The Zetterberg Era
Ball Hockey Sucks
That is a very good point. I'm not so sure Blashill will be more patient with Jurco than Babcock was. In the AHL a big part of his job was to develop the kids and make them NHL ready. In the NHL his only job is winning games. It doesn't matter how young or how much potential someone has, the guy that contributes more towards winning hockey games will always get more icetime in the NHL, at least if you're a team that wants to win.
This whole board spent a year complaining that he wanted to make Mantha earn his minutes and PP time. Blashill makes guys earn their minutes, again he did it to Jurco before. The difference is by in large they think he is actually on their side and cares about them. I will be curious to see if this carries over where million dollar contracts are on the line, but I have no doubts Blash will continue to use this skill of developing significant relationships to achieve everybody's goals. It has been his hallmark as a bench boss clear back to the USHL.