A more competent and comprehensive athletic staff would be more proactive in identifying areas of concern with players, and would be quicker to course correct, which would decrease the frequency and severity of injuries.
Ya I wasn't really meaning to speak about it wrt to Boucher specifically even though that was in the post I quoted. Just adding that in general, Andlauer identified this as a significant shortfall for both facilities and staff being embarrassingly barebones under the previous regime and was overhauled this summer. None of which is shocking considering how poorly things were ran.
Mentioned Donovan is a guy they thought should have gone earlier
Are you referring to the interview posted today or some interview from after the 2021 draft?
I'll be honest, I thought that while we definitely reached for Boucher, I liked the qualities he brought, good skater, physical, good shot, I didn't expect he'd ever be more than a 30 pts guy that hit to hurt, but if he managed to hit that potential it's a nice piece to have. If they think that is still possible and health issues are behind him, that's great. I have my doubts but they obviously have more insight than I do.
Today, I was thinking, he said if Boucher would have be healthy all this year after the draft.
You can listen to it again at the 8:55 mark if you want to hear the exact words he used:
He had Selke finishes of 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 5th while putting up 50+ points/82 games in the dead puck era with the Sabres, that's pretty ambitious
You have more options on defense than either Gudbranson or DeMelo though. It's possible to have defensemen that are both hard to play against but can actually skate and move the puck at a respectable level, and ideally those are the kind of defensemen you want to build your blueline with.
I know. Lol.He had Selke finishes of 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 5th while putting up 50+ points/82 games in the dead puck era with the Sabres, that's pretty ambitious
I was just going to say "No".He had Selke finishes of 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 5th while putting up 50+ points/82 games in the dead puck era with the Sabres, that's pretty ambitious
Boyd mentioned they don’t like bringing AHL players, regardless of age.
The most penalized team in hockey just won the Stanley Cup & Vegas won the cup with the biggest defence in the NHL. Maybe it's you that is the dinosaur & can't see how the game has changed over the last number of yrs. Being harder to play against means the team is playing good defensively & that is exactly what this team needs to reduce goals against & the coaches (the experts) have said as much.
