Quoting: exo2769
I agree with most of what was said in the description. Most of those bullet points are just different illustrations of line combinations being the problem. I agree with you about Kualbik. He would be GREAT with Saad/Toews. I want to see that next game for sure.
I would tend to agree with
@HatterTParty about Nylander and Dach with respect to no shame being on the 3rd and 4th line. Our reasons as to why we agree with Nylander/Dach being on the lower lines are different...I'm not seeing Smith being better than Dach… BUT, Dach and Nylander and finding more success in the bottom 6. They're scoring points and heck come playoff time 3rd and 4th lines are huge difference makers if they can contribute. If those guys can succeed as rookies down there...I do believe that's a good thing both this year AND the long run. They're both skill guys and can be in the top 6 at some point, but lets not force it. Keep the opposing team's Shutdown lines...FAR FAR away from the rookies. Kane/Debrincat/Strome can handle shutdown players.
Quoting: Stan_Bowman
I don’t like Dach only playing 10 minutes a night. I think he would benefit from seeing a bit more.
Just for the record, I’m not saying Smith is better than dach. That’s definitely not the case. However, I would argue that smith works much harder than dach. That mostly can be attributed to his experience and dach’s youth. That being said, it stands as the reason I believe dach is starting to get better results.
Also, the minutes issue. This is an issue on Dach I will absolutely agree with everyone on. I do believe dach needs more minutes, regardless of his performance or how the coach feels. Simply put, at 18, he should be playing every second he can get. This is by far the most vital component in his development. I’m not saying he’s gonna be harmed in his development by this, but I am saying I am gonna be concerned going forward if this trend continues. As far as I’m concerned, if this was always the plan (7-10 minutes per night), then why did keep him up at all??? I really fear part of the answer is Stan fearing for his job and needing the pick to matter now, but this isn’t the way.
The combo of these two topics brings me to another tiny issue that is festering in my head. I know I show very little faith in dach. However, one thing i still haven’t been sold on with him is his ability to play in the top six. Not because his skill isn’t good enough, it really is. However, I still see him lacking the work rate it takes to dominate and control games. Smith and carpenter were PERFECT linemates for Dach because they handled so much of the work for him. Obviously, the 2nd is untouchable. I’m still hoping that top line is gonna be toews saad kuba. If one of them is injured, though, I really don’t think dach is good enough with his work ethic (YET) to replace them.
Admittingly, this is something I’ve feared for a while. Dach’s work ethic is something that been lacking since we drafted him. I still don’t think he’ll get any faster than he is now, but mix that with his work ethic, I don’t know how he can take over games the way they want him to. That’s what a top six player needs to do.