Ok. So what? Unless you believe that Kravstov is being ruined, there is nothing wrong with the way that he is being handled. Do you believe that, much like Kakko and Lafreniere and Miller, that he is being ruined?
Just wait. Kravstov has 1 point in 6 games. As he is being ruined the same way that Kakko was ruined, another few games without a point and he will be hopelessly ruined as well.
I think that it was a foregone conclusion that eventually he goes to the 3rd line, while continuing to be a net front presence on the first PP unit.
If I thought that Kreider was on the decline, and that the cold patch we're seeing is due to some real, tangible deterioration of skill, then I'd agree. But, I think we're just seeing Chris Kreider being Chris Kreider, and in due time he'll get himself on a roll again like he has done for basically the last 550 games--yo-yoing back and forth between being an absolute force and mostly invisible.
Comparing kreider to Mika feels disingenuous.
I think that making that statement based on the largely sheltered minutes from all of 5 games is a tad aggressive. Also, clearly the view of both the coaching staff and the front office is that thrusting him into such a role maybe not good for him.
It has not been good for a while. I agree. But are we debating where Kravstov plays or whey KZB has not been taken apart? If the latter, then shouldn't you be calling for Lafreniere to be playing there? Also something that has nothing to do with Kravstov.
When it comes to Finnish examples, I look at guys like Barkov and Rantanen. Both were pretty poor skaters, it took them one offseason to fix it. Is it this offseason for Kakko? I hope so, because his strength is already pretty good IMO. It remains to be seen. Kakko and Laf are both severely limited by their skating right now. Kravtsov could jump right in, he can keep up with the speed of the game both by skating and his skill. I still think Kakko and Lafreniere will probably become better players than Kravtsov, but this is a pretty solid 3-pack we have here.
So you believe that a rookie with 5 games of experience, who has largely been playing sheltered minutes should be promoted by a coaching staff to replace a vet (albeit a struggling one) when they are desperately trying to continue to play meaningful games? Ok. I guess. Not sure that is a realistic expectation aside from a period or two.
He leads the team in goals too, lol (I don’t want to hear about 9 of them being PP goals when everyone here has whinged incessantly about the PP), 5th in EV goals.
