MacKenzie Weegar isn’t sure why playing on the right side of the ice seems to bring the physicality out of him, but he knows that it does.
It’s just something that’s always been the case, and so it’s not really a surprise that since Dec. 14 when he was paired with Joel Hanley and moved back to the right side of the blue-line, it seems like the Calgary Flames defenceman is throwing a lot more hits.
The numbers back that up. Prior to getting paired with Hanley, Weegar was throwing an average of 6.84 hits per 60 minutes. Since Dec. 14, that number has gone up substantially. He’s thrown 9.23 hits per 60 minutes in the eight games since.
In the one game in that stretch where he was moved back to the left side, against the Las Vegas Golden Knights on Dec. 29, he threw only one hit.
“I don’t know why I’m more physical on the right side, it’s just always been a thing,” Weegar explained.
Weegar’s move to the right side of the blue-line has resulted in a lot more than just more physicality, though. It seems to have brought out the best in the 30-year-old. He’s seeing the ice well, closing his gaps with authority and just generally playing with confidence.
Hanley deserves his fair share of credit for that. While the 32-year-old was in and out of the lineup for the first two-and-a-half months of the season, he’s found his place since being put alongside Weegar.
Hanley’s played in seven of the Flames’ last eight games, and his reliable, responsible style has complemented Weegar and, maybe most importantly, allowed his partner to move back into the position where he’s best.
Weegar’s former playing partner, Daniil Miromanov is right-handed, so the Flames shifted Weegar — who’s also a rightie — to the left to accommodate that. Hanley, meanwhile, is a left-handed shot, allowing Weegar to move back to his natural position.
Hanley provides support
“You ask a lot of defencemen asking them to play on their off-side,” explained Flames head coach Ryan Huska. “We feel MacKenzie is more than capable of it and he’s very good at it. But I do think it’s a little easier when you’re on your on-side. Just how you see the game, how you pick up the puck, the different reads you’re able to make. I think it opens up the game a little for you.”
While Weegar’s offensive numbers aren’t demonstrably different on the right side compared to what he was putting up prior to the switch when he was mostly paired with Miromanov, he’s still managed four points in the seven games after the move.
Hanley explained that he views his role as trying to be as supportive as possible so that Weegar can best utilize his offensive skill set.
“I think he moves the puck really well and he’s really good in transition, so I just try to be a support system for him and be back and be on the defensive side of guys. In the o-zone, try to get the puck to him as much as I can,” Hanley said.
The pair have been solid in the defensive zone, as well, although Weegar was a minus-2 in a 5-3 loss to the Utah Hockey Club on Thursday.
Two evenings earlier, though, Weegar put on a show with two beautiful passes from deep in his own zone to set up goals in a 3-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks. They weren’t necessarily the product of him playing on the right side of the defence, but they were the type of plays that you need to be confident in your game to make.
And right now, Weegar is definitely confident.
“I think going on the right side has helped me a little bit,” said Weegar, who had four goals and 16 assists in 38 games this season entering Saturday night’s contest against the Nashville Predators at the Saddledome. “I’m fortunate to be able to play on the right side, too. It kind of gives me a little confidence going back and forth sometimes. You change it up, you adapt a little bit more, you can see the game a bit differently. It’s worked out well; I like playing on the right side.”