Lombardi, on Boyle

``No, no that was nothing. We're sticking with it. We just wanted to give him a little taste and see where he was at. That was explained to him very clearly and he's on board. The intention is to continue to try to make him a defenseman. He gave us a little look at what he looked like as a center at the NHL, but we're not abandoning that at this stage. As long as things are explained to the kid, which is where communication is critical, I don't believe they get confused.

``You see this in baseball. Seventy percent of your position players were shortstops at one time or another. You see a lot of guys go from third base to catcher. There's constantly this type of thing. Bottom line is, he's an athlete. The whole thing is how you communicate and how he's taught. Because in the end, let's say worst-case scenario...well, not worst-case scenario, but let's just say a year from now he goes back to center. Handled properly, he's going to be a better player. One thing he's going to learn is, it's going to force him, at this stage, to improve his feet, because he's going to have to move forward, backward and sideways. He's going to improve his stick. He's going to improve his read.

``If you go the other way with him, down the road, as a center, for him to be effective he's going to have to be like a Handzus and be really good defensively. This experience, of him playing defense, will only make him better if he has to go back to center and play that role again. And I think it's a really helpful thing and will actually make him better. So, you cover your off side at this point. No, we're not going that route and we're going to stick with it. If it doesn't work, I think it's going to make him a better player.''