: making Team Canada for the 2014 Winter Olympics.
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Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Daniel Wagner
How Switch to Centre Impacts Taylor Hall’s Chance to Make Team Canada
September 17th, 2013 by Daniel Wagner Leave a reply »
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