Quote:
Originally Posted by GioforPM
But wasn't the original issue with the coach that he wasn't making an attempt to be a little more rounded? Sorta Sven-like?
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The difference is that Drouin is on another talent level than Sven. No other teams are expecting a player like Druoin to spend years developing two way play, that quite frankly they will rarely use. It's like when Tortorella had the Sedins killing penalties. The Sedins should be taking offensive zone starts and never killing penalties.
When it becomes apparent that you do not have the talent to consistently produce in a purely offensive role, that's when you need the two way game to survive.
I've stated it before, and I actually support Drouin in this. In a league where players hit their primes at 21 and start to fall apart at 26, a player like Drouin cannot afford to spend 2-3 years learning how to play on a 3rd line. Doing so is pure mismanagement.
The fact that it's Yzerman pushing this is even more baffling. Yzerman was given first line minutes in his first year in the NHL and the role of captain after 3 years. I'm not comparing Drouin to Yzerman, but Drouin's roughly .5ppg stats in his limited role surely warranted more exposure on the top lines and not 2nd and 3rd stints in the AHL.