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Victor Hedman moves toward elite status

 
Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman leads the team with seven points (three goals) in the first four games.
Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman leads the team with seven points (three goals) in the first four games.
Published Oct. 16, 2014

TAMPA — Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman revamped his offseason training a year ago to prepare for a strong start. He followed with a breakout season, ranking fifth in the league among defensemen in points (55) and tied for ninth in goals (13).

Four games into the 2014-15 season, Hedman is faring even better and entered Wednesday tied for the league lead with seven points.

"Sometimes good things happen," Hedman said.

Hedman has started to string good things together and is impressing opponents around the league.

When Devils coach Peter DeBoer led the Panthers, he watched Hedman mature from the No. 2 overall pick in the 2009 draft into a solid player and now an alternate captain.

"He's turned himself into an elite defenseman," DeBoer said before the Lightning's 2-1 loss Tuesday night.

Hedman scored in each of the Lightning's first three games and had one of the team's best offensive plays of the season. In Monday night's 7-1 win over Montreal, he backhanded in his third goal of the year and fed Steven Stamkos the puck from deep in his zone for a breakaway goal.

Hedman said some of that success comes from his summer training program. He ramped it with more hockey-specific workouts to improve his coordination and explosiveness. He said it helped keep him fresh and that led to his two goals and 10 assists in the final 13 games of the regular season.

Hedman continued the program this summer and is reaping the benefits. This time last year, Hedman had only two assists and six shots.

"It's the coming of age," Lightning associate coach Rick Bowness said. "He just picked up where he left off."

But to focus on his offense ignores that Hedman is, Bowness said, a world-class skater, especially for a 6-foot-6, 233-pound tower.

"I haven't seen a man 6 feet 6 skate the way he does," Bowness said. "East to west, north to south, forward, backwards. It's an amazing thing to watch him skate."

Hedman is also wiser and more mature. He has passed the 300-game threshold some say it takes for the game to slow for defensemen.

Hedman, 23, understands the rigor of the game and has started to mature as a player and a person. He's learned nuances on the ice and off it, such as how to travel with his girlfriend and their French bulldog, Harry.

And now Hedman is trying to take the next step, by playing at a high level consistently.

"There's a lot of little things," Hedman said, "but when you put it all together, it makes a huge difference."

DROUIN WATCH: The Lightning will likely decide before leaving for Vancouver this morning whether to send wing prospect Jonathan Drouin on a two-week conditioning assignment with AHL Syracuse. Drouin, 19, who has been out since Sept. 18 with a right thumb fracture, has practiced with the team for a few weeks but not in contact drills.

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Times staff writer Joe Smith contributed to this report. Contact Matt Baker at mbaker@tampabay.com. Follow @MBakerTBTimes.