It's true what people say, there is no substitute for hard work. Jonathan Drouin has shown us for a lot of years that you can have all the skill in the world but if you are not prepared to build up your body, prepare to receive hits, forecheck, backcheck, you will not go very far in the NHL.
I think we are also seeing that the opposite is true, at least as relates to MSL's coaching strategy. He expects players to make reads and make good decisions in order to bring offence. Where as other coaches create set plays where bottom 6 guys can have success, it's just not the way MSL coaches.
Unfortunately there seem to be some casualties along the way. Jake Evans and Joel Armia for example are having their worst offensive seasons since coming into the league.
We are also consistently hearing how MSL is asking Anderson & Gallagher to change their game to be more creative and make better reads, spend more time with the puck when they get their touches.
Clearly there is a mold for a 'MSL player" that marries a minimum level of Hockey IQ with skill and hard work; Suzuki, Caufield, Dach, Monahan, Hoffman (yes even Hoffman), Slafkovsky, Guhle, Harris, Kovacevic all fit into it.
Dvorak, Evans, Armia, Drouin, Dadonov clearly do not.
Gallagher, Anderson, Pitlick all seem to be MSL improvement projects now, meaning he sees something in them and feels he can help them get better, which is great, but unfortunately the rest of those guys have moved from "Role Players" to "Liabilities"
Jake Evans, man one of my very favorite Heart & Soul players, is just lost under MSL's "concepts". He needs to get out of the lineup in favor of someone like Anthony Richard in Laval.
I know Dadonov has been playing better of late, but here's the lineup I would try going forward
EDIT: If Hoffman is out, bring Evans back into the lineup
I agree with most, especially Evans, but I think Dvorak is just a slow starter by nature at this point. He did the same thing last season as he did at the beginning of this season, but now he's got 9 pts in his last 11 GP after being scoreless in his first 7 GP. Last season after coming back from injury and after the coaching change, he had 17 pts in his last 19 GP.
This isn't going to be popular but I would rearrange the D a bit. I hate to split up Guhle-Savard but I would rather see a top 4 of Guhle-Matheson, Harris-Savard and Eddy with Kovacevic. I just think that Guhle can learn a lot more from Matheson about playing a 2-way game with Mike, than he can with Savard and Harris can have a lot more freedom to roam with Savard then he will get with Kovacevic. Also Eddy can mold Kovacevic and Xhekaj to be better future shutdown D then having either paired with Harris or Guhle. It just provides more room for growth for our young guys.
I agree with most, especially Evans, but I think Dvorak is just a slow starter by nature at this point. He did the same thing last season as he did at the beginning of this season, but now he's got 9 pts in his last 11 GP after being scoreless in his first 7 GP. Last season after coming back from injury and after the coaching change, he had 17 pts in his last 19 GP.
This isn't going to be popular but I would rearrange the D a bit. I hate to split up Guhle-Savard but I would rather see a top 4 of Guhle-Matheson, Harris-Savard and Eddy with Kovacevic. I just think that Guhle can learn a lot more from Matheson about playing a 2-way game with Mike, than he can with Savard and Harris can have a lot more freedom to roam with Savard then he will get with Kovacevic. Also Eddy can mold Kovacevic and Xhekaj to be better future shutdown D then having either paired with Harris or Guhle. It just provides more room for growth for our young guys.
To be really honest with you, I'd like to see Guhle play on the 2nd pair AND get some power play time. I hate hearing these Ottawa fans talk about how much better Jake Sanderson is. If Guhle did not have to carry the mail defensively, he could well and truly make a dent in the Calder trophy race and that's what I want for him.