Article content continued

“He was always in such good position. He knew when to go and when to save energy and be smart.”

“Believe me, you play lots of NHL games, and you get that mind-set to read the game. Especially with the game so fast on the ice, you have to be just as fast in the head,” said Klefbom.

“Especially when you’re getting to 27, 29, maybe higher minutes a night. You just can’t go 100 per cent every shift. Less chasing, but be hungry and quick. I watch guys like Doughty, too. He’s definitely not going 100 miles an hour every time he’s out there. The guy’s smart. Even if they play their 29 minutes, they’ve saved energy and late in games, they can still follow up a rush.”

“I think I’m on the good path to be one of those players.”

Klefbom still looks at the game-over scoresheets and shakes his head.

“First time I was over 30 minutes, I thought, ‘Geez, this is how it feels.’ But I actually felt good. I’d read the game well and thought I could have played more. Of course, it depends on the team you are playing. If you get into a game with lots of hitting, that’s different. Some times then, you play 23 minutes and you are very tired when it’s over, with the push-back from the other team, going back for pucks, getting hit. It’s a very individual game-to-game thing.”

The penalty kill would seem more taxing because of the one-on-one stuff, but not to Klefbom.

“Actually there’s more skating side-to-side on a power play. Going wall-to-wall with Connor (McDavid). I have to bust my butt going back and forth. Less physical maybe than the penalty-killing. But they clear the puck down the ice and you have to go 100 per cent to get it back. You have to skate a lot on the power play,” he said.