Just some thoughts perusing around in my skull after last night’s distasteful events…
-Here are the CORSI and Shift Charts. The CORSI don’t make for especially pretty reading.
-Any time now, Bolland. We’ll be here, impatiently waiting.
-You can ask McClure, but he and I both were ready to burst a blood vessel over some of the coaching decisions, and the fact that we’ll never get answers for them. I’ll rail about the lack of media accountability in this town in Saturday’s Indian, here I’ll just talk about the hockey aspect. I’m sure if someone asked Coach Q why Jack Skille and Viktor Stalberg — two of the Hawks most effective forwards last night — were given a shift each in the third, he’d spout some sort of drivel of going with guys he trusts and young guys proving themselves and what not. This would be utter bullshit for two reasons.
1) If he doesn’t trust them now, or doesn’t think they’re mature enough to handle late game situations, then what more perfect time to learn than in October? When else are they going to get the experience? Especially considering how punchless the Hawks were in the 3rd, why were they deprived of the players with the most energy? And if Q is so scared by youth, why is Nick Leddy and his 30 games of college experience here at all?
2) The Hawks are in the middle of an eight-game, 13-day stretch. They simply cannot afford to be shortening the bench for that long of a period this early in the season on this busy of a slate.
What has me worried is that it seems Quenneville is already points-chasing in October. Every point is valuable yes, but learning and building a team for when it really counts is more so. Certainly Skille is going to be here all year, and Stalberg likely will too. They need to be getting time in those crunch minutes to learn how to play them. Crushing October and November isn’t really as important as doing so in March, April, and May. The Hawks will need at least Skille for that.
Look at the minutes some key players are already accumulating. It’s beyond farcical. And if you go read Block’s article from before the game, you’ll have even more questions that won’t get asked by anyone who can. And what exactly have Pisani and Dowell done to prove they’re the ones to see out a one-goal lead or secure at least a point? I get that without Hammer and Campbell the defense will get stretched. So why weren’t the two forwards who have been your best forecheckers called into action.
This isn’t getting the Lovie Smith pitchforks out for Coach Q, far from it. But that was a piss poor job of coaching last night, and I’d like to know why.