So he's forced to try to protect the puck, chip it in deep or take a low percentage shot.
I don't think I can even remember the last time I've seen Etem either chip it in deep or carry it below the goal line upon entering the zone. This would actually help when paired with guys like Jackman or Thompson since it gives them time to enter the zone and establish a forecheck. Etem instead just shoots the puck that the goalie can easily save and freeze.
Why are we bagging on a 22 year old kid in his second full season for not doing the same?
At no point was I trying to bag on him. I was simply stating what I thought of his current play style. I was just using examples of how certain players worked there way up the lineup and how Etem simply has to go through the same process.
When he's paired with Thompson and Jackman (his other steady partners from earlier in the season), he didn't do dip shit, because they don't produce dip shit either.
This will actually come as a surprise but Etem has spent almost as much time on Keser's line as he has on Thompson's and he has spent the majority of his time with Rackell's. Link is here if you don't believe me, I was actually surprised when I first heard this as well. So it's not just an issue of being paired with guys like Thompson, it's an issue almost anywhere you put him. Basically, what I want to say is that don't expect him to be moving up in the lineup until he can show that he is capable of generating offense both with and without the puck and beating out the guys that are already up there.