from Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen,
As a star NHL player, Daniel Alfredsson was never afraid to go against the grain, to share an unpopular or controversial opinion.
Apparently, nothing has changed.
The former Ottawa Senators captain, two months into his position as the club’s senior advisor of hockey operations, is not a big fan of major junior hockey. He says over-coaching is stifling the creativity of teenaged players.
“Young guys are more prepared (for the NHL) these days, but that’s not necessarily a good thing,” Alfredsson said in a wide-ranging interview. “That just means the professional (style) coaching is just going down the ranks, down to junior and even before junior, and on down.”
Alfredsson believes younger players need more time to develop individual skills, rather than adopting a structured, defence-first approach.
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