Oops – Wilson is Doing It Again to Young Leafs.
by admin on Nov.09, 2011, under SPORTS
Well that didn’t take long did it. Wilson’s Leafs are staring to fall into that familiar pattern. Starting quick – till Wilson alienates and disrupts the confidence of many a player. Now the Leafs are falling just before winter hits – again.
Whether it be his mishandling and possibly ruining the promising and talented rookie Kadri. Or his treatment of his new whipping boy Luke Schenn. This coach can’t help himself but to let his personality get in the way.
Take the mishandling of back up Jonas Gustavsson. Just as this kid gets his game going and is gaining his confidence – Wilson decides to bench him and throw in a rookie Scrivens. Rook has a good game – so instead of letting him enjoy his contribution – you throw him to the wolves (or Bruins) and let him suffer through being lit up for five goals before pulling him. Now Scrivens confidence is shot and Gustavsson is left wondering why an unproven rookie gets more love from his coach than he does.
I do think Wilson is a great short term coach. His records in short tournaments proves this ( world cup, olympics). His best before date is just shorter than most coaches and the smell of losing in Toronto is getting very stale.
I also don’t think I am the only one who is annoyed by Wilson’s penchant for saying “we” when the team wins and “they” when the team loses.
Yes, I know it is early. Leafs are only 2-1 (nhl converted to nfl season – see previous posts) so far, but we have seen this movie before. Burke will have to make a change sooner rather than later if he wants to avoid another wasted season. My choice would be the PEI mouthpiece Doug Mclean. He was always a better coach than a manager and he has the media savy to handle Toronto.
Will see what happens – but if this two- game slide (outscored 12-1) becomes a six-gamer – Burke will have to make a move for a coach that instils player confidence and says “we” when the team wins AND when it loses.
