gehringer_2 Posted October 8 Posted October 8 (edited) 9 minutes ago, Mr.TaterSalad said: I think the Wings will yet again miss the playoffs yet again and that isn't necessarily the worst thing in the world. They are doing what I wanted them to do and that is give the young guys playing time to see what we have. Doing this over giving the washed up veterans, where we already know what we have, unnecessary playing time. So I cannot criticize Yzerman and this coaching staff for that. I was happy as hell to see the likes of Finne and MBN make the roster. So if they miss the playoffs, but the young kids are taking significant steps forward and they get better throughout the season, I'm ok with that. I don't think that any of us could have suffered through another year of bad hockey and missing the playoffs due to the likes of Holl and Gustafsson stinking it up on the roster. I'm also going to assume that part of the shift in the willingness to bring the young guys up is McLellan being more on board with playing them. I'd have to guess the two previous coaches being newbies probably were more risk averse than McLellan - (for what good it did them). Edited October 8 by gehringer_2 Quote
Shinzaki Posted October 8 Posted October 8 I think the way Montreal... and to a lesser extent Columbus...had success incorporating younger talent last year may have also changed some of the Wings thinking. If Lane Hutson can be sheltered...why can't ASP? Quote
buddha Posted October 8 Posted October 8 i think having the younger players on the team gives them a better chance to make the playoffs. i'm not saying they'll make it, but they have a better chance if they get improvements internally from younger players than relying on older average players to continue to be average. 1 Quote
lordstanley Posted October 8 Author Posted October 8 I think the Wings will sneak into the playoffs. That's all I can ask for now. Then things should get more interesting. Quote
Jason_R Posted October 8 Posted October 8 2 hours ago, gehringer_2 said: I'm also going to assume that part of the shift in the willingness to bring the young guys up is McLellan being more on board with playing them. I'd have to guess the two previous coaches being newbies probably were more risk averse than McLellan - (for what good it did them). I have wondered this a bit, and there is this narrative out there that Stevie is afraid to promote the kids, but he called up Seider at age 20. He called up Kasper at 18. Mazur was a bit older, 22, when he got the call. Maybe Stevie calls up young players when they are good enough to beat out proven NHL players (or “washed up veterans” as some call them). I have no doubt that the locker room wanted these kids. McClellan wanted these kids. That made it easy for Stevie to call them up. But I don’t believe for a second that Stevie is afraid to call up the kids when they are ready. Quote
slothfacekilla Posted October 8 Posted October 8 I also think they will sneak into the playoffs. The kids bring some much needed scoring and hustle, especially forechecking with the two forwards. I think their fourth line is also substantially better with Appleton, Soderblom and Rasmussen each capable of 20+ points which is sadly a huge upgrade from what they've had in the Mottes and Fischers the last couple seasons. Will their defense hold them back? Will Gibson be below average? That's what worries me. But I think a full season under the Toddfather will bring us back to the playoffs along with the revamped lineup. Quote
lordstanley Posted October 17 Author Posted October 17 I thought nothing of the Appleton acquisition until I was chatting with a couple of Jets fans this summer (yes, there are several in Vancouver) who said that this was a good pickup. Not for the goal-scoring which has occurred so far, but yes as an upgrade to the 4th line. 1 Quote
sagnam Posted October 17 Posted October 17 1 hour ago, lordstanley said: I thought nothing of the Appleton acquisition until I was chatting with a couple of Jets fans this summer (yes, there are several in Vancouver) who said that this was a good pickup. Not for the goal-scoring which has occurred so far, but yes as an upgrade to the 4th line. Unrelated but interesting “Appleton made his NHL debut on December 1, 2018 against the New Jersey Devils. He recorded an assist on Andrew Copp's goal in the third period.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mason_Appleton Quote
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