Quote:
Originally Posted by flamesgod
See, I don’t see Huberdeau’s game being neutered by the coach. I see him having a hard time adapting to playing sound defensive hockey as well as being a major threat offensively. I think he’s having a hard time putting them both together.
So many pundits and fans thought Gaudreau wouldn’t mesh with Sutter because he wouldn’t be a “ Sutter player”. That turned out to be complete garbage.
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I agree. Huby and JG aren't really comparable players. Their biggest similarity is that Johnny and Huby are both weak along the boards and lose a lot of board battles. That's not a good recipe for the game Sutter wants to play.
But JG had redeeming attributes to excel in a Sutter system. And JG used those attributes to generate the huge plus/minus we saw from him.
1) JG's had an insane ability to takeaway pucks and force giveaways when the opposing team was transitioning to offense. That's a big parts of JG's defensive game (and offensive game) because the opposition wouldn't even get offensive zone time when Johnny did that.
2) JG was a star at holding possession, which means fewer transitions to offense by the opposing team. And because Johnny was so good at holding possession, he didn't need to be as strong at winning those 50/50 battles along the boards. In contrast, Huby seemed pretty weak at playing a possession game and lost a lot of 50/50 battles. That's the reason he didn't generate sufficient offense in Sutter's system.
3) When the puck was hemmed in the flames zone, JG was weak at accepting breakout passes. Breaking out of the defensive zone is an area where Huby is better. So Huby's defensive play is better than Johnny, but as a winger, that's not a hugely meaningful.
When I watched Huby I was challenged to see a player that could play Sutter hockey this year. And sure, maybe you can change the coach to suit Huby's off-the-rush style. But that style isn't likely to be effective in the playoffs. It's far better to push the player to adapt or trade the player if he can't adapt.