Jake Allen step up to his potential
2017-01-13With almost half the season done, the Bruins have been very impressive thanks to Jake Allen. The young goaltender has been nothing less but stunning this last month and the team seems to play with way more confidence. The last 2 seasons, Gm Prach brought two veterans to give him time to learn and focus on his development. Lots of rumours surrounding Allen were all over Boston, persistent rumors and the Gm had to calm the situation, using the patient card with him.
¨Jake is only 26 guys, we have to be patient with him or any young kids. I knew he had a lot of pressure, lots of up and down but we never, ever, had any doubt regarding what he could bring to this team, thanks to his character. Today, he is only starting to play to his potential but he still has lot room to fill his potential. We're very happy with his development, but the season is still very far from done. We also need to add that our top 3 (Karlsson, Subban, Hedman) have a lot to do here. They play with lots of confidence in front of him, helping him a lot and make sure the puck doesn't stay too long in our zone.¨
The stability factor?
The first 2 seasons, Gm Prach made more than 15 trades, some big, some smaller, always with the Stanley Cup objective in mind. Some of those transactions were due to some impatience. This year, he made one transaction during the season, adding veteran Jay Mclement. Before the season, he add young Dylan Larkin, Markus Kruger and Paul Martin. Those trades not only add some depth in the team but stabilize every position. the chemistry is way better this year.
¨To be fair, I don't regret any trades made. I have no doubt stability is a huge factor for the confidence of this team. But Todd is a hell of a coach and our leaders (Kane, Karlsson, Seguin, Subban, Hedman) step up, playing with lots of confidence and setting the example for the kids. Eichel, Galchenyuk, Huberdeau, Domi, Larkin are following their leaders, know their role and complete it very well. We still need to keep the pace for the rest of the season. Regarding transaction, we had discussion with some teams, one very serious one, at the end of the day, I will never close a door, but it's very hard for me right now to change anything. That stability brought some good chemistry and I want to keep it this way.`
Depth, depth and veterans
¨For me, we also need to remember that guys like Martin, Hossa, Winnik, Mclement, Emelin have a lots to say on the development of our young kids. Those guys not only play very well regardless of their age, they're helping the kids inside and outside the rink.