There certainly remain some holes to fill before training camp starts on Oct. 3, but the Condors filled a sizeable gap on Tuesday when they announced defenseman Kevin Truelson will be returning for a fourth straight season.
Truelson is an offensive-minded defenseman: he skates well, has good stick handling skill and has a heavy enough shot from the point to quarterback the power play. He has led the Condors in scoring by a defenseman for all three of his previous seasons, has been in the top-five league-wide for defenseman scoring the past three seasons and has been tied or had the outright lead for the top plus-minus stats on the Condors for all three of his seasons.
Yet, there are a faction of fans who will find fault with the signing, basically because the 6-1, 208-pounder doesn’t play a physically pushing game. Especially in his own zone. These fans have let it be known they would rather see defensive-minded D-men.
Memo to those fans: Defensively responsible offensive-defensemen are few and far between at any level of hockey, usually command top pay and are a crucial element to the success of a team.
Hockey is a team game filled with role players. Not every center passes like Wayne Gretzky; not every right wing is a bruiser such as George Parros,  not every left wing can light the lamp like Luc Robitaille and not every offensive-defenseman plays like Chris Pronger.
Sure. There are times it would be nice to see Truelson take the body a bit more in the corners, but his plus/minus numbers, when compared to other offensive-minded defensemen, prove he is responsible in his own zone. He may not be physical, but he’s doing his job. He has had the fourth-best plus/minus numbers among the top 15 defensemen in points each of the past two season.
When crying about Truelson, fans might think of this: Two seasons ago Truelson had 51 points in 66 games and was a plus-14 while taking just 40 minutes in penalties. Fresno defenseman Cory Murphy had 48 points in 68 games and was a minus-14 while amassing 96 minutes in penalties. Truelson led the Condors in plus/minus; Murphy had the third-worst plus/minus on the Falcons.
Who do you think was a more valuable asset to their team?
And then ask yourself: Are the Condors better off with or without Truelson?