so forwards play in all three zones (offensive, neutral, and defensive zone). the way they play can generally be characterized as offensive or defensive. a “two way center” is someone who’s good on all two hundred feet of the ice, can produce offense as well as being defensively responsible and not making sloppy mistakes that lead to goals for the other team. for whatever reason you often hear this term applied to centers, who in general don’t usually score as many goals as wingers; their focus is more on setting up the play than necessarily scoring themselves. (consider: the selke is awarded to the ‘best defensive forward’ but it’s usually also a forward who puts up a lot offense and it’s almost never awarded to a winger.)
nick is what you could consider a two way center in that he has a lot of focus on both the offensive and defensive sides of the game (although he’s been having some growing pains in the latter part of this current season, he started off showcasing those abilities in a pretty stellar way and he was a scoring machine in juniors). the best thing about his game is his hockey iq, and part of that is passing. he has a really good vision for where he needs to be on the ice, and where to pass to get things moving for his linemates.
but at this level at least, i’m not sure if nick is ever going to be the kind of player who shoots a lot (even tho as evidenced by his last two games and arguably by his juniors career he’s got a pretty accurate and wicked shot). it could be argued he should shoot more (if you look at his stats per game he usually averages like 1-3 shots on goal), but the way he plays is more about looking for the right opportunity and passing if he needs to to set up his liney for a goal. this is why you see a lot of assists and josh anderson having a lot of goals in the beginning of the season. he likes to wait for a good opportunity rather than just throwing every puck he can at the net.
the thing that’s really exciting about his game are the defensive aspects of it and that you can see those little moments in both the offensive and defensive zones. if you have a subscription to the athletic, i really love this article arpon wrote with a video review of the way nick plays when he’s playing well. it points out the things he does well: hustling back to break up plays by opponents, making a backhand pass that turns a potential forecheck by the opposing team into a scoring chance for montreal, etc. stuff even when he doesn’t have the puck like:
would really recommend that article if you have a sub, because the text + accompanying video is invaluable to being able to picture this.
stuff like trying trying to help carey with that miracle save would be considered defensive play, the same way backchecking to get the puck away from the opposing team would be considered defensive.
here’s a video clip that highlights some of the things he does well defensively while also creating offense. he gets through the defenders and keeps the puck, the way he positions his body to keep it: that’s all defensive. but the scoring chance is offensive.
here’s another analysis of both nick and kk’s play with video that you might find useful (no sub necessary), although written at a time where nick’s play was struggling a little. one of the defensive things he does well is cutting off the other team’s offensive zone time by making a pass that turns into a rush and scoring chance for montreal, etc.
obviously there are growing pains and he’s still learning but you can see flashes of what he’s gonna be when he matures. he’s got a really high ceiling due to his hockey brain and he’s a really exciting player to watch.
also: two older but really excellent athletic articles with extensive video about his brain and the way he plays: 1, 2.
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