Quote:
Originally Posted by Five-hole
Maybe those of you who follow the team closely can answer this. What's up with Sven on line 2? Is it a coaching decision to force him to think 2-way game more than pure offense?
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Sven's play hasn't dictated he be put on the 1st line. Granlund/Reinhart/Jones have outplayed him. Actually up until the last couple of games, the 2nd line was maybe a little far fetched based on his performance. Had he not stepped it up in the last couple of games, I dare say benching wasn't a far off possibility. The Heat are a good team and based on play, Sven could have been pushed out of the lineup for guys who were playing well.
That being said, the last couple of games you can sort of see baby steps in Sven where he's not being a little more physical, he's being more aggressive in his passing and he's fighting for his chances. So the message is getting through.
I believe it's also a mandate from the Flames that he learn a two-way game so Ward is trying to teach him that and get him comfortable in that role. If/when Sven kicks into beast mode where he is an unstoppable offensive machine, then he can be just offensive. Until then he will need to play a 2 way role to make the lineup.