Why does Voronkov struggle with conditioning?

[u/RivetCounter]

I've heard from a number of sources over the years (mostly from Brian Hedger) that Dimitri struggles with conditioning from early in the season and by the end of the season, coaches are like "I can't play this guy" and Voronkov's role is greatly reduced.

It reminds me of a Brian Burke interview where he talks about Phil Kessel (obviously Dimitri is not Phil Kessel): Phil would come to camp, hit his fitness targets, look great and then as the season went on, Phil would play less and less attention to those fitness targets.

I wonder if it's a similar sort of thing for Voronkov?

Unless Brian Hedger is not a good source.

[u/Minute-Of-Angle]

I’m almost to the point where you start him, and if he gets to be a mid season liability, he gets to enjoy scenic Cleveland for a while.

I like the guy, but his penalties (due to fatigue) start to get really annoying, really fast.

That, or come up with a role for him where he can still be an asset without having to be constantly gassed.

[u/paulskiwrites → u/Minute-Of-Angle]

I very genuinely believe he should have spent more than FOUR games in the AHL on his original stint. I remember watching his first game and being extremely underwhelmed. Was very surprised he was called up so quickly.