McDavid, Matthews still growing, Moore says on 'NHL @TheRink' podcast

Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews each is striving to reach his full potential, NBC Sports analyst and former NHL center Dominic Moore said on the "NHL @TheRink" podcast Thursday.

Moore was talking to co-hosts Dan Rosen and Shawn P. Roarke about the window high draft picks have to establish themselves as consistent, well-rounded, top players in the NHL when McDavid, the Edmonton Oilers center, and Matthews, the Toronto Maple Leafs center, came up in the conversation.
"Let's not forget that McDavid and Matthews still have a long way to go in terms of becoming the players they can be as well," Moore said. "I think we've seen them develop in the last few years, but I don't think anyone would say that McDavid is responsible defensively these days. In trying to build a successful team in Edmonton they're going to need him and center Leon] Draisaitl, for that matter, to find a way to be just as productive without giving up chance for chance. I think they've seen issues with that.
"Matthews, I think he's a guy that might benefit from having someone like [Maple Leafs assistant] Manny Malhotra behind the bench now helping him with some of the defensive side of the game, face-offs, things like that. If you ask those stars, I think they would all admit that that's their goal, they want to improve every single day. Everyone has room for improvement, that's part of the march of progress as a player in this league."
In addition to Moore, Mike Maniscalco, the new television voice of the Carolina Hurricanes on Fox Sports Carolinas, joined Rosen and Roarke on the podcast.
Maniscalco talked about his path in broadcasting, a health scare he had last year and why he thinks the Hurricanes are built to win the Stanley Cup in part because they are a reflection of their coach, Rod Brind'Amour.
The podcast is free and listeners can subscribe on all podcast platforms. It is also available on
[NHL.com/multimedia/podcasts
and the NHL app.
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