AV discusses decision to scratch Anthony Duclair against San Jose
According to reporters at practice, head coach had a long talk with the kid to explain his decision. The red flag was signaled in Duclair’s last game (vs. Carolina) where he was parked on the bench late.
So far this season, the “Duc” has played reasonably well. At a +4 on the season, he isn’t hurting them defensively. For those of you into advanced stats, as per the website: Behindthenet.ca
- His Goals For per 60 minutes is 5.05 while against it’s only 1.01
- His On Ice Corsi* is a +4
*On-Ice Shot Differential (goals + saves + missed shots + blocks). This is expressed as a rate stat per 60 minutes.
Any reasonable person understood that at 19, Anthony Duclair wasn’t going to walk in here and dominate. The fact that he made the team out of camp was impressive. Glen Sather and the Rangers are giving him a real look before deciding on sending him back to juniors. The fact of the matter is, the Blueshirts have played 5 games in 8 nights and he isn’t used to it.
Pat Leonard of the NYDN picked up this quote from AV’s scrum today:
This healthy scratch is not really a reflection of his play, as it has been good. It has to do with AV wanting a different look and keeping Duclair away from a big and nasty team in San Jose. The 4th line AV is going to put out there has Tanner Glass and Ryan Malone on it, both willing to answer the bell should SJ take liberties.
Anthony Duclair will be in the press box for this one, but I assure you it won’t be wasted. He will be tasked with watching the game (probably a player or two of the coach’s choosing) and understanding how AV wants him to play.
Duclair is a young kid, a student if you will. Time to do his homework.
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