Just a thought! Do the Stars or any of the teams not have a off season training camp(not the start of the season camp) but somewhere that guys like Stranges can get real help. I mean real objective help that kids this young can use. Maybe if Stranges had 2 or 3 weeks of one on one with a instructor type then some of his bad habits might be lost.
Not sure how player development works. Since the NHL treats it like a disease, I wouldn't be surprised if nothing is standardized. I know Robertson sought outside help to improve his skating (although Dallas hired a full time skating coach in 2022).
It feels like Dallas is working through the checkboxes for their system, but a bit backwards. Would love to have the shutdown defenders drafted first and then get the slick talent in, but plans don't always work like that.
One noticeable think about the Stars depth chart is the lack of lefties. Wheatcroft showing up makes me happy, but I still think more needs to be done here. Nice thing is that the team is young right now with only one line 30 year olds needing to be backfilled in the near future. Right now Hemming is penciled in for the RW role, but it is Benn and Duchene that are the ones in most need of understudies right now.
Yea. Not sure what the haterade is all about there. That was the other reason I didn't understand the Hemming pick: after Robertson they have no one, and if Benn leaves after this year, they have even less. "You pick BPA instead of needs"--sit on it. That late in the draft, you can afford to take flyers at positions where you're weak instead of taking an only marginally higher ceiling player at a position of strength.
I should have written about him in retrospect. I think the only reason I wrote about Wheatcroft instead of Hryckowian is that Wheatcroft, I think, has NHL-quality skills whereas Hryckowian's skills are more subtle. That's not to say he lacks talent. I've noticed him more than once on the forecheck. But I didn't notice him last season, so I want to see him continue building his game before spotlight him. Good call, all the same.
not to turn this into a literary discussion, but when you again brought up the sci-fi writers in your footnote, I had to compare. My older generation picks for the Mt. Rushmore of sci-fi writers would be Asimov, Heinlein, Clarke, and Bradbury...
Oh, and I can't figure out Stranges, I wonder if NHL coaches have the time or inclination to do so....
The older Mt Rushmore is ones that even casual sci-fi readers can recognize (it even has the Heinlein in the Teddy Roosevelt spot of the 4th guy you don't immediately recognize).
Stranges is great. While hockey is a sport, the guys get paid because they are entertainers. I hope he sticks around for a while.
The Stars’ system at this point is mostly just a cadre of hybrid shutdown defenders, and lottery ticket forwards.
That is the slickest way to write a condemnation. However that is also generally how the Stars drafted the guys (minus Kyrou and Hemming). Only way you could have driven the pun home further is if you pulled in a (Conner) Roulette reference.
Just a thought! Do the Stars or any of the teams not have a off season training camp(not the start of the season camp) but somewhere that guys like Stranges can get real help. I mean real objective help that kids this young can use. Maybe if Stranges had 2 or 3 weeks of one on one with a instructor type then some of his bad habits might be lost.
Not sure how player development works. Since the NHL treats it like a disease, I wouldn't be surprised if nothing is standardized. I know Robertson sought outside help to improve his skating (although Dallas hired a full time skating coach in 2022).
Thanks David, you know baseball has those sort of camps and extended spring training. Looks like hockey would benefit from such a thing
Lol Kaiju frame
It feels like Dallas is working through the checkboxes for their system, but a bit backwards. Would love to have the shutdown defenders drafted first and then get the slick talent in, but plans don't always work like that.
One noticeable think about the Stars depth chart is the lack of lefties. Wheatcroft showing up makes me happy, but I still think more needs to be done here. Nice thing is that the team is young right now with only one line 30 year olds needing to be backfilled in the near future. Right now Hemming is penciled in for the RW role, but it is Benn and Duchene that are the ones in most need of understudies right now.
Yea. Not sure what the haterade is all about there. That was the other reason I didn't understand the Hemming pick: after Robertson they have no one, and if Benn leaves after this year, they have even less. "You pick BPA instead of needs"--sit on it. That late in the draft, you can afford to take flyers at positions where you're weak instead of taking an only marginally higher ceiling player at a position of strength.
What about Hryckowian exceeding expectations? I know he is older than Wheatcroft, etc., but he seems to be trusted in all situations.
I wonder if cap space wasn't a factor if Blumel would have been the callup? Not a great fit on a 4th line.
I should have written about him in retrospect. I think the only reason I wrote about Wheatcroft instead of Hryckowian is that Wheatcroft, I think, has NHL-quality skills whereas Hryckowian's skills are more subtle. That's not to say he lacks talent. I've noticed him more than once on the forecheck. But I didn't notice him last season, so I want to see him continue building his game before spotlight him. Good call, all the same.
not to turn this into a literary discussion, but when you again brought up the sci-fi writers in your footnote, I had to compare. My older generation picks for the Mt. Rushmore of sci-fi writers would be Asimov, Heinlein, Clarke, and Bradbury...
Oh, and I can't figure out Stranges, I wonder if NHL coaches have the time or inclination to do so....
The older Mt Rushmore is ones that even casual sci-fi readers can recognize (it even has the Heinlein in the Teddy Roosevelt spot of the 4th guy you don't immediately recognize).
Stranges is great. While hockey is a sport, the guys get paid because they are entertainers. I hope he sticks around for a while.
I've late to the sci-fi game, but so far Heinlein has been the dude I like least. Still a good list, Bob.
The Stars’ system at this point is mostly just a cadre of hybrid shutdown defenders, and lottery ticket forwards.
That is the slickest way to write a condemnation. However that is also generally how the Stars drafted the guys (minus Kyrou and Hemming). Only way you could have driven the pun home further is if you pulled in a (Conner) Roulette reference.
I'm not that clever.