Quote:
Originally Posted by Savvy27
The strange thing is that he has had some success as a coach in the past going with young guys. In 2003-04 he played quite a few young players a lot.
Matthew Lombardi - 22yo - 79GP
Oleg Saprykin - 23yo - 69GP
Chuck Kobasew - 22yo - 70GP
Robyn Regeher - 24yo - 82GP
Jordan Leopold - 24yo - 82GP
And in 2013-14 in LA he had two 21 year olds in Pearson and Toffoli playing regularly.
I suppose he actually has played Valimaki a ton and it could be that he just doesn't like Kylington. Without a training camp, maybe Mackey, Phillips and Ruszicka just had no opportunity to make an impression on Sutter for him to see them as players who can help the team win. Probably doesn't help that the Heat had a horrendous season.
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TBF, Oleg was gone the next year, and Kobasew and Leopold only lasted 2 more seasons with Darryl before he cut them loose. Lombardi lasted until he was traded for Jokinen. I’m not sure a 5 year vet like Reg counts.
There’s always examples of young guys he likes and plays. Gio, Dion, Doughty, Muzzin, But they seem to be exceptions, and against his preference.