Burke (and Hartley) probably would not have told him this after that mistake if Gaudreau wasn't just so impressive and conscientious about his defensive game. As good as Gaudreau has been offensively, he has been an absolute surprise defensively. I watched many of his games at BC, and thought he was a fairly sound defensive player there - though I thought Arnold was that solid defensive presence that did so much for that line. To see him not only be able to translate his defensive game to the NHL, but actually even improve on it (in my opinion anyways) was the biggest surprise of his game.
Mistakes happen to everyone - even 'big' mistakes that sometimes costs games. Gaudreau got the support from Burke and Hartley simply because everyone knows that making big defensive mistakes isn't part of his game that needs to be cleaned up. I think he gets more freedom to do what he does on the ice not because he is a skilled player and the Flames need him to create offence, but because he is such a well-rounded player that seems to really care about his whole game. That is something in common with the rest of the rookies on this team - Gaudreau, Granlund and Jooris. They may all make mistakes at times, but they all play a two-way game beyond their years and experience.
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