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What is the main problem with the on ice product?
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First of all I want to say that the on ice product this year is a lot better than I expected going into this year.
In my opinion the main problem is that many of our promising prospects stalled after one or two years in the NHL. I guess you can say that about most teams, but it feels/felt like Valimaki/Kylington/Bennett/Jankowski/Dube/Mackey have/had more to give.
You need elite talent to teach and guide more elite talent. I think this is especially showing in our center ranks. All of Bennett, Jankowski, and Dube could've benefited from a veteran number 1 center on their team.
In my opinion this team struggles because it expects its rookies to not make mistakes. In doing so, it essentially stifles their creativity. We all wait for the game to slow down for them to make plays, but it doesn't.
That said, as Sutter demonstrated there's space in the NHL for checking hockey. However, at times you need to create plays the other team doesn't expect. Chaos in the other team's zone often leads to good scoring chances. We don't create as many of these chances because we want to be sound defensively.
Regardless of how things turn out this season whenever we push the rebuild button I hope we get some ex superstars in the lineup, the likes of Thorton/Spezza/Gio/Suter to teach the upcoming kids what it takes.