“Be selfish,” Hitchcock said. “I know what he’s thinking. He’s such a team person, he’s trying to include people, but shoot. We know he can make plays, but his strength is putting the puck on the net, making people nervous when he’s firing the puck.

“I think one of the things he’s tried to do in the preseason is include people in the decision-making offensively. If he’s more selfish in the offensive zone, we’re going to have a better result because he can blow it past people. He can score from the top of the circle. He’s proven that. He’s played well, but now as the season gets ready, we need him to be selfish and every chance he gets, shoot the puck. We want him to shoot the puck.”

“The guy’s come back faster, stronger, determined,” Leopold said. “Look at what he did in the playoffs last year, even in the preseason right now. The guy is a tank. He can shoot the puck with the best of them. He has a great release. You don’t know where it’s going and he gets it off so fast that as a defender, you can’t get your stick on the puck. He’s an ox out there, he really is. You might not think it until you line up against him, but he runs you over once and you really know he’s there. I skated with him before camp started and his first three or four strides are probably some of the fastest in the league. He’s only getting better.”