The Opportunity Cost of Max Domi

Max Domi Con: He’s Still a Hothead on the Ice

Back when Domi was drafted, he was considered a wild card. According to a prospect report put out by Hockey’s Future.com, Domi was the kind of player who had more talent than he was letting on.

“Sometimes you watch Domi on the ice dipsy-doodling through an entire roster and you wonder how this kid won’t succeed. But other times you watch him unnecessarily dipsy-doodling through an entire roster as his teammates stand with their sticks at the ready, only to turn the puck over in the neutral zone, and you wonder if he’ll ever get it.”

While the former center has learned how to adapt to coaching styles and plays nicer with others than he once did, though, Max Domi can still be counted on for one thing- difficulty keeping his temper in check.

One of my favorite pictures from the World Juniors Development Camp this summer was taken when the Czech Republic triumphed over Team Canada 5-2.

Domi was involved in one of the dozens of on-ice scrums; while he didn’t walk home with the highest number of penalty minutes (that would have been Brett Ritchie, who walked away from the game with 31 penalty minutes, a fighting major, misconduct, and instigator), he was the last player to leave the overcrowded box before the game ended.

This isn’t surprising- practically half the team ended up in the box, with eighty penalty minutes being handed out in the last period-  but it also didn’t look good for a player known for taking retaliatory penalties. During his 2013-2014 season with the OHL’s London Knights, he walked away from the season with a career high 90 PIM. In November of 2013, Domi only had two games where he didn’t receive at least one penalty.

Domi comes from a hockey lineage known for being emotionally charged. His father, Tie, was a fan favorite in Toronto for his role as enforcer- during the 1997-1998 season, Domi Sr. cashed in his own career high 365 PIM.

The league is stepping away from this, though. Instigators are on the rise- and retaliators are on the fall. Max Domi needs to evolve with the league, or he might do the Coyotes more harm than good.
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