As did Hagues mistakes before he got sent back to the AHL. The posts did not represent this.
Fans fall in love with young players and their potential and that bias creeps into their thinking, coaches don't and focus on the now and we get situations where fans rage at an extension and the pros commend a good contract.
None of our rookies have shown themselves a better option and Whitecloud has kept up but not exceeded in his dozen games. If another steps up next season and Whitecloud maintains a level Holden is a good 7D who can come in cold and provide NHL level play for when they need him.
Teams in a cap league have flawed players at the bottom of their lineups, go figure.
So by your own words he's a 7d but also he's at least our 5th best option right now. Is that not a problem?
You are Holden's lone defender around here but your only defense is either "Whitecloud makes mistakes too" or "Whitecloud isn't as good" which is a very arguable position but isn't an argument I feel like having again especially since I'm objective enough to admit that a smaller sample size isn't a fair element to his superior advanced analytics. Point is even as a defender of his, you're unable to protest that he has his tendencies of being a liability in his own zone.
Which I respect cause at least you're not obfuscating the truth of the situation. But you get so agitated that people criticize Holden and your main contention is that, essentially, he's a 7th defenseman so we shouldn't expect defensive consistency (feel free to correct me if I've misunderstood). But the thing is he's the veteran presence on his pairing and a fixture in the lineup now. On good teams, the bottom pairing tends to be the lower minute stay at home defenders who draw easier matchups and are expected to not f*** up. That's not the story with our team. Holden averages almost 20 minutes a night and often gets matched against second and sometimes even first lines.
That's where my problem is. Either the team is stupid for trusting Holden to perfrom more than what he can handle, or he's not doing enough and not consistent enough in the role he's given or a bit of both. Whatever the case is, he is the or one of the two defensemen most likely to fail to cover, box out the crease, or effectively get the puck out of the zone. And sure, it's not like Merrill or Engo could do much better but there in lies the problem with the extension. The extension is essentially a vote of confidence for a guy that isn't much more consistent than the two guys riding the press box. And sure, you may well be right that next year we could acquire a proper number 6 through trade or free agency or Hague could step up after summer training and earn a consistent spot with Holden as the 7D.
The problem is that
now, it's essentially a flip of a coin if Holden is gonna do something competent or stupid. When we get scored against I instinctively look to see who were the defenders on the ice and it's never surprising to see Holden out there, more often than not out of position or making a half assed attempt to poke the puck that doesn't work. And that presents a flaw in the machine. Not the only one, but it is one all the same.
Personally I forgive Whitecloud's mistakes cause it's growing pains, but off my own eye test he seems to possess better
potential to stop an attacking forward through stick work and positioning than Holden in the long run. And whether he's better at that or not now is, again, a debate I'm not going to have but I'd bet my own balls that he'll be a far more reliable defensive presence by next season if not these upcoming playoffs than Holden. That's why it's easier to forgive the
rookie with fewer than 15 games under his belt for mistakes over the
veteran with nearly
500.
