Couldn't agree with you more. Raymond may not be an up and coming star, but his development has taken a serious hit due to AV's handling. The kid has no room to make mistakes, no room for creativity, no room to grow. If he does anything wrong, or, for that matter, doesn't consistently make a good impression on AV, he gets kicked around on line pinball or gets to ride the pine. Not exactly the atmosphere a young player needs to develop.mr perfect wrote:Everyone is pissing on Raymond here. He's a young player who will struggle with inconsistency. Did you know he came out in the newspaper and said the coaches have told him to not cut into the middle of the offensive zone when carrying the puck? That's why he only has the "one move" to the outside on a D-man. Raymond said he's trying to keep the coaches happy and do what they tell him. So blame the meathead behind the players on the bench. It seems Naslund got pissed off with Viggy Stardust last season and got vocal in the press as well. Different players, same result. What's the common denominator here?
I was listening to the 1040 broadcast on what I believe was the Nashville game. Shorty and what's his face were talking about how Raymond needed to cut to the middle and use his speed instead of always running the boards and getting pushed off the puck. He did once, lost the puck and got to ride the pine for the rest of the game. That kind of treatment just doesn't bode well for young player development. Maybe I am totally wrong in my assessment, but I still think this kid has potential to be a top six winger - I just see AV stifling it. On that note, keep Grabner and Hodgson away from him as long as possibly and they may turn into something.
