Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr.Coffee
Well then, case closed.
I wouldn't say that this is necessarily an identity, particularly when the article is chitter chattering about drafting philosophy. So, while yeah, that's great they have a drafting philosophy around drafting smart players, it doesn't necessarily percolate to the rest of the team, does it? Secondly, the quote below from the article (your emphasis):
"I would certainly say that is one of the more distinct changes we've made -- to really prioritize people that have hockey sense the way we define it, and have the ability to think and feel the game so that if their skills are in order, they'll have the rest of the pieces they need to compete at the highest level."
Isn't a very tangible quality to really build on as an identity. You can't even call this Flames team all that "intelligent" on the ice, and it sure as fata isn't intelligent in upper office (from what we can tell at this point).
I mean an actual tangible quality or skillset that you can visibly see and understand. Players being smart or not is first of all subjective and second of all not very measurable.
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I can't really dispute anything you said, but it is what it is. I don't however think there are a lot of teams that talk about their specific identity with the media, or what type of team they are trying to build. It just becomes self-evident over time. The quote was just a way of looking into their heads as they decide on what players to go after and why. That's as close as you're going to get I think.
I will say however that those players they're drafting will percolate to the team in a few years.