Quote:
Originally Posted by JiriHrdina
Given the sample size for all those players - that really doesn't prove much. Backlund certainly got a prominent role as soon as he started playing well.
Again - when Brodie showed he was ready - he got the minutes.
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Not sure I buy that, Jiri.
Brodie started the season a
healthy scratch, and since being injected into the lineup has been the best or second best defender on the roster.
Story of the first 5 games was how well Backlund was playing and how precious little icetime he was getting despite such a strong start. Notable snubs include the Vancouver shootout where he was en fuego the whole night.
Sven Baertschi was on the verge of being scratched after having his minutes progressively cut in each game he appeared in, despite generating plenty of quality scoring chances. He was going to bea healthy scratch until the disaster of a PR move that turned out to be and so was effectively benched seeing less than 5 minutes of ice. Calgary's best prospect, in a year where missing the playoffs is a foregone conclusion.
Roman Horak was arguably Calgary's best player last night and saw half as much icetime in the third period as Blake Comeau. 3 minutes of icetime in the third period, including shifts of 15 and 17 seconds, with bottom 6ers, less icetime than in the first period. He was 50% on the draw. He also had to wait through 2 callups before getting his chance again, after playing 61 games of competitive NHL hockey for this club the season before.
I used to be on board with having young players earn roster spots over vets. I used to echo your sentiments when we were talking about Dustin Boyd or John Negrin or Matt Pelech.
These aren't those players though. We're talking about players that have established themselves as bonafide NHLers who are more effective at their jobs than some of the vets who are doubling their icetime.