Tässä on 4 päivää vanha artikkeli Faceoff.com -saitilta, joka kertoo aika hyvin Atlantan nuorten pelaajien tilanteen.
*************************************************
STEFAN HEATING UP
Thrashers winger starting to rack up points
By GUY CURTRIGHT
As Ilya Kovalchuk's and Dany Heatley's numbers mount as rookies, Patrik Stefan's point total seems minuscule in comparison.
But just because he has only four goals and seven assists in his third NHL season, don't write off Stefan as a bust just yet.
Five of Stefan's 11 points have come in the last two games, with his third assist against Ottawa setting up Kovalchuk's winning goal in overtime as Atlanta defeated the Senators 4-3 on Wednesday.
"We've been looking for this from Patty," coach Curt Fraser said.
"Maybe he's finally ready to take off."
Although overshadowed by the headline play of fellow first-round picks Kovalchuk and Heatley, Stefan has made significant progress in his all-around game. It's just that few had noticed.
Stefan leads the struggling Thrashers (9-27-5-3) with a plus-5 rating, and has a goal and five assists in his last four games. The 21-year-old native of the Czech Republic has been minus in only three of his 22 games and is plus-8 in the last nine.
"Sure, I would like to have more points," said Stefan, the No. 1 overall pick in the 1999 draft. "But I am doing the other things to try to help us win. I think I am playing better."
Finally healthy after a broken jaw and hyper-extended elbow early in the season, Stefan has played with more confidence and determination since spending five games with Chicago of the AHL in a month ago.
"I think going back to the minors was definitely good for him," Thrashers general manager Don Waddell said. "He's competing hard, much harder than before. But he has to do that all the time."
For his first 14 games after returning from Chicago, Stefan centered Heatley ? the No. 2 overall pick in 2000 - and Kovalchuk - the first choice in the 2001 draft.
But Fraser broke up his First-Round Line the last three games and Stefan has picked up his offensive performance.
Playing with Lubos Bartecko and Hnat Domenichelli, Stefan has stepped up to give Atlanta a productive second line. He had a goal and an assist Tuesday in a 7-4 loss at Philadelphia, then matched his career-high with three assists against Ottawa as the Thrashers ended a five-game losing streak.
"It's hard to score goals in the NHL," said Stefan, who had fewer points (56) in his first two season than either Heatley or Kovalchuk (each with 35) is likely to get as a rookie. "It's not easy.
"I know I have to go in front of the net and get more involved in the corners."
But the Thrashers have always considered Stefan a playmaker, not a true goal scorer. He has just 19 goals in his NHL career.
"I think he will always have at least twice as many assists as he does goals," Waddell said.
But the Thrashers want Stefan to shoot more. He has averaged just a shot a game.
"We talk to him about that all the time," coach Curt Fraser said. "He has to be more of a threat to score. He passes up too many chances and doesn't cash in some of the ones he gets."
But no one was complaining after his three assists against Ottawa.
"It's always fun when you do well and the team wins," Stefan said.
LINE DANCE: After breaking up Heatley and Kovalchuk for most of three games, Fraser reunited his prized rookies Wednesday against Ottawa, pairing them with veteran center Ray Ferraro.
"They were just looking for each other," Fraser said of Heatley and Kovalchuk. "They can't do it all by themselves."
But the rookies play too well together to keep apart, despite the Thrashers' need for more than one productive line.
"We have to have two or three lines clicking," Fraser said.