Erik Karlsson was outstanding again in 2015-16 and was nominated for the Norris Trophy as a result. His 82 points (16 goals, 66 assists) in 82 games were an insane total for a defenseman, besting all players at his position while tying Joe Thornton for fourth-most points in the league.
With numbers like these, Karlsson should be happy to just maintain. Instead, he’s taking a new approach over the summer and wants to take his game to the next level in 2016-17.
Erik Karlsson says he will have a different approach to working out and conditioning this summer. Says he wants to take things to next level
— Ian Mendes (@ian_mendes) June 7, 2016
Karlsson: "I feel like I haven't been able to reach my top level in performance."
— Ian Mendes (@ian_mendes) June 7, 2016
Karlsson stated in August that he doesn’t do any conditioning over the summer, opting to do all of his training on the ice instead. Some people questioned his dedication to the team, but can anyone really be upset considering the numbers he routinely posts?
Now, Karlsson admits that his original comments weren’t totally true, but he did take more time off last summer to rest and recover. This year he wants to get faster and take his game to a higher level.
Via TSN.ca:
“I don’t need to be any bigger to do what I need to do,” said Karlsson, who played most of last season at 190 pounds. “But I need to find a way to be as quick as possible, [like] I was when I was 170 pounds.”
Besides working on his speed, Karlsson commented that there’s several things he can work on.
“There are always things you can do better. I don’t believe you can reach your max or there are things you can’t be doing better. I know there are things I can do better to be a better teammate and player and those are things I’m going to focus on. It’s those small steps that I think I can to help myself.”
Can Karlsson really take his game to a higher level? Probably not offensively. He already performs at a level that’s unbelievable for a defenseman and the fact a 100-point season is even remotely possible is just absurd. Defense might be a different story.
Realistically, the Senators probably don’t care how Karlsson performs on defense as long as he’s still putting up crazy offensive numbers. Still, Karlsson is more than aware of the criticism and could definitely elevate his game in this area. Working on his speed would help both areas of his game, particularly when it comes to positioning.
Plan on Karlsson being one of the best in the league again in 2016-17 regardless of what he does during the summer.
