I see what you’re saying. I disagree, though, that not all players need to be good 4th liners. I think for Sutter, they do. And I don’t think being a good 4th liner is about results for him, it’s about how you play the game.
Pelletier didn’t really “earn” a spot with Huberdeau and Kadri based on production or defensive purity. He made mistakes. But he plays the right way. I think Ruzicka showed a lot of that last year (Had we not signed Kadri i would’ve been happy with him as the 3rd line C) and is more inconsistent this year. It’s on Ruzicka to figure it out and I think he will. Based on Sutter’s history with young players, I think he has a specific development path that he believes works and specific things he needs to see before players get more opportunity. But when he sees it, they’re rewarded. You can call it misusing them, but quite a few young guys have done really well under his watch, and few of them top ten picks.
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