Haula? He may not be a point machine, but he's doing the very job Yeo asks of him night in night out. As in, keeping the opposition's top lines in check. No complaints for him in that department.
He had really bad preseason and Yeo wasnt happy with him. He was dropped to 4th line center as result. His slowly improving and like you said I thought he was outstanding against Tampa Bay when he completely shut down Stamkos for say in single game but hasnt been nearly as good as last season. If you play well in NHL like Haula did last season the coaching staff will demand that kind of play every night. Like you pointed maybe letdown too hard comment on youngplayer but hasnt taken step forward either. Hit to the head didnt help progress either.
Some Yeo comments from month ago. (Since then improved)
http://www.startribune.com/sports/blogs/278050811.html
Haula centered the fourth line today. After those early scrimmages, Haula’s camp hasn’t been very good. He had a very bad game in Pittsburgh and struggled last night.
Yeo admitted today that he’s not happy with Haula’s camp, talked to him on the bench during last night’s game and planned to pull him in his office after today’s practice.
“We have to remember with Haulzy and it’s important that he remembers it too, he hasn’t played a full season in the NHL yet. So we can’t be too quick to throw the world at him and we can’t be too quick to get down on him. He’s still a young player who’s developing.”
Yeo said the fourth line role today wasn’t a message, but in the next breath, he said he was rewarding guys who have been playing the way the team expects.
Haula said of his camp, “It’s been tough. I feel like I’ve done good things and I’ve also been a little inconsistent maybe. Good thing it’s preseason. I know what I’m capable of, I know what my identity is and what my job is. I’ve just got to play strong and keep my mind strong and just get ready for the next practice and the next game.
“There’s been times where I haven’t played as well as I wanted to play. It’s preseason, thank God, luckily. I still have a few practices and a game hopefully to get ready and get going.”
Trust me, DO NOT freak out about all this Haula stuff. He will be fine. He will have a significant role. This isn’t Yeo picking on him. This is just a coach making sure that a very important player on this team wakes up and gets his game in order.
But Haula is a second-year pro and still has to earn his place. And his game in Pittsburgh was, by his own admission, awful (three glaring turnovers). And last night, he had one scoring chance, but he was on for the tying goal and just did not play well. He has got to play better, and as we all have seen,
can play better.
.
