New Jersey Devils rookie defenseman Will Butcher was one of the best acquisitions of the offseason. Now, he’s able to showcase a completely different skill set playing for Team USA in the World Championships.
Will Butcher was the star of Team USA’s first exhibition game against Denmark. The New Jersey Devils’ defenseman scored a goal and recorded two assists. He had points on every single Team USA goal.
It was a great performance, but some things stood out. Mainly, Butcher’s goal came shorthanded. He only played four minutes with the Devils on penalty kill. That’s all season. In 81 games, the Devils put him on the PK for four total minutes. Obviously, he wasn’t able to score a shorthanded point in that ridiculously short amount of time, despite the Devils scoring a league-high 12 shorthanded goals this season.
Butcher’s time with Team USA can show Devils head coach John Hynes he can give Butcher a bigger role next season. Butcher started in the offensive zone 71 percent of the time. Hynes clearly didn’t put Butcher in a position to fail. Comparatively, top defenseman Sami Vatanen only had 51 percent offensive zone starts.
Next season, I expect Butcher to take a much bigger role as a defenseman. He will still have more offensive zone starts than defensive zone starts, but the disparity shouldn’t be what it was last season.
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Butcher can learn a lot in the World Championships. USA coach Jeff Blashill will put him in situations that he isn’t used to. He isn’t worried about his confidence or how it will affect him during the season because the NHL season is over. This is all about winning this one tournament.
Butcher will have a much larger role next season. After playing as a power play specialist and someone to jump start the offense, next season he will be given a bigger role. He won’t have to be a shutdown defender, but expect his offensive zone starts to trend closer to 60%.
Obviously, Butcher can excel in this tournament with less than top talent playing. Most of the best players in the world are still playing in the NHL playoffs. Still, Butcher will be playing in situations against NHL players that he didn’t during the season. He can take what he learns playing for Team USA, and use it during next season.