Three Suspensions For Head Contact Later, Does Aube-Kubel Need To Make Changes To His Game?
ALLENTOWN - There's no doubting that second year forward Nicolas Aube-Kubel has taken several strides forward and took his game to another level after a less than stellar rookie season at the pro level a year ago. He's seemingly found his identity and what he needs to do in order to be successful at the next level - to be a physical force and create space/opportunity for both himself and his linemates.
The results have been overwhelming.
One of the AHL's leaders in terms of points scored at even strength, Aube-Kubel managed 46 points (18 goals, 28 assists) in 72 games without being used on the Lehigh Valley Phantoms' power play this season.
Last year, Aube-Kubel was typically only noticed when making a nifty offensive play - albeit scoring a goal or making a nice move in the offensive zone to create a scoring chance. Fast forward a season to this year, and Aube-Kubel is a much more useful player in all three zones.
Credit is certainly due to the coaching staff for being able to mold the player into a style that will give him the best chance for success at the AHL level and beyond.
What is interesting regarding Aube-Kubel is the fact that he's now been suspended three times this season - all in roughly the last two months - for hits deemed illegal because of contact made to the head.
Does Aube-Kubel need to change anything about the way he plays the game? What's head coach Scott Gordon's take on the result of the suspensions? What's the message from the organization?
After speaking with both Aube-Kubel and Gordon, it's clear what the plan moving forward is.
"I'll say this - just keep hitting," Gordon said when asked about Aube-Kubel's string of suspensions and if anything needs to change.
In fact, Gordon went as far as to defend Aube-Kubel's hits that resulted in suspensions this season.
"None of those hits are dirty hits. Each one of those hits, their player saw him coming and they chose not to respect the fact that he was going to finish the check on them and put themselves in a bad situation. It wasn't him putting them in a bad situation," Gordon explained, adding, "I think if you would ask any GM in the NHL, they would take a player like that. That's willing to finish checks, and do it the right way. He's suffered some consequences down here, but I don't know if the same result would have happened in the NHL."
In an 1-on-1 interview with Inside AHL Hockey after Tuesday's practice, Aube-Kubel chimed in with a similar sentiment as Gordon.
"These are the first three suspensions in my whole career. I think it's just bad luck," Aube-Kubel said, adding that he believes he wouldn't have been suspended at all if the hits didn't result in concussions. "I've always been playing physical. Some guys are never injured in their whole career and get three injuries in the same year. I think it's the same thing. I'm going to keep playing physical, but I don't think I'm going to get suspended again."
Aube-Kubel's Suspension History
March 4th: suspended two games as a consequence of an illegal check to the head of an opponent in a game vs. Hershey on Mar. 2.
March 19th: suspended two games as a consequence of an illegal check to the head of an opponent in a game vs. Providence on Mar. 17.
May 7th: suspended three games as a consequence of an illegal check to the head of an opponent in a playoff game vs. Charlotte on May 5.
When asked if it's easier said than done for a player to continue playing the same way after three suspensions in an almost two-month span, Gordon said that, in this scenario, it isn't hard for Aube-Kubel to continue playing the same way because he's doing it the right way.
"He's not hitting anyone from behind. He's not targeting the head," Gordon said. "Whenever there's contact, and it's hard contact, the player that's getting hit is going to have some whiplash. If that leads to a concussion because you hit the guy hard because you're the stronger player, for me, there's nothing wrong with it. If he was going into these hits leading with his elbow or catching a guy with his head down then that would be a different story, but that's not what's happening. It's pretty clear he's skating at the guy and the player looks at him and decides 'this guy isn't going to finish his check I don't have to worry about it',
"That's part of his game, and for him to be successful he needs to continue to do that."
