Pelech Pitching In Offensively

The secret is out on Adam Pelech - and probably has been over the past three years - as the NHL has taken notice of the effectiveness of the Islanders defenseman.
Pelech's usually thought of as a stay-at-home stalwart, someone who breaks up plays with his stick, plays physical along the boards and blocks shots. While all of those are true, part of Pelech's continued evolution has been on the offensive side of the puck.

That was on display in Montreal and Winnipeg, as Pelech started a pair of sequences that led to Islanders goals, hitting forwards with stretch passes from the defensive zone.
"With Pelech, you think of all those pokes and pushes and all of those things he does with his stick," Head Coach Barry Trotz said. "He's got such a great stick and anticipation, you sometimes forget how he has the ability to swivel his hips and get out of danger and make a stretch play, or a play in danger."
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In Montreal, Pelech went right up the gut, hitting Anthony Beauvillier in the neutral zone with a quick pass from the Islanders end. Beauvillier accepted the pass, spun around and sprung Brock Nelson, who went one-on-one with David Savard, picked up a touch-pass from Kyle Palmieri and buried the first of his four goals in the game. Pelech didn't get an assist on the play, but he certainly started it.
Two nights later in Winnipeg, Pelech pulled off a similar play. Deep in Isles end, the defenseman intercepted a Jets shot, skated the puck out of danger, spotted Palmieri up by the Jets' blue line and hit him with another home-run pass. Palmieri touched it over to Nelson, who streaked into the zone and beat Eric Comrie stick side to put the Islanders up 2-0 early in the third period.
Trotz said it's an underrated part of his game, as far as the rest of the league is concerned, but not for the Isles, who locked up the defenseman for another eight years earlier this summer.

"We know how good he is in terms of those things," Trotz said. "He just plays defense. He does what he does. He's very effective and gets us out of trouble, gets us in the offensive zone."
Pelech had showed some more creativity and confidence with the puck last season, when he had 14 points (4G, 10A) in 56 games, which was one goal shy of his career high. He skated the puck end-to-end shorthanded against the Washington Capitals, winding up for a slap shot in full stride and powering it past Ilya Samsonov. There have been more subtle plays, like drawing Kevin Rooney towards him in the defensive zone before stopping, putting the puck off the boards and going north, leaving Rooney behind in a game against the Rangers.
"When people see his defensive game, which is elite, but he's got pretty good instincts with the puck offensively," Ryan Pulock said. "He can make some pretty good plays in the o-zone. He's overall a good hockey player who sees the ice well. As he continues to grow his game, you could potentially see more offensive play out of him."
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It's not a total surprise, given Pelech had more of an offensive role in the Ontario Hockey League, with 54 points in 60 games on a stacked Erie Otters team - featuring the likes of Connor McDavid - in 2013-14 . The recent uptick could have something to do with Pelech playing with Scott Mayfield instead of Pulock, who typically carried the offensive load when the two were paired together.
"Pulock will use his legs rather than just divert over to his partner, he'll carry it or make a quick play," Trotz said. "Pelech is best when he gets the puck and escapes pressure and gets the puck to the forwards and complements the rush, not always leading the rush. He's a defender first - and an elite defender. That's his strength, but his ability to escape pressure, get you out of trouble and get the puck to the forwards, that is probably a little more evident playing with Mayfield than Pulock."