What does skilled team mean?
To me a skilled team it is a team full of players that can execute on opportunities.
McDavid and Draisatl do this consistently. The rest of the Oilers rely on them and the ice time crumbs from their table.
If you consistently give them looks they will consistently capitalize.
I believe Sutter’s strength is in taking guys with very high hockey sense who “can” execute at an elite level, but not with the consistency of a Matthews or McDavid, and then inverting that hockey sense into applications for defensive hockey.
He can help players take the ability to read a play and reacting to it defensively by comprehending what the offensive options in a situation on the ice and smothering them.
He was able to take guys like Roenick, Amonte, Damphouse, Conroy, Carter, Kopitar and make them better or elite defensively.
I think he sees huge potential in Lindholm, but the question is whether or not the players buy in.
It can be a tough subject.
Bowman gets celebrated for turning Yzerman into a Selke winner, but less celebrated is his work with Serge Savard. When Bowman approached Savard about playing defensively Serge took it the wrong way and it took Bowman time to communicate what he actually meant.
Years later, when he broached the subject with Yzerman he was able to do discuss the same topic more effectively.
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