Defenseman Brady Skjei is more of a visual learner when taking in things for the first time. It’s a mix of both he said but mainly watching how things are done and then executing.
While he’s been learning in his first season with the Nashville Predators wins have been difficult to come by, but he’s still fervently working to master head coach Andrew Brunette’s system.
“Watching video with the coaching staff has been the biggest thing for me,” Skjei said. “Film is where I learn the best and then taking that onto the ice is big too.”
Skjei’s process to soak up something different has been evident in his on-ice play this season. Since Dec. 27 he’s been on the ice for the third most goals (23) at all strengths by a defenseman in the NHL.
He said after playing man-on-man with the Carolina Hurricanes for the last five years it’s been taking some time getting used to everything in terms of being sharp while out on the ice.
“I’m starting to feel a little more comfortable now. It’s gotten a lot better,” Skjei said. “The man-on-man thing was the trickiest thing at the start to get rid of.”
At this point in the season, 48 games in, Skjei thinks that part of playing for the Predators has been the most challenging since signing this last offseason.
“Yeah, I would say I’m still trying to get better at that and not try to overthink it,” Skjei said. “You’re better in different areas at the game but trying to make some more plays, everything could be a little better that’s for sure.”
It’s been a challenge for Skjei to play against some of the other top players on the opposite side of the ice in games this season, but that’s something the veteran welcomes no matter who is coming down the ice with the puck.
“You play within you’re system but there’s a lot of things, little stick plays here and there, winning puck battles and all of that, that’s not part of the system. That’s outworking the other team and making plays to shut those guys down,” Skjei said.
“I’ve always taken pride in that and I’ve done that for years going up against the other top lines. I have to keep working at it and trusting myself and it’ll be good.”
Nashville is 7-3-0 in their last 10 games and will look to build off an NHL-best 3.80 goals per game since the beginning of the month. However, they’re allowing 3.20 goals against in the same span which is the seventh-most in the league.
Skjei and his teammates are working through not seeing as many wins as they’d hoped for coming into the season.
It’s something that lingers in the locker room and with Skjei on a personal level, knowing there’s more to this team than meets the eye.
“It’s gotten better over the last month or so but we’re just not getting as many wins,” he said. “We’ve been learning, we’ve been getting better and we need to keep pushing to keep going. Every game is huge now so we have to keep going and that’s been the tough part.”
Follow Nick Kieser on Twitter/X: @KieserNick
Photos courtesy of the Nashville Predators
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