Do you remember the first time you were taught to use a hammer? Perhaps you were handed a small nail and instructed on how to hold the hammer high up. Then, of course, you finally received permission to start using the full leverage of the hammer by holding the handle further down. Both are helpful, but once things are in place, you need to get more leverage, not continue to tap-tap-tap with a safe grip near the hammer’s head.
Ales Hemsky’s game is, to me, like holding the hammer way down. He doesn’t play the nice, safe “stop-and-start” game that coaches and grinding players take pride in.