Jonathan Huberdeau has been going through a bit of an identity crisis this season. The dreaded sophomore slump has hung heavy over the 20-year old forward. In 24 games this season, Huberdeau has 11 points (5-6-11). While those numbers aren’t necessarily horrible, they are not impressive enough for a reigning Calder Trophy winner. Since his draft day, Huberdeau has been seen as one of the most important pieces in Florida’s future. Drafted as the top player from the QMJHL, and the MVP of the 2011 Memorial Cup, Huberdeau was known for his speed, crafty hands and playmaking ability. His arrival to the Florida organization gave the team a glimmer of hope for a star-power forward they have desperately craved for years.

As a junior player, Huberdeau proved that he had gamebreaking offensive ability. Huberdeau recorded 257 points (104-153-257) in 195 games played, during his time with the Saint John Sea Dogs of the QMJHL. In the 2012-13 lockout shortened season Huberdeau joined the ranks of the NHL after finishing the first half of the season with the Sea Dogs and representing Canada at the World Junior Championship. Huberdeau played in all 48 games of the season, leading rookie scoring with 31 points (14-17-31).

Since his Calder-winning performance, Huberdeau has struggled offensively. A lot of his struggle can be attributed to his  lack of shooting the puck. Huberdeau registered three or more shots in a game 19 times during the 2012-13 season, including a career-high eight shots against Buffalo, on Feb. 28, 2013. He finished the season with 112 shots. This season, Huberdeau has a season-high of three shots in a game, which he has done three times and a total of 34 shots on the season. A victim of doing too much at times, Huberdeau tends to overplay the puck and attempt to stickhandle his way to the net in many situations

Huberdeau is most dangerous in close quarters. The St. Jerome, QC native does not possess the dangerous shot of an NHL-caliber sniper, and is most lethal when he finds himself one-on-one with a goaltender. His lack of size keeps him from getting to the dirty areas in front of the net. Opposing defensemen are able to easily move the 6’1″, 177-pounder off of the puck and out of goal scoring areas. Huberdeau has strong offensive instincts and is clearly capable of both scoring goals and setting up plays as well, but on the ice Huberdeau looks as though he hasn’t quite figured out if he wants to be a goal scorer or a playmaker. He found success last year in shooting the puck and looked as if his play-making persona from his junior days had a little more to offer. Huberdeau had ten games last season where he registered just one shot, while so far this season he has had 13 games where he was held to just one.

Huberdeau got a taste of being a goal scorer last year, and being pegged as “the next big thing” for Florida. While he struggles to figure out his game, the Panthers are struggling on the scoreboard. Florida’s 26th ranked goals per game (2.12) and a 30th ranked power play (9.3%) could really use Huberdeau to generate anything at this point. With the exit of Stephen Weiss in the offseason, and now the exit of Kris Versteeg, the pressure is on Huberdeau to produce some offense. 

Huberdeau has yet to have a multi-point game this season after having seven of them last year. His career-high-multi-point game was against the Philadelphia Flyers last season, where he registered four points (2-2-4).  The Flyers and Panthers face off on Monday and hopefully Huberdeau can find some of the magic he had against the Flyers last season in that game. The Flyers are playing well right now, winning six of their last seven games, and coming off of a 5-2 victory over the New York Islanders. Huberdeau is pointless in three games, but just before that he was riding a three game point streak. This inconsistency is hurting the Panthers needless to say. Huberdeau’s constant want for flashy plays isn’t showing up on the scoreboard the way he’d like, and it’s also earned him 11 giveaways, the most on the Panthers. In order for him to help his team and salvage the season, he needs to step up now by finding the back of the net, and make better decisions with the puck.

He has a chance to make a difference on a team he performed well against last season on Monday, so he should go into the game with some confidence. Huberdeau is still very young and oozes offensive talent. Getting bigger, learning to play two-way hockey, getting back to shooting the puck more and becoming more comfortable playing against team’s top defensive pairings should be on the list of must-do’s for the youngster. A team’s offense should not be placed on the shoulders of a 20-year old. Unfortunately for Huberdeau, without a consistent supporting cast, along with the high expectations of being a top draft choice and a rookie of the year, the spotlight has been on Huberdeau since the start of the season, and will continue for a long time.

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