FirstRowUpperDeck
Registered User
Okay, I like it. That said, and sorry to be a Debbie downer, I think a guy with some AHL success might have been better, but time will tell.
One think I don't like is how it sort of puts us in the rudderless direction that I saw under Nieuwendyke. Nill picked his second or third choice in Ruff, who was all offense, then Hitch (with pressure from above) who was all D, and we are to believe JM is a perfect balance of the two.
I used to think Niewy drafted in scattershot fashion, first going for size, then speed, then by potential, then by position, etc. I figured Nill would draft all talent, but seems to have gone in a few different directions, too. Certainly they guys they drafted will fit this system better than a Hitch system, but......we change directions again.
It has always seemed to me that the successful franchises stick to a plan, and it may take 3 years to get the right pieces in place to play their system, and they are contenders. Average to poor franchises switch directions several times, derailing progress. Even a few bad years didn't knock Detroit off its plan, for example.
I thought Nill would be the former type GM, but it seems he may be the latter, no? While it seems he makes the best of situations, he doesn't strongly set direction. Of course, Seguin and Spezza were steals, but Ruff, Bishop and many others were not the right choices, even if the easiest/perhaps best choice at the time. Gonchar and a few others were outright examples of "choices to make choices".
Should be more hopeful, I know. Let's hope in terms of coaching hires, for Jim Nill, third time is the charm.
One think I don't like is how it sort of puts us in the rudderless direction that I saw under Nieuwendyke. Nill picked his second or third choice in Ruff, who was all offense, then Hitch (with pressure from above) who was all D, and we are to believe JM is a perfect balance of the two.
I used to think Niewy drafted in scattershot fashion, first going for size, then speed, then by potential, then by position, etc. I figured Nill would draft all talent, but seems to have gone in a few different directions, too. Certainly they guys they drafted will fit this system better than a Hitch system, but......we change directions again.
It has always seemed to me that the successful franchises stick to a plan, and it may take 3 years to get the right pieces in place to play their system, and they are contenders. Average to poor franchises switch directions several times, derailing progress. Even a few bad years didn't knock Detroit off its plan, for example.
I thought Nill would be the former type GM, but it seems he may be the latter, no? While it seems he makes the best of situations, he doesn't strongly set direction. Of course, Seguin and Spezza were steals, but Ruff, Bishop and many others were not the right choices, even if the easiest/perhaps best choice at the time. Gonchar and a few others were outright examples of "choices to make choices".
Should be more hopeful, I know. Let's hope in terms of coaching hires, for Jim Nill, third time is the charm.