My son plays high level hockey and my daughter plays in college. Hockey games are on all my TVs all the time in my house. I’ve seen all those guys play tons of times.
It’s not just “he made a bad pass.” It’s positioning for puck support and knowing how to anticipate where to be in puck support. That’s literally the single most important trait a center can have. It’s why Ruff said what he did.
It’s also the hockey IQ to know what to do with the puck. Thompson and Peterka constantly make poor puck choices that derail opportunities. It’s maddening, and it’s happened under two coaches now. It’s the player.
Conversely, you almost never see Benson just give the puck away, or over handle, or move the puck in a way that screws up a scoring chance. It’s because he’s a smart, smart player.
Posters on the Canucks board are talking about their GM, not their own preference. I think it’s from local reporting but I haven’t looked.
> I’ve seen all those guys play tons of times.
If this was true you'd never include those players in your suggestion. They have the same issues.
> It’s not just “he made a bad pass.” It’s positioning for puck support and knowing how to
anticipate where to be in puck support. That’s literally the single most important trait a center can have. It’s why Ruff said what he did.
> It’s also the hockey IQ to know what to do with the puck. Thompson and Peterka constantly make poor puck choices that derail opportunities. It’s maddening, and it’s happened under two coaches now. It’s the player.
The entire team is playing bad right now. There is plenty of film showing the opposite. These guys are some of the lone bright spots on the team.
> Conversely, you almost never see Benson just give the puck away, or over handle, or move the puck in a way that screws up a scoring chance. It’s because he’s a smart, smart player.
You definitely do lol. Seems like you just see what you want to see.