Help an outsider understand the handling the of Burakovsky

[Colt.45Orr]

First off, I'm skeptical that Trotz is handling Burakovsky right based on Forsberg looking so much better sans Trotz as coach. I may be right or wrong on this and I do think you have a great coach but please explain this:

The last 5 games that Burakovsky has been scratched, the Caps have lost 4 of 5. That is significant.


The last 3 games that Burakovsky has played, the Caps won all 3 games and he was a +4 --which seemed to prompt him being scratched.

His last set of games before that he had 4 pts in 3 games before being scratched for 3 straight games. It is just bizarre and it seems like needless headgames to be playing with a rookie's confidence.


Someone please enlighten me as to the "logic" behind the handling of your stud rookie.

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[Atlas]

I don't get it either. Burakovsky has looked excellent to me. He makes brilliant little plays to retain possession all the time. Maybe he is misreading things defensively. I dunno. He looks like a star player to me (it will take a year or two).

 

[SpinningEdge]

I think we're still trying to figure it out.

IMO Trotz really wanted Burro and Kuzy to be top 6 guys by this point. Kuzy seems to have adjusted better and is now getting the top 6 minutes. He has 9 points in last 10 games and is playing great hockey.

Burro seems to be getting more of the "tough love" approach. I personally think he's better than a lot of guys already in our lineup, but he's a top 6 player and will be for years to come. Playing him on grind it out/bottom 6 roles don't make a lot of sense.

Great point on how Forsberg played with Trotz (didn't do that great) and how he's doing now with a new coach/getting top line minutes/top line role. It's working out for them and they're on a roll being best team in the NHL.

With the Caps, I think Trotz is still figuring our team out and who fits where/who fits with who. Unfortunately, Its resulted in our season being up and down quite a bit.

 

[donosaur]

Bura gets knocked off the puck pretty easily and I recall him giving away the puck quite a few times in our own zone. I think this drew the ire of Trotz who has a history of being really tough on the rookies.

I'd rather scratch MaJo and put Bura in. Bura has a higher offensive ceiling and looks like he actually wants to play hockey. MaJo skates fast, but does absolutely nothing else.

 

[EroCaps]

He's needs to learn the game. Period.

 

[Langway]

Trotz & Lambert often seem to have a double standard when it comes to young players, perhaps as a result of being conservative to a fault. They accept mediocrity as long as it's safe and in the name of being responsible but it comes at the expense of being able to make a play.

Generously maybe the Caps are trying to shop some forwards, like Chimera, and Trotz has played everyone during the fathers trip so someone had to sit. But, yes, even if there is risk in Burakovsky's game he's shown he can still contribute playing on the fourth line. Certainly he should not be regularly sitting and even with 14 healthy forwards he probably shouldn't be rotated out of the lineup either.

 

[KevinM]

Essentially Trotz thinks he's not responsible enough in his own end, and he doesn't play a "heavy" enough game for Trotz to trust him playing against other teams that are big and physical. He also seems to prefer having guys he's comfortable with playing in all situations and with Burt he'd have to manage his defensive starts more closely.

 

[Ajax1995]

First off, I'm skeptical that Trotz is handling Burakovsky right based on Forsberg looking so much better sans Trotz as coach.

One of the things that is often brought up with respect to Forsberg last year compared to this is that he worked very hard in the offseason to get stronger and put on muscle and that has paid off in spades this seaosn. That is precisely what Burakovsky needs to do this offseason.

 

[Calicaps]

Bura isn't really NHL ready so he sits a lot, but the forward depth is so poor that they need to keep him around and cross their fingers that he can develop in the heat of the competition rather than getting proper time in the AHL. Same goes for Wilson.

 

[ChibiPooky]

I think the organization puts a lot of value in practicing with the big club, going to the team meetings, and generally being a part of the team. I think there's also value in watching the NHL tape instead of the AHL. Guys make different plays. There's also value in minutes but it probably depends a lot on the player.

 

[BrooklynCapsFan]

The inconsistency with which he has been handled points clearly to incompetence. A full season under Trotz and I've seen his ceiling drop from what he showed the first month of the season.

Oh well, the future is now I guess.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

The inconsistency with which he has been handled points clearly to incompetence. A full season under Trotz and I've seen his ceiling drop from what he showed the first month of the season.

Oh well, the future is now I guess.

This is an absurd post.

 

[txpd]

is it time for the fire trotz thread?

 

[Raikkonen]

While he isn't playing much he's adapting to play in NHL with men and to live in Washington all by himself.

Next year he will know exactly how to prepare, what to expect, what to do, what he needs to get Trotz's trust. Plus he will add some muscle over the summer.

He absolutely can step into top-6 next season.

 

[Ajax1995]

He and Wilson should be playing a regular shift in Hershey right now. They both have lots of things they need to be working on and they need to be playing on a regular basis to do that.

 

[Colt.45Orr]

Caps have now won 4 in a row in which Burakovsky has played.

He was sat the last time he scored --today he scored 2, does that mean he does or doesn't get scratched next game? Seems like a silly question but...

 

[ChibiPooky]

Small sample, plus that argument really only holds if you can back up the inherent assumption that Burakovsky drove those wins. That said, his two goals tonight were quite nice and I thought he played well. Looks like maybe the points are starting to catch up with the Corsis.

 

[Atlas]

Burakovsky gets a jersey next game.

 

[ChibiPooky]

We might be starting to see the benefits of watching Backstrom's game tape.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

The inconsistency with which he has been handled points clearly to incompetence. A full season under Trotz and I've seen his ceiling drop from what he showed the first month of the season.

Oh well, the future is now I guess.

This might be your worst post ever. So far from true it's not even close. The kid is barely NHL ready. End of story. Trotz is handling him just fine. Bura needs to add muscle and mature physically.

 

[troyerlaw]

is it time for the fire trotz thread?

Trotz has been awesome.

Except for his handling of Burakovsky.

Which has been poor.

Switched him to a new position AND refused to either play him regularly w/ the Caps or the Bears. Sits him most nights in the press box as a healthy scratch.

I truly don't believe Forsberg would be having the year he is having now, if Trotz were still coach.

Rookies are given a much, much shorter leash. Chimmer has been trash, still regularly gets a sweater. MoJo, Brouwer and Laich have all gone missing from scoresheet for long stretches, still get sweaters.

If Bura really were not NHL-ready, Trotz & Co. should have stuck him in Hershey and let him play. Plain and simple.

So yes, Trotz is a wonderful coach, no question.

But yes, he also has handled Bura poorly.

Both statements may easily be correct. They are not mutually exclusive at all.

People have doubtless already seen this, but Forsberg himself has no love for Trotz, as evidenced by some of the quotes in this article:
http://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com/2015/02/15/andre-burakovsky-scores-twice-after-being-scratched-in-3-of-last-4-games-gif/#more-81069

 

[PuckBuddy]

Caps have now won 4 in a row in which Burakovsky has played.

He was sat the last time he scored --today he scored 2, does that mean he does or doesn't get scratched next game? Seems like a silly question but...

The idea that Burakovsky's 9-12 minutes of sheltered icetime is somehow the cause of team success is exactly backwards. Trotz has played #65 in games where he could manage his minutes and starts and overall in games where he wasn't as concerned with ill effects of Burakovsky's rather conspicuous rookie brainfarts.

Fallacy aside, I agree that this development policy does seem sort of weird in the sense that we never know if he's going to play on a night-by-night basis and gets two weeks at a time to w/o a sweater sometimes, but the kid has played in 42 games in a variety of roles so far this season, it's hardly spot duty and he's definitely not in the press box on "most nights".

 

[BrooklynCapsFan]

This might be your worst post ever. So far from true it's not even close. The kid is barely NHL ready. End of story. Trotz is handling him just fine. Bura needs to add muscle and mature physically.

He should be playing every day. In the NHL specifically where he clearly belongs but Trotz can't see that for whatever season. If he's going to take healthy scratch after healthy scratch he may as well be in Hershey.

This team's forwards are terrible. We wouldnt miss a beat bringing him along slowly on three of our four lines. Instead he either sits or bounces through the lineup like a ping pong ball.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

He should be playing every day. In the NHL specifically where he clearly belongs but Trotz can't see that for whatever season. If he's going to take healthy scratch after healthy scratch he may as well be in Hershey.

This team's forwards are terrible. We wouldnt miss a beat bringing him along slowly on three of our four lines. Instead he either sits or bounces through the lineup like a ping pong ball.

The absurd part wasn't how Trotz is deploying him, it was you claiming Trotz has somehow ruined his ceiling.

 

[g00n]

Question has been answered. Ongoing Burakovsky talk can continue in the existing thread we use for discussion of Bura and Kuz:

http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showthread.php?t=1762955