With the Gaels’ OUA season well behind us and the Toronto Maple Leafs having lost their sixth consecutive game seven, there’s no better time to apply some of the lessons the Leafs have struggled to realize, or accept, to our men’s hockey team here at Queen’s.
As many of the Leafs and Queen’s big guns know, it’s hard to score in the playoffs—defences get tighter and good goalies seem to play better. Teams like the Dallas Stars, New York Rangers, and the OUA’s Université du Québec’s Patriots have shown depth wins games.
You may be able to defend one line, as the Boston Bruins did with the Leafs this past series, but defending four is a completely different story.
Now, crafting a team with depth isn’t something you can magically wish for, and it isn’t just about the team’s ability to reel in fresh prospects privy to putting the puck in the net. It also requires fostering the poise of each line of players. Putting a variety of players, not just the big guns, in the position to score big goals in big games is a strong way to foster the development of star-players and force your already established star-players to earn their ice-time in clutch moments.
Look at Wyatt Johnston of the Dallas Stars. The 21-year-old centerman was given opportunities to shine as a young-gun from the second he entered the league, and now, after only his second season, is leading the Stars in playoff points.
I’m not saying we should shy away from giving Dalton Duhart, our all-star center who potted 44 points last season, the ice-time he’s earned by being the OUA’s fourth-highest point scorer in the 2023-24 season. I’m merely suggesting throwing the opposition a lesser-known player, like Derek Hamilton, a Kingston, Ontario native.
Hamilton, or any player who might not be on the opposing team’s radar, may have an easier time surprising the opposition and plugging a huge goal in a huge moment.
Another lesson to be learned from the Leafs disappointing playoff run, and particularly from the Bruins’ success in the series, is the importance of always having a little bit of trickery up your sleeve.
In the overtime of game seven, the Bruin’s pulled out a trick play that they had relied on time and time again in the past couple of seasons. Defenceman Charlie McAvoy dumped the puck into the offensive zone, bouncing the puck hard off of the end-boards to be received by a springing David Pastrňák, who had caught each of the Leafs players and goalies flat-footed, eventually ending the Maple Leafs season.
While you could argue a different goalie, different shooter, or a different defenceman would’ve changed the outcome of the play, the moral of the story is that in the playoffs you have to take chances. Oftentimes, high risk, high reward plays pay off in the playoffs.
If the Gaels should take anything from the Maple Leafs playoff failure, it’s that taking risks can, and have been heavily rewarded in dire circumstances. Take the chance on a rising star, or gamble on a play that could catch the opposition flat-footed.
Afterall, playoffs are characterized by unlikely heroes, and spectacular moments.
Tags
Aidan’s Angle, Hockey, playoffs
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