Option 2:

Throughout his hockey career, Marek Carda has been praised for his awareness and general hockey mind. He’s often used his brain to either keep up with or take control of the play throughout his ascension to the SHL level, oftentimes leaning on it to compensate for other areas – most notably physicals, where he was behind developmentally until only recently. Given that he is a heady player, he is often quick to assess both those on his own team as well as the opponent and can make snap decisions on how to counter what anyone is bringing to the table – which evolves on a game by game or opponent by opponent basis. Sometimes tight coverage is required, while sometimes Carda will back off and let the opponent come to him. Sometimes it’s about giving or taking away space in the right areas or forcing the opposition into pick plays. Marek’s second most notable trait is his work ethic. Once again, like his brain, he grew up as one of the less skillful players and made up for it in other areas, including outworking everyone else. He used a combination of hockey instinct and brute force to get this far into his career and so far, it’s paid off. There may be a time when more responsibility falls to him in the SHL and he’ll need to add more skillful elements to his game, but it is not this day. For now, out-thinking and out-working the opponents is still paying off in third-line matchups.