Quote:
Originally Posted by activeStick
Yeah, not buying it at all. A pretty skilled guy named Quinn Hughes is making things happen whenever he's on the ice while playing in the same system and structure, putting himself and his teammates on the ice at the same time in positions to score. This is without mentioning that Pettersson was producing for a whole bunch of games (maybe like 70ish) under this very same coach and the very same system before he then disappeared for what's now a full year, and counting.
It isn't coaching, it's the player.
|
You're not buying what?
The Canucks system this year is different from what they played for much of last year. This system is very much designed around creating off-the-rush chances because that was something the Canucks struggled with and is the way most goals are scored in the play-offs. If there is nothing on the rush they don't want the players holding it into the zone, they want the puck in deep. Adopting this system with no real back-end puck movers or skaters was a big part of why the team was so leaky for odd-man rushes against to start the season.
Unfortunately this core has never been a rush chance team (which is part of the reason for trying to create it). So a lot of the time the team is getting to the blue-line and putting the puck in deep and going to dig it out. The plan when you dig it out is to then move the puck back to the point.
Tocchet doesn't want players like Pettersson (or anyone) making a skilled, possibly high-risk play near the line. He also doesn't want Hughes doing it. You will see both of them dump the puck in at the blue line if a rush chance isn't obvious. The difference is, these are the kind of plays Pettersson made his hay with at the beginning of his career, a quick move at or inside the line to create space.
The one big thing this system does in the team's favour is regularly puts the puck on Quinn Hughes' stick in the offensive zone. The issue is there are usually at-least four other dmen on the team who can't handle the puck so it's often just a dump right back to the same corner the players dug the puck out of.
Is Pettersson's confidence being shot all on the coach? No. He has also been hurt, though his coach coming out and saying that he doesn't think the injury is real probably doesn't help. In the end he'll need to be mentally stronger, but Tocchet contributing to the obliteration of the confidence of skill players isn't a new thing. The only Canucks who have maintained an increase in underlying advanced stats are the guys who want to muck it up along the wall. This is the same way it was in Arizona.