The Detroit News’s Gregg Krupa penned a column in which he discusses the Wings’ up-tick in play over the past couple of weeks, and Krupa suggests that it may be best for the Wings’ young players to play on a team that can at least attempt to win somewhat consistently. As such:
The coach, who said he believes the Wings can go on a run and who found considerable support for the theory from the men in the room over the next three games, thinks that growth and victories are synonymous.
“I’ve always been a believer that development and winning go hand-in-hand,” Blashill said. The best way to increase your ceiling is to increase your individual players. So, to me, they’re the same.”
Blashill’s tenure will be judged on whether the Red Wings improve.
“I think some people think development is just go play, have whoever just go play,” he said. “That is 100 percent bull. Part of learning is having to sit, sometimes. Part of learning is getting an understanding of being rewarded for efforts, and things like that.
“My job is to have the individual players on the team develop through the course of the year so that we’re better at the end of the year, individually, than we were at the beginning of the year,” he said.
“Now, sometimes that means somebody sits. Sometimes that means we show him video. Sometimes that means we show him in front of the guys. Sometimes that means I yell at you. All those things change the habit of a player.”
Krupa continues, and his column is worth your time…
I always felt if you were surrounded by top end players, that would help development. Playing with Arizona/ Clevelamd Browns, etc a players level of development is slowed.
Kind of if you fly Turkeys you will never soar like an Eagle.
If you play for the Sabres you will suck for a long time, IMO
The sign of a losing team is when they keep blaming a questionable call for their loss. And that’s what the lack of goalie interference call was, as it could have gone either way. Earlier this season the goal would have been called off. Now the league seems to be more carefully scrutinizing plays in determining inference in the back half of the season.
The call I found more disconcerting was against Tatar’s goal at the start of the game. That puck looked in to me, but maybe a better angle I have not seen shows it clearly was not. I don’t know.
What I do know is teams have to be able to overcome calls that go against them. They have to let them go and keep pushing and play to win. The Wings started the game strong, got a call against them, and deflated. Florida outplayed them for most of the game and based on that alone deserved the win.
It’s up to coaching and player leadership to get the team over the bad calls. They have to keep the team focused and engaged. The Wings disengaged and the game became very difficult to watch. As the best players are the young ones, this is part of the learning curve.
It would help if the media stopped buying into the refs hate the wings nonsense that seems to be going around lately. Play hard, have a chance to win. Disengage or don’t show up, guaranteed loss. That’s just how it is.