The Ottawa Senators‘ new senior advisor of hockey operations remains a student of the game, but Daniel Alfredsson doesn’t appreciate all that is being taught to young players.
After taking in the Ottawa 67’s 2-1 victory over the Kingston Frontenacs last week, Alfredsson admitted that teenage skaters were more prepared to make the NHL jump than they were in his day — but that brand of schooling comes with a negative side.
“The style is similar to the pro game, and I’m not sure that’s a great thing. It might prepare them for the pros and knowing what to expect, but I still think they need to develop more skills,” he told Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen in a interview Sunday.
“The tactical stuff, I think, you should be able to teach [in the NHL]. Kids need to use their skills and imagination. It’s too structured for me, to be honest. You should really develop them. Anybody can play a simple game and play to win, but you need to really develop players.
“It’s a fine line. Coaches want to win and it does make the players that come up [to the NHL] more ready to jump in because they’ve played a similar system. They also train better and they’re stronger.”
The 2015-16 campaign has reinforced that the adopting an NHL style of play early on results in a more seamless transition to the big league.
An astonishing 10 teenagers — Connor McDavid, Dylan Larkin, Nikolaj Ehlers, Sam Bennett, Jack Eichel, Jared McCann, Robby Fabbri, Jake Virtanen, Noah Hanifin, and Daniel Sprong — have made the permanent leap to the NHL this fall.