Blueline prospect Chad Krys played wing during the training camp preceding the postseason. He looked lost on the ice as he was constantly playing below the circles which would be fine if he was a D-man.
Krys didn’t make the final cut to enter the bubble but fellow bluline prospect Alec Regula did. Regula didn't skate at all with the main group or in scrimmages.
Even though Krys did practice with the main group and play in scrimmages, he wasn't put in a situation to succeed by having him play a new position where he struggled.
For what it’s worth, in a scrimmage where he did play on the back end, Krys looked just as good as Slater Koekkoek and Nick Seeler.
To his credit, though, Krys was at least open to the idea of playing up whereas many fans clamored for Erik Gustafsson to switch to wing. In comparison to Krys, Gustafsson stated he had no desire to do so.
As a winger, Gustafsson would get less touches of the puck and would have to work to retrieve it. Defensemen naturally control the puck more which is what he likes to do. Krys is the same way.
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So why is Krys being made an example of?
In a recent
NBC Sports Chicago podcast interview, head coach Jeremy Colliton discussed a key aspect of his development strategy for the younger players:
"Sometimes when you make decisions...for example, there's a faceoff at the end of the second period and I'm going to put Kirby [Dach] out there to take it even though faceoffs aren't a strength of his yet. Sometimes on the bench it's like, 'what are you doing, why are you making that decision?' And I understand that, if you look at it with a very short-term lens, that is maybe not the best decision. But at the same time, we need to help Kirby get used to doing those things and to have success.
"And OK, if he loses the faceoff, then he's got to find a way to survive the defensive shift then get out and change with the puck and change in the offensive zone. But sometimes he's going to win it, too, and the investment that we make in Game 10 or Game 30 or Game 50 of doing that, that's going to pay off, whether it's in the playoffs or the next season."
Challenging the youngsters to play in situations that they’re going to have to succeed in sooner or later in order to prove their worth in the NHL is generally a good thing on the balance of the season.
But that’s the key: putting them in situations that are a natural part of the roles they are in and roles that match their skillsets while removing them from contexts that routinely exploit their deficiencies.
Otherwise, prospects and youngsters already in the lineup could hang in limbo between the realm of reality and the realm of aspiration as far as what would be considered their ideal roles.
Reality for most players should be natural to them yet can be at odds with aspirations of coaches that lead to irrational deployment and -- in turn -- unproductive results.
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In the case of Krys, he was out of his element playing wing. He is more effective when he can see the entire ice sheet so he can transition the puck with his superb skating and cerebral breakout passes.
Dylan Strome and Alex Nylander are examples of forwards who will thrive in the top 6 surrounded by similarly talented linemates. However, placing them in the bottom 6 fails to optimize their offensive strengths and exposes what they lack defensively.
As has been well documented, the experiment of Strome at wing didn’t work well last season. For one thing, that’s just not his game as a playmaker. Another thing is that he’s not one to dump and chase to snuff out pucks.
Nylander needs to be involved in the offense to derive the most value from what he brings to the rink. He’s not a defensive or checking line specialist so relegating him to bottom 6 duty on a regular basis is a waste.
Then there’s the interesting profile of Alex DeBrincat. After a solid 28-goal rookie year, he followed it up with an outstanding sophomore campaign netting 41 goals. He crashed to 17 goals in 2019-20, though.
Was he expected to do too much in his third season? Should he let his linemates be the playmakers and space creators so that he can focus instead on his bread and butter finding seams to get behind defenders and into prime shooting lanes?
Similarly, while Dominik Kubalik does stand to enhance his overall impact with his play away from the puck, it would be best to not see him gravitate down the same path as DeBrincat. Being a well-rounded player is never a bad thing but not at the detriment of his ultimate gift of goal scoring.
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