Sunday, September 1, 2019

Anthony Beauvillier: Two Autographed Cards

(As per years past, this is a twin-post with my "regular" blog, where I predicted the Isles would finish second in the Metropolitan Division in 2019-20).

Anthony Beauvillier seemingly took a step back in his age 21 season in Barry Trotz' defensive system, but he learned the fundamentals that will help him going forward. An offensively-minded centre in Juniors who was a two-point-per-game player after being drafted, Beauvillier made the New York Islanders' roster as a winger, for the simple reason that there were already three first-round centres already on te team in John Tavares, Brock Nelson and Ryan Strome, and in time he seemed to develop chemistry with Josh Bailey and, eventually, Mathew Barzal.

Now in his fourth NHL season, it'd be surprising to see him start facing off against lifelong centres, so it's likely he'll remain on the wing, where his playmaking skills might only go utilized on the powerplay. He does remain an excellent shooter though, and with a 20-goal season already under his belt, it's time he set his sights on the 30-goal plateau, which he could reach at least fibe or six times in a 105-year career in my opinion, with a high of around 35 or 36.

Think of him as a second-line version of the Florida Panthers' Jonathan Huberdeau and you're close to what his upside can be. The Islanders signed him to a two-year bridge deal expecting a breakout season soon.

Here he is wearing Team Canada's red (away) uniform on card #34 from Upper Deck's 2016-17 Team Canada Juniors set:
He's wearing the #21 jersey, which is perfect for my Team Canada Numbers Project.

And here's a great three-picture card showing him with the Isles:
It's #120 from Upper Deck' 2017-18 Series 1 collection.

He signed these in blue sharpie during the 2018-19 season, but I alos have some that he signed this summer at a charity event that I'll feature eventually.

No comments:

Post a Comment