Kayden Gohle and Yura Slavkovsky, young ghosts

The success of the former generally highlights the difficulties faced by the latter. While Kayden Guhle shined on Saturday night, Juraj Slavkovksy was sinking.

When Mike Matheson went down after the second half, the average age of the five remaining defenders was 22.6 years old. There was cause for concern for a CH team that was, true, still in the game against the Jets and then trailing by just one goal, but they had to manage without their leader on defense, a guy who spends nearly 25 minutes per game on the ice.

None of that was on display in this other penalty shootout victory. The Canadian played his best spell of the match with Gohle leading the way in a state of grace. The club’s youngest defender looked to be the most experienced and, above all, the most talented.

Gohle played 10 minutes. 37 seconds. During the third period alone. It was at the heart of the brief presence at the beginning of the clash that changed the course of the match. Albertan broke up the Jets attack on his own, recovered the ball and raced into the opponent’s box. After spending 30 seconds on defense, he may have been tired, but that did not prevent him from taking advantage of the opportunity in front of him.

I saw it immediately [Nikolaj] Ehlers was on the defensive. I don’t think he played there much in his life. We needed a goalLet the young man down.

guide. So he took care of it. He crossed the ice and handed it off to Joel Armia on his right. Finn hit the target.

This game made a strong impression on Martin St. Louis.

He could have passed the ball to Jake Evans, but I think he saw that the player was cheating on the left, so he let things develop. If he had passed the ball to Evans, no one would have said it was a bad play. But is there anything better? Sometimes, if you let the game develop, there might be something better. This is what he didThe coach explained.

Sometimes he does things and you say to yourself: Oh, I didn’t know he could do that. Because it’s still very small and we don’t have a sample size of 500 games. Maybe the average guy felt the pressure and didn’t play his best and would have just played, but the best players find the best plays, especially when they have space.He completed it.

Gohle finished the evening with a +2, two assists, four shots on goal, three blocked shots and flawless play on the numerical penalty, all this after missing four games, we should remember, due to a concussion, as he himself admitted. To his colleague Eric Engels of Sportsnet.

Take a few matches to regain your composure? Too little for him.

The man who looked like he didn’t miss anythingSt. Louis rightly said.

Guhle’s maturity is evident. Physics first. Speaking after that. And in his simple and smart game.

Development and maturity remain imprecise, especially unpredictable concepts. On the other end of the spectrum between this beautiful young Frenchman, Slavkowski struggled throughout the evening. Again.

In search of landmarks

The play most indicative of the Slovakian’s lack of confidence came in the third period. In the slot, the 19-year-old forward received a pass from Jonathan Kovacevic. He had the time and space to make a play by NHL standards.

Immediately, Slavkowski attempted to pass a point to an imaginary teammate, a move that seemed more like a desire to get rid of the puck than actual strategy.

In the first period, we saw him completely immobile on the power play with the puck, looking a little paralyzed by a lack of options. In the second half, soft play deep in its territory allowed the Jets to score the third goal.

He was only entitled to two brief appearances at third, as Alex Newhook actually was. In all honesty, the entire trio had a rough night.

The problem is that the disturbing moments in Slavkovsky’s case outweigh the interesting jolts. He himself said he was frustrated with his start to the season after practice on Friday. Since Kirby Dutch’s injury, he’s been looking disoriented. Obviously, the success of one player cannot depend solely on the success of another.

Slavkovski has often been put in a position of repeated failures since the start of the season. Can the situation be changed by keeping him with the team?

Colleague Martin Leclerc sometimes discusses the concept of meaningful competition. Basically, it’s better to dominate at a lower level than to barely survive in a league bigger than us.

Example: Jesperi Kotkaniemi was a starter in the NHL while Nick Suzuki dominated in the juniors. However, it was Suzuki who established himself as a force in the league before the Finn.

For his part, Gohley spent two full seasons building confidence in the Western Junior League and the Memorial Cup before making the jump to the seniors. One might say: in time.

Every case is unique. One wonders whether the time has come to review Juraj Slavkovsky’s book.

a lot of

The Canadian announced after the match that Matheson suffered a lower body injury. The defender’s condition will be re-evaluated daily. He will be on a three-game trip starting in Las Vegas on Monday.

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