The Case for Jonathan Drouin

By Mark Pukalo

It’s unfortunate that it has become a battle -- the Jonathan Drouin fans who think the upside far outweighs his lack of experience versus Lightning supporters who would side with the coach on any decision and pass the debate off as whining.

That’s what you often get with a prospect as good as Drouin -- whose vision, skating ability and hands are at the highest levels – if he doesn’t blast onto the scene. Just think if this was Toronto. Even in Tampa, many fans want too much, too soon.

I remember how many Lightning fans wondered why Victor Hedman wasn’t running people over with the size he has, how they highlighted every mistake and were blind to the many more good plays he made – even as an 18-year-old.

Drouin, who has played three of 21 postseason games, seems to be getting the same treatment. His negatiives are exaggerated and positives forgotten.

Hedman is now one of the best defenseman in the league and is in the running for the Conn Smythe Trophy if the Lightning should beat the Chicago Blackhawks. All he needed was patience.

Drouin will be a standout player in this league someday soon. He’s too skilled. He’s too fast. He’s too smart. Let’s hope it is in Tampa Bay. Trading him because the coach can’t find a role for him would be Steve Yzerman’s worst nightmare.

Jon Cooper has done a terrific job since taking over the Lightning. The way he has gotten his team back on track after poor performances shows what kind of coach he can be. I just wonder if he has handled Drouin in the best way possible. Drouin is not a draft pick that requires two or three years of intense development and dues paying in the American Hockey League. No. 3 selections with his kind of talent pay their dues in the NHL, and learn on the job. Some are used in big roles right away because the team is bad, ala Drouin’s former Halifax teammate Nathan MacKinnon with Colorado. Drouin did not get that kind of ice time -- only 13:14 per game.

The Lightning did not need to push him right onto the top two lines. That part I get. I also understand that Drouin does not boast top-notch defensive instincts yet. You can see his mind working when he is out there, moving to positions he is supposed to be. It just does not come naturally - yet. But, in my opinion, he is smart and fast enough to make up for his deficiencies and his offensive instincts can make way more of an impact than those who have taken his spot.

One television analyst lazily said, “He’s minus-4, he’s gotta come out.” Drouin had just come on the ice for two of the goals against, with no chance to get into the play. Ben Bishop knocked one puck in his own net when the former Halifax Moosehead was on the ice and the fourth was Brendan Gallagher’s goal in Game 3 against Montreal where Drouin did not seem to be at fault.

My concern is not necessarily Cooper’s decision to play seven defensemen and 11 forwards. If that is the plan, J.T. Brown has proved his worth, Brenden Morrow’s experience is helpful and Cedric Paquette provides a fourth center with Brian Boyle. My problem is the use of Jonathan Marchessault and Vladislav Namestnikov over Drouin. Namestnikov played 10 games in the first two rounds and Drouin three. It should have been reversed. That’s not to say Marchessault and Namestnikov can’t do a job. They just don’t give you the boost Drouin can and their advantage defensively is minimal -- in my opinion.

Ultimately, as many have said, Cooper’s mistake may have been failing to use Drouin enough during the regular season. Drouin would gain a bigger role briefly, then quickly be moved to the fourth line. While the power play struggled, he was barely used. Perhaps with more time during the regular season, he would have been a more finished product during the playoffs.

Drouin didn’t have a great season. He was picked by some to be the Rookie of the Year and had 32 points in 70 games. But it was nowhere close to, “wildy underachieving,” as one Tampa columnist wrote and he was near the top of the NHL in assists per minute of ice time.

Maybe I go a little too far on this, but I wonder why Drouin skated with the Black Aces and was not even on the ice for pregame at times – even when he wasn’t expected to play. It doesn’t seem like a No. 3 pick overall should be treated that way.

Yzerman has been a tremendous GM. He has done almost everything right (still don’t like what the Bolts got for Dustin Tokarski). The one thing I wish he would do is push his philosophy a bit more on his coaches. You definitely want your coach to run the show on the ice and make his own decisions 99 percent of the time. I just wonder if Yzerman could be a tad more hands on.

Maybe Yzerman did this behind the scene, but he could have demanded one thing from Guy Boucher before everything fell apart for a coach that brought the Bolts within one win of the Cup Finals in 2011. Yzerman could have stressed tweaking Boucher’s coverage scheme in the defensive zone (no, not the 1-3-1) which teams figured out after a while.

Whatever has happened in the back rooms this season, it appears to me that Drouin’s growth has been stunted. The hope is that, with a summer to soul search, both Cooper and Drouin will come back ready to move forward.

The Lightning can win a Cup without Drouin. No doubt. But one big advantage that the Blackhawks have over Tampa Bay is that they can get scoring from all four lines. The Bolts, like others have said, basically have two scoring lines and two checking units. They could use a left wing spark if they go back to 12 forwards.

I disagree with the idea that Drouin should be a top-six winger next season or not in the lineup at all. These are different days in the NHL. In the past, you had two scoring lines and a checking line to go along with the pluggers and fighters on the fourth unit. These days, you normally have two top scoring lines, a third with offensive ability and the fourth works as a checking trio. Drouin can play in the top nine -- preferably with two guys that can shoot the puck, because he will find them.

If Steven Stamkos moves back to center, you could also see a top nine that includes lines such as Drouin-Stamkos-Killorn, the Triplets and Erne-Filppula-Callahan at some point with Paquette-Boyle-Brown as a fourth unit. Not bad.

Someday, I believe, we will laugh about this period in Drouin’s career. That is, if he is working his magic in a Lightning uniform -- not putting up 80-plus points a season somewhere else.