Quote:
Originally Posted by New Era
At the level he's playing, yes he can be replaced by a number of players. Hudler has been invisible for the majority of the season and has not played with much passion.
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Hudler is third on the team in scoring, on a pace for 55 points per 82 GP, which is actually a bit above his career average (0.67 PPG vs. 0.62). If he can do that while being invisible, then I don't much care if anybody can see him.
As for passion: Anybody can play with passion. The ECHL is full of guys who play with passion. There are plenty of players in beer leagues who play with passion. Talent will get you through times of no passion better than passion will get you through times of no talent. Hudler's talent is still there, and hard to replace. Nobody in Stockton is going to step in and score at a 55-point pace.
Coaches don't give a crap about passion, as long as they get results. Hudler is never going to have another season like '14-15, and if you expect that, you're out to lunch; but he is getting perfectly respectable results for Jiri Hudler.