From what you've written, it doesn't appear that Bourque's game is fit for a fourth line role. If he were still in the AHL and the Stars needed a call-up for a fourth line role, it would likely not be him. Am I correct? If that's the case, how can he ever show his talent playing in that role? We know DeBoer loves him some Dandanov but sure seems to me that he should be flipped to the fourth line and Bourque should be moved to the Benn line. Just MHO.
What's tough is that I do think Bourque *can* play a fourth line role. He's always been defensively responsible. The problem there is that it's harder for his defense to stand out if there's no offense to further enrich the rest of his game. Bourque's offense relies on others, like all crafty playmakers. Bourque's game would work on the fourth line if Blackwell and Dadonov were his wings. That sounds like a solid fourth line. But if you're gonna move Steel up, it might as well be Bourque that moves up. So I agree. I don't mind the slow development, especially given his injury, but if he's gonna play, might as well leverage every minute to maximum effect.
The chart though shows on the 4th line he is suffocating the other team like we were told faksa did. I don’t want that in place of his offense, but that is worthy of ice time as the rest rounds out.
What I find annoying regarding Bourque is the continuous narrative of : "He needs to prove himself" or "He needs to earn his ice time" etc. And this narrative comes from hockey people as well as some of the fans' base.
That's 100% true but 100% incomplete. Players' development is not a one way street. The investment needs to come from the player, but also from the organization, including the coaching staff.
The hockey people are the experts here, and as such needs to put the player in the best position to succeed. As far as I know, the success of Bourque will become the success of the Dallas Stars.
The thing I don’t see from Bourque, (maybe yet?), is chances… he just doesn’t seem dangerous offensively out there. I’m trying to take everyone’s advise and be patient… but we’ve seen a pretty good sample too. And I’m seeing a guy who can’t break loose from scrums, had one great pass to Seguin, backchecks well, but not great offensively, again, yet. In my view, Back generates more chances, (now!), for himself, and his line mates… and he wins puck battles, consistently. Now Back may be shown over time to have the finishing touch of Faska, uhg… and Bourque may turn into a young Ryan O’Reilly… actually I hope Back fine tunes his shot, AND Bourque makes the jump!!!
From what you've written, it doesn't appear that Bourque's game is fit for a fourth line role. If he were still in the AHL and the Stars needed a call-up for a fourth line role, it would likely not be him. Am I correct? If that's the case, how can he ever show his talent playing in that role? We know DeBoer loves him some Dandanov but sure seems to me that he should be flipped to the fourth line and Bourque should be moved to the Benn line. Just MHO.
What's tough is that I do think Bourque *can* play a fourth line role. He's always been defensively responsible. The problem there is that it's harder for his defense to stand out if there's no offense to further enrich the rest of his game. Bourque's offense relies on others, like all crafty playmakers. Bourque's game would work on the fourth line if Blackwell and Dadonov were his wings. That sounds like a solid fourth line. But if you're gonna move Steel up, it might as well be Bourque that moves up. So I agree. I don't mind the slow development, especially given his injury, but if he's gonna play, might as well leverage every minute to maximum effect.
The chart though shows on the 4th line he is suffocating the other team like we were told faksa did. I don’t want that in place of his offense, but that is worthy of ice time as the rest rounds out.
What I find annoying regarding Bourque is the continuous narrative of : "He needs to prove himself" or "He needs to earn his ice time" etc. And this narrative comes from hockey people as well as some of the fans' base.
That's 100% true but 100% incomplete. Players' development is not a one way street. The investment needs to come from the player, but also from the organization, including the coaching staff.
The hockey people are the experts here, and as such needs to put the player in the best position to succeed. As far as I know, the success of Bourque will become the success of the Dallas Stars.
If his skillset is custom made for PP time and you don’t give him any, then that’s on the staff. Run some 5 fwd looks and give him a chance up high.
The thing I don’t see from Bourque, (maybe yet?), is chances… he just doesn’t seem dangerous offensively out there. I’m trying to take everyone’s advise and be patient… but we’ve seen a pretty good sample too. And I’m seeing a guy who can’t break loose from scrums, had one great pass to Seguin, backchecks well, but not great offensively, again, yet. In my view, Back generates more chances, (now!), for himself, and his line mates… and he wins puck battles, consistently. Now Back may be shown over time to have the finishing touch of Faska, uhg… and Bourque may turn into a young Ryan O’Reilly… actually I hope Back fine tunes his shot, AND Bourque makes the jump!!!