I really like what I've seen out of the preseason and first two games from an offensive philosophy. It seems like Brunette has them playing hockey the way that NHL teams are playing in 2023. Not predictably rigid entries and setups, but allowing them to be more creative, take risks, put pucks into areas for teammates to go get rather than always the safe and sure pass, which leads to turnovers sure but also to more surprising quality scoring chances.
I don't know if one way is necessarily better than the other, but this brand is exciting. For ages I've watched games around the league and then watched the Predators and felt like we were sometimes not even playing the same game. Our pace was always slower, our systems were always more dull, a lot of the early seasons that was out of necessity. I thought Laviolette would be this guy, but he turned out to be far less creative than he was billed to be. Hynes was what he was, a return to a heavier game, which at first was probably needed but wasn't a lasting recipe for success. But now watching the Preds, it's like we're doing what the other teams have been doing for a while, it feels like watching NHL hockey.
They might not win a lot just due to experience, but it's entertaining and you can see how this will translate to success once the bulk of the kids get over the hump.