I'd likely put Froese ahead of Gawdin too. Gawdin has ceilinged imho. Froese obviously has too, but he knows what the 4th line grind is. With Ruzicka, I always think there is more there, and comes down to coaching. Coaching in Sarnia has never been great. It's a culture thing, just yell at them to play better rather than be a teacher.
I have my reservations about Ruzicka, but they boil down to mentality, not skill. Imho, that's where Sutter masters. Teaching guys the required mindset and showing them how an NHLer grinds, in a nutshell. I doubt Ruzicka has ever had that to be honest.
I love what I think Sutter's doing with Rosie. Imagine having Lewis and Richardson on each side of you on the bench explaining every C's tendencies at the dot and how to play in the NHL? How much more do you need? Gawdin's downfall is, you just aren't an NHLl player. They wanted you first.
I think those 2 are Sutter's assts. I've thought that since they were signed.
Sutter tells them the message, they report back on how they think it's being taken.
The rest is up to Rosie.
He's gotten 3 games in now, so maybe, just maybe...I really hope so. He's being coached hard and my initial reaction is, "he's listening and learning". Good sign
He needs that and he needs good coaching. It's all on him to be, "coachable", now.
GREAT chance for him here if he's smart enough to grab it.
I'm cheering him for sure. Everyone in Sarnia is.
Nobody cares where you were drafted Rosie. Few other teams have C positions. Few other teams have this level of coaching.
Take it man. Fully commit 10 years to make millions, then take a breath.
Again, it's really on him. He's skilled enough to be a top 6 C,