In the last year there have been three interesting quotes made by two young players where communication seems to be an issue between the Winnipeg Jets coaching staff and their players.
Last Wednesday, Evander Kane was scratched against the Chicago Blackhawks. Kane was recovering from a recent injury; he was close enough in returning that the team deemed it worth having Kane tag along for the single game road trip. Kane took to the morning skate, which for game-day-decision players is usually — but not exclusively — for assessing the player’s own comfort level. Kane said he was good to go but either or both training staff and Claude Noel did not give Kane the green light. This morning Kane insisted he was a healthy scratch and felt fit to play; however, this does not mean it would have been the right decision to let Kane play, as Kane is no professional health practitioner. Noel dismissed the healthy scratch rumour by saying it was purely medical.
Still one part of a quote caught my eye:
#nhljets Evander Kane insists he was a healthy scratch in CHI and doesn’t know why. Says doesn’t know what the message would be. #cbcmb
— Mitch Peacock (@MitchPeacock1) November 8, 2013
The most intriguing part was in the tweet twice: "doesn't know"…
Kane is obviously a very opinionated player who says things how he feels, regardless of being right or wrong. Still, this is not the first time Kane has offered up a quote with this sort of subtext.
Tim Campbell wrote an article in the pre-season discussing Kane's lack of continuity in his linemates. In it Kane mentioned his thoughts on the line juggling:
[D]o you feel that this might be a more permanent spot for you?
“I’ve played with all different line combinations in the pre-season; nobody consistently. I’m with them today and who knows how we’re going to start on the game. I don’t really know what’s going on in terms of the lines. All I can control is whoever I’m playing with, try to do my best and make things work.
(…)
Do you tell him what you like or don’t, Kane was asked.
“Yeah, it’s weird. Sometimes you have a couple of games with a line and suddenly things switch and you don’t know why. Not even an injury. Sometimes it just switches. There’s nothing you can do about it. And sometimes when things are going poorly, they stay the same. You’d think maybe we could change some things up (then). Hopefully we can get off to a good start, whoever I’m playing with and kind of build from there.”
No coach has the duty to explain every single decision to the players; that would be ridiculous and unorthodox. However, it does seem that some extra communication would be beneficial for the Jets youth.
Could this simply be exclusive to Evander Kane then? We all know very well the type of strong willed character that is "The Natural". It is difficult for anyone to know one way or the other since all information is privy to the public and how players, coaches and management tend to hold their cards very close to their hearts.
However, these comments stood out because they seemed similar to something else that was quoted in the summer from another young player.
Translated by Google Translate:
This distrust coach to me … He wanted to send me to the AHL, probably for something to teach. But it is not clear what he expected from me? It was just hard.
This came from the infamous summer article where Alexander Burmistrov discussed a conflict in where Burmistrov should play during the lockout. He also discussed feeling that his play relative to that of Olli Jokinen did not warrant the large gap in usage, with Jokinen receiving a far greater share of the the juicy minutes.
Jumping to any type of conclusion from a quote can be dangerous, let alone a quote translated by an internet algorithm. Still, it is definitely worth discussing how Burmistrov, like Kane, is not discussing a disagreement but rather a lack of knowing why.
Whether there is actually a deeper issue or whether there is anyone in particular to blame is purely speculation based off of opinion. Here are the quotes; we will let you decide.
Let us know your thoughts…
More from Arctic Ice Hockey:
- Have the Winnipeg Jets been predominately facing the NHL's best?
- The Long Reach of the Great Game
- Sometimes, you just have to make a bold change, or two.
- Fat Man and Little Boy: A Look at the Defensive Pairings
- October in Review
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