As far as the bolded, I agree that some of it is young players needing to realize this isn't college/junior and they can't walk defenders anymore. But more concerning to me is why they felt like trying it. Same as last year, I saw a lot of guys kinda left in space with no passing support. It seems like our entire breakout plan is for somebody, preferably an otherworldly talented defenseman, to walk it up ice while everybody else waits at the blueline. There were a couple of moments in particular where it looked to me like Bergmann and/or Yurtaykin ended up in the same situation as Donskoi did a lot last year: on an island on the half-wall with nobody to pass to and two defenders on him. Some of that is the overall lack of team speed to spread the ice, but it seems like the system also contributes by prioritizing stretch passes that kind of out-kick the coverage.
Totally disagree on the physical play. On a visceral level, I'd love to see Angry Jumbo level somebody like Marchessault or Stastny, but we don't have anybody big enough *and* fast enough to be able to do that and still be a useful player on defense. Our forwards as a group already lag defensively, and hitting more would only put them further behind.
