Maybe. But quite honestly I didn’t feel his play suffered last year when playing first line minutes. That said, this team has no forward who merits 19-20 minutes of TOI.
PLD wasn’t extremely great against LA to be honest
I won’t say that I’m worried about PLD becoming another Ryan Johansen , but I think his consistency is pretty lacking . Some games he really appears to apply himself and is dominant , some games he’s really sloppy . Same could be said about Seth Jones . He has the physical tools and then some , super smart player , but I don’t think he’s near the level he should be at . Some players have that drive to be great every time they play the game. I wonder if this team misses Dubinsky and his leadership in the room . They certainly don’t miss his play, or his cap hit , but he’s a firey guy that would challenge his teammates . I guess what I’m saying is I think Jones , and Pld have a lot more to their game , then they show on a consistent basis . Maybe they need someone to push them . Not to totally change sports , but one of the main reasons Coach Meyer , and coach Mick created so many elite players at Ohio State , is because they both believe that if your comfortable , your not being pushed correctly . They challenge their players in ways , that most players feel they could have never achieved prior to coming to Ohio State , because they all admit they had to get out of their comfort zone to become elite .
Perhaps those lazy turnovers on PP were the result of it ?
Your not being clear enough with what you are saying. Yeah its true he had less ice time than those guys, but, he only had 3 less seconds than Wennberg, and 13 less seconds than Foligno. Not a noticeable difference. He had 21 shifts. All the guys you mentioned had between 21 and 23 shifts so it really isn't as drastic as you would make it sound. Also, Boston was the home team so they could dictate the line changes more than Columbus could. They had last change so Columbus may have had to do some quick changes to keep match ups. Plus, the flow of the game, whistles, icings, end of period, all effect players ice time. If you look at the season as a whole, PLD is 3rd in ice time among forwards so it isn't like he is not being utilized properly. You really seem to be stretching to make something out of nothing.
I would think a lot of the guys recruited to Ohio State were already elite. Not saying Meyer wasn't a good coach, but Ohio State usually attracts top talent on name alone. The coaches change, but the chance to play on the national stage and be seen by all the NFL scouts doesn't. These guys know they increase their chances of going pro by going to Ohio State.
