No that’s not a fair reflection of what he said. Not surprising that you are once again manufacturing things.
I don’t believe he said he was baffled he was benched
He posed the question and considered it from both sides. This is from the transcript.
“I don't love it. I know that he's a younger player. But I just, for a team that is struggling so hard for offense, and there were a couple of times in that first period where he made things happen.
I mean, to play him two shifts in each of the final 40 minutes, again, that's one that I scratch my head on a little bit.
I see it from both sides. So, if you're a young guy trying to break into the league, you've got to make the most of the shifts that you get. I've noticed him from time to time, but I wouldn't say that he's consistently been a difference maker.
So that's, I guess, taking the coach's side. But taking the player's side, he's used to playing way higher up in the lineup, way more minutes. He's used to being used in more situations with the Calgary Wranglers.
And I think any player, and, Mick, you can agree or disagree, I think you'll agree, any player will tell you that the more you play, the easier the game is to play. And for Matt Vagrid and going from playing, I don't know, 18, 20 minutes a[…]”
From Flames Talk: Postgame: More Scoring Struggles, Jan 24, 2026
https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcas...6440749&r=1464
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