Good read.
I'm not sure, Commodore seems bitter and I'm sure he's not the first (or last) player to feel jilted by a coach. Remember Brendan Witt?
I don't think there's any drama with Nelson. I just think Capuano is desperate, feeling the heat is on him (as it should be). And he has more confidence in vets, rather than risking a loss because of rookie mistakes.
So Donovan and Nelson are protected and their minutes cut, put into situations where any potential damage is limited. But this also causes players to develop poorly, afraid to make a mistake, they don't play THEIR GAME. Like Nelson DID with Tavares. They did the same with Nino. Same regime.
TBAY has an all rookie 3rd line - Panik -Palat - Johnson and now called up Kucherov who was tearing up the AHL, he scored on his first shot, first shift in the NHL. The Isles seem to do everything so effn different and backwards. It's maddening.
But I don't think it's any conspiracy against Brock or any showcasing. It's just Cappy who thinks the risk of a mistake versus getting more out of a player is too dangerous. So a safe player like Regin (and Reasoner, Pandolfo, Rolston before him) become the choice. Problem is, they DON'T CREATE A SINGLE THING OUT THERE. So it's only a matter of time until they fail. AND THE YOUNG PLAYERS DON'T DEVELOP
(All caps for rage-emphasis).
Witt went through my mind immediately. He said something similar, that Snow destroyed his career after he was finished, but the promises of playing by the GM... followed by the benching by the coach... It is hard to ignore the similarities there with what Nino went through.
Just taking a huge stab in the dark on this...
Three times now Garth calls up a kid (Nino, Ullstrom, Nelson), and three times they sit because of the coach. I may or may not agree with each of those choices being benched when they were - that's superfluous - what is interesting is the dynamic that appears to have Snow bringing them in and Capuano saying loudly, "No, I will not play them."
If that is the case, and I am not asserting it to be so but if true, then that means Capuano has quite a bit of Wang's confidence because defying Snow is a sure ticket out of town.
We know Wang loves his committees, and loves being involved on an operational level (which we all know is a recipe for disaster).
Maybe in the end yet another operational decision is ultimately being controlled by Wang? Nino was up for one reason - help Wang's budget. It helped cause us to lose a 6 pick for Clutterbuck. Now we see Nelson sitting because the coach feels that someone else is better on the ice? And Garf doesn't just fire his ass after that, and after all the bad coaching mistakes he makes, and after his heinously awful record to begin with? Why? Tell me I sound like an out there conspiracy theorist... after every next loss Capuano stays in for.
