Dave Hakstol Doing Exactly What He Was Brought In To Do This Season
At the end of season press conference last year, a big topic of discussion Ron Hextall addressed was the lagging development of both Brayden Schenn and Sean Couturier. Both players at that point had 3 or more years of NHL experience and simply seemed stuck at their level of production. When both Mike Richards and Jeff Carter were traded away in 2011, Couturier and Schenn were seen as two major players to replace their production, yet that was not happening as well as hoped. This cost Craig Berube his job in 2015, and had Ron Hextall go out and find a coach who specialized in developing young talent, regardless of the NHL experience they had. This coach was University of North Dakota’s head coach Dave Hakstol. With a reputation of developing young players at UND such as Jonathan Toews, T.J. Oshie, and Zach Parise, Hakstol seemed like the coach best suited to lead the youth movement in Philadelphia. 1 year in as head coach, the team as of today is not likely to make the playoffs (36.6%) and although Hakstol has been criticized for this, it is important to understand that he’s doing exactly what he was brought in to do this year. The Flyers young guns Sean Couturier, Brayden Schenn, and Shayne Gostisbehere are all enjoying great first years under Dave Hakstol. Sean Couturier is looking like a solid future second line two way center, Brayden Schenn is on track for a career high in points, and Shayne Gostisbehere is looking a defenseman primed to quarterback the Flyers powerplay for years to come. When Dave Hakstol was hired, the focal point of his hiring was not to make the playoffs this season, but for seasons to come and by developing the 3 youngest players on the team, he is setting himself up to achieve just this. With bad contracts soon to come off the books and likely another high draft pick this year, more youth is on the way for Hakstol to work with. The one name to watch next year would be Ivan Provorov (7th overall pick in 2015) who is more than likely to make the Flyers next year and some scouts believe he has potential to be better than Shayne Gostisbehere is as soon as next year. If Hakstol does what he did to develop Schenn, Couturier, and Ghost this year to Provorov next year then the Flyers will undoubtedly be a playoff team next year. So although, the team may not make the playoffs this year under Hakstol, it is important to see the bigger picture and the success Hakstol is currently having.
Thanks For Reading, Please excuse my grammar!!
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Categorized:Flyers