Quote:
Originally Posted by Lanny_McDonald
Yeah, he was. You're making it sound like Phillips was stapled to Backlund, which he was not. According to the shift charts Backlund playing with Phillips looks to have been PP related. The shifts and time on the ice don't match up otherwise.
Backlund is never sheltered but that doesn't mean anyone who takes a shift with him is not sheltered. If you have a young guy you want to protect their defensive deficiencies you play them with your most responsible player. Phillips was played in situations where he could most succeed. Offensive zone starts with players that could cover his ass. It's why he played mostly with Lewis (according to shift charts) and then Backlund on PP2. You're right, its logged, you just have to read the logs and not rely solely on the summaries.
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The definition of sheltered is keeping them away from top opposition.
Backlund is certainly well established as a guy that helps to develop young players, but anyone playing with Backlund is on the ice against the best of the best, and therefore isn't sheltered.
Tkachuk is a special player, and was able to play that role with Backlund for a huge chunk of minutes.
Phillips only did it for 8 minutes so who the hell knows, but he certainly wasn't sheltered in his five on five time in Calgary (totalling 12 minutes).