Quote:
Originally Posted by belsarius
I am trying not to look at the pressbox as a reward/punishment thing with a rebuilding team and more as a developement tool. I was watching Baertschi and from game 1 he was working his bag off and putting in the time, to focus on the defensive side of the puck. In the few games before he got benched he was becoming more of a "safe" player. More dumping into the zone, more peeling back early. And there is nothing wrong with that, but in the same way Edmonton has ruined their youth by not giving them the training defensivally I think Baertschi and Backlund have both been too focused on that.
When people talk about sending kids back to junior there is always talk about confidence and losing it on the big stage. Baertschi to me looked like a player losing his offensive confidence, he wasn't trying to beat guys one on one, he wasn't taking the play to his opponents.
While a veteren will work through it, a rookie needs a more restrictive approach so he doesn't work himself down. I trust that the coaching staff understand the best method to use with their players.
The pressbox for young guys isn't meant to be "you are playing bad and are punished", but can be more of a "you could be better, take a new perspective and refocus on what you need to do."
I stand by Baertschi looking way more comfortable and confident since then and I think it may just do the same for Backlund. Hartley and the team are not only building a culture, but also training these guys to be complete players, not one sided dynammos.
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Agree with most of this except for the bolded. I can remember 2 sick dangles through a couple defenders the last 2 games, and a sick backhand feed to Hudler. Had he (or Hudler) scored it would've been highlight of the night material. Baertschi is at his best when given time and space. He's still has his issues with board battles due to his size but it has improved a lot since opening night.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Parallex
Yeah... I'm pretty much done with Hartley.
This thing with Backlund is the proverbial straw breaking the camels back. Gives MacDonald to many starts off the bat, then demotes and Benches Sven, then demotes and benches Backlund, then put's him back in the line-up in the worst position to address what he said he was benched for, does nothing to vets playing worse then either of them.
Just done with him.
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Hard to argue with results. MacDonald wasn't lights out but we opened the season with points in 5 straight. If it ain't broke ...
Quote:
Originally Posted by _Q_
I've always been a big supporter of Backlund, but to be quite honest, his career has been a bit disappointing. I think he's quickly going into Kobasew and Saprykin part 2. He needs to show us more.
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Yeah, I dont think he's ever going to become the offensive threat he was scouted to be but if he can settle into a role as a defensive forward with face-off capabilities who has flashes of some solid offense he will still be really valuable.