Lesser role he’s more suited for + less intense games in pre season hockey.
I guarantee he’s going to struggle come Wednesday when Edmonton comes out flying
He should be much better this season in a lower leverage role but get exposed when trapped against better competition. Then there will be entire games where he’s inexplicably great and many more where he’s absolute ass.
Yeah...it was one preseason game. This is what Myers has always been. Often people don't want to admit it when it happens, but he does have intermittent games where he suddenly looks like he's got his head screwed on straight. In which case, he's a big, mobile defenceman who has no issues taking the initiative and playing a game that puts other teams on the back foot.
But then he has a lot more games where he's...
not like that.
With 4th liners, you just rotate them out when they slow down and rotate them back in when the next man up slows down. If he can bring energy for 40+ games and not be a liability in another dozen he's doing a good job in his role.
This is a good point that i think is maybe getting overlooked in penciling all these opening night lineups together. The reality is, guys are going to get banged up. But even outside of that...there are benefits to just rotating a few guys through in those sort of bottom-6 roles to keep 'em hungry and fresh.
Can be a real test as a coach, to identify the guys who need to just string together a long consistent string, get into a groove, and feel "safe" to get the most out of them...vs the guys who need to be rotating in and out and kept on a short leash, always hungry and ready to go when they get some minutes. Underappreciated aspect of good coaches, is their ability to read that and manage all their personnel effectively. Bad coaches just try to impose "their philosophy" on everyone universally and end up with guys who are effectively wasted. Good coaches read and run their horses with good feel for who is ready to go.