For what it’s worth, as a longtime lurker, I’ll share my thoughts on tonight’s presser. The Flames have been struggling for consistency all season long and the media (and fans) have been looking for a solution/saviour. The amount of fan and media hype that “free Phillips” received is evidence of this (and I’m actually a Phillips fan).
Sven Baertschi came in like fire and all the saviour hype followed and those expectations all but destroyed that kid’s career.
My read is that Darryl is keenly aware of the frustration and anxiousness of the fan base on a season that is going much more inconsistently than pundits and general fans predicted. This need for “Youngblood” to save the season is being exploited/exasperated by the media looking for clicks and quick solutions (Salim, Francis, etc).
Pelletier does not need to be the headline nor the focus as he adjusts to the NHL. I feel as though the fan base and media are looking for the “missing piece” to save this season. I genuinely believe that Pelletier is a player and will be an impactful part of the team in the future, but he is not the only thing the Flames have been missing in order to be successful/competitive. The team as a whole need to be more consistent and effective, rookies and Jakob aside. Without Darryl de-railing this narrative of a highly successfully AHL rookie being the missing ingredient for the success of the season, I worry that the pressure on Pelletier is too much for his future development, just like what happened to Sven.
The kid had a solid debut. He didn’t cause the win. He wouldn’t have caused the loss. The story, especially with all the distractions already, shouldn’t be about one rookie.
Long story short, the Flames played a great game against the Lightening, and while Pelletier executed himself well in his debut, he was not the central story of this game and nor should he have been.
IMO the only flaw with Darryl is that he came across as awkward and clumsy as the media that consistently “reports” on this team.
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