Alles anzeigenkein qualitätsverlust erkennbar? ok es ist wohl die frage wie man "Qualität" definiert.
am Beispiel Salzburg. wir hatten lange zweit zumindest 3 Linien die halbwegs gescored haben.
Jetzt haben wir eine Toplinie die Scored - eine zweite Linie die an Effizienz (noch?) zu wünschen über lässt und zwei Linien die "Ergebnis halten" bzw "Gegner müde machen" spielen
davon werden die jungen meiner Meinung nach auch nicht besser.
ich hab heuer das gefühl das Hochkofler und Huber in der Entwicklung nicht weiter kommen.
Die Jungen spielen zwar viel Unterzahl aber "schönes" Eishockey ist es nicht.
Und das ist für mich sehr wohl ein Qualitätsverlust.
das "secondary scoring" ist heuer in sbg quasi nicht vorhanden
I think this is a really good point, which is why I want to push back on it. I think there's a lot that's valid here.
However, I think the reason that these lines struggle with scoring is precisely for the reason you mentioned. These lines receive no care, they're not properly planned. They're put out there for the sole purpose of maintaining the status quo. And that's exactly what they accomplish. Think about it this way. Salzburg vs. Innsbruck. First forty seconds is shift one for each team, let's just say line 1 vs line 1 ("good on good"). Next forty seconds is second shift for each team. "Twos on twos." So you have your Salzburg line three, vs. Innsbruck line three. Bar, Paulweber, Ludin, and defensemen Vallant and Nussbaumer. Is this really an impossible line to score against? Is it even a difficult line to score against? For anyone in the Salzburg system, scoring against such a line should not only be possible but easily attainable. Even if you're playing a powerhouse like Vienna. Maybe the third line is Artner, Winkler, Grosslercher, Birnbaum and Dorion. Maybe it's better, maybe Winkler and Wukovits are there instead. That should not be an insurmountable line to score against either. Now, obviously, as the game goes on, different lines play different lines, and there's a good bit of line matching as well. If I think my top line has the best chance to score against your 4th line, I might plan accordingly, etc.
With all due respect and reverence, I don't get the sense that the Salzburg staff put any effort into deciding who should be in the bottom six. They don't put effort into how the bottom six should be organized. They don't even really put effort into deciding who should be on the senior team. They merely sign every year the kids who most recently turned 21. And those are the new senior team members. Well, those aren't the best players. Anyone who watches the farmteam can tell very quickly. But that's not the point. That's not the purpose. Bottom 6ers are just treated as warm bodies, in which case sorting by age makes just as much sense as sorting by any other mechanism.
A guy like Nico Feldner, for example, needs a specific style of player to enable him to score. He isn't a consistent puck-handler in his own right, even at the AlpsHL level, you will not see him handle the puck more than necessary. But he has a big shot, good forechecking, and can make good moves around the net. You can say "wow, so many limitations." Absolutely. None of these kids are complete players, but that's just a fact of reality. So, if you wanted a line where you maximized Nico's offensive potential, you'd have to have two good puck-handlers who could play give-and-go hockey away from him, until he got open in an area where he might be dangerous. So, something like Varejcka and Baltram comes to mind. And he would compliment them in the respect that he is more physically competent at this level. Or take a guy like Mario Huber. You've definitely seen more of him than I have recently. However, he has some notable strengths. He's a pretty smart player, he's got good hands. On the other hand, he's not extremely fast, he probably under-utilizes his body, and he often requires set up as well. He's far from what you'd imagine your perfect give and go hockey player to be. So if you have Huber and Feldner, two players on a line that both like being set up, and you have one player on that line who has to play give and go hockey with himself, that's going to be a tough line to score with. Another approach you could take. Huber and Baltram like taking shots. If you could raise their shot percentages, you would have more third line scoring. Someone like Max Rebernig is perfect for that. He's the best kid at deflecting shots, screening the goal, rebounds, in the entire Austrian junior system. He is a bit like Feldner in that he can't really handle the puck or make high hockey IQ plays. But if your goal is just to help Baltram (s% 2.7%) and Huber (s% 13.8%), players who want to take shots on net, get their shots in the net, a guy like Max is what you're looking for. He's also a great defensive forward, and a great shot-blocker. Or take a guy like Tim Harnisch. Incredible individual offensive potential, but what I call a "greedy" player, it doesn't mean the player is selfish but that he requires a lot of a resource (possession) to be effective. To get this out of the way, Tim is the best offensive talent in the system, Varejcka is the only one who can be debated. He has more scoring ability by far than Feldner, Pilloni, Witting, Klockl, etc. There is absolutely something to be gained from playing a kid like Harnisch. But you'd need to put him with someone like Michael Schiechl. Someone who is not greedy, who can contribute to the game even if he has the puck on his stick less, and even win more possessions to give Tim more chances to score. These are just a few examples of ways the lower lines might be encouraged to score more.
The problem with Austrian youth is typically not that they're mildly poor at everything, but that they're good enough at some things and heavily lacking at others. The reason Nico scored so many points in a short period of time during the last regular season was because he was placed with legios whose skills complimented his weaknesses. And the reason he stopped scoring was because he was placed on generic bottom 6 lines.The legio restrictions apply to everyone. Not only Salzburg is fielding less experienced rosters, everyone is. Under the right circumstances, he could probably become a viable scorer in the league again. And I do not believe he is the only one, in fact I think there are others who would likely make a greater impact. Think back to the last 1 seed vs. 2 seed matchup KAC vs. RBS recently. Holloway, Brickley, and Feldner. That's a strong line in the sense that Holloway and Brickley are strong players. But do they bring something to Feldner or vise versa that compliments the play styles? Maybe. McIlvane knows more about hockey than I do, he certainly could see something there. But Brickley and Holloway don't really need the physical help that Feldner provides. Both Brickley and Holloway love to shoot, and Feldner's shot is really the only other thing you would call him for. Meanwhile, Holloway especially but Brickley also can make plays, sure. They can create chances for Feldner. But that's not really what they would really be doing if they were playing to their greatest strengths. On the 2nd line, you play against the opposing 2nd line more often, if you were on the 3rd line you might play the 3rd line more often. They may objectively be better playmakers than someone on a lower line, but against expected competition, they may provide Feldner less in the way of chances, etc. The third line was Schiechl, Hochkofler, and Huber. Schiechl and Hochkofler we will call two-way players. Huber likes his set up. KAC is the best defensive team in the league, only 42 GA. Nothing is impossible, but that line doesn't look like a line that is trying to score. Witting, Pilloni, Zitz. That line is not going to bring much offense, in fact, they had zero shots on goal. Finally, the top line with Baltram. Kolarik-Baltram-Hughes. Again, that is a good line, but it's a good line because Kolarik and Hughes are good players. It's an undersized line. I'm not convinced yet that Baltram has physical competency at this level of hockey. Hughes and Thomas Raffl is a great pair, and for obvious reasons, as they compliment each other strongly. Raffl returned the very next game and the line scored 3 goals. Baltram doesn't bring what Raffl brings, or close. He's not a poor man's Raffl, they are just conceptually different players. Also, because Baltram lacks physical competency, what he wants is someone to make up for that by being physically imposing. So Baltram doesn't seem to bring to his linemates what they would like, and they don't bring to him what he would like.
All this to illustrate my opinion that young Austrian talents are unique. If their talents were uniquely appreciated, and they were treated as potential scorers, I think they would show a greater ability to score.
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