With the season now over, it’s time to take a look back and examine each player’s individual performance. We’ll briefly break it down, and then offer a letter grade for the year. It’s report cards, Nashville Predators-style, from Blum to Wilson. First up: Jonathon Blum.
Jonathon Blum
#7 / Defenseman / Nashville Predators
6-1
178
Jan 30, 1989
Contract: $941,667 until 2011-12 (RFA)
The Skinny: Considered by many to be the top prospect in the organization, Jon Blum was not expected to see much, if any, playing time in 2010-11. The reports out of Milwaukee were not all that encouraging, as Blum apparently struggled to adjust to defending the many stronger and faster forwards.
Francis Bouillon went down with a concussion, though, and Nashville gave Blum the call over the more experienced Teemu Laakso or Aaron Johnson.
The Performance: Blum played in 23 regular season games, being paired predominantly with Kevin Klein. I don’t think it was any coincidence that Klein’s play improved significantly when paired with Blum as opposed to Bouillon. Blum immediately found a place on the 2nd power play unit, and seemed perfectly at home in all situations. Overmatched? Hardly. The hype was legit.
The Grade: It was an abbreviated year for Jonathon Blum, but one that thoroughly exceeded my expectations. Just 21, Blum has already offset, somewhat, the loss of Dan Hamhuis and is a player I expect to see in the Music City for a long time. He’ll be eligible for the Calder Trophy next season, and I fully expect him to mount a campaign for the award. Under the circumstances, Blum gets an A. What say you?
How would you grade Jonathon Blum’s 2010-11 season?
| A | 210 |
| B | 162 |
| C | 12 |
| D | 2 |
| F | 2 |