Pavel Buchnevich’s New York Rangers return comes with a coach’s challenge to “do something about it.” So what does Buch have to do to make David Quinn happy?
Pavel Buchnevich had some time to sit, watch and, hopefully, percolate. The 23-year-old talent filled winger was a healthy scratch in back to back games for the end part of the New York Rangers west coast road trip.
He’s been scratched in three total games and is definitely not used to being treated this way, which just might be exactly what the kid needs. David Quinn brings a very different coaching strategy this Rangers team is not used to.
Discipline and accountability are paramount. Quinn has a coaching style that may bring back memories for some Ranger fans. Those memories have a face, and a name, which is Mike Keenan.
Mike Keenan demanded just what coach Quinn is demanding now: hard work. If you work hard, skate hard and play hard, you stay in the lineup. If you let lack of production dictate your effort, you will most certainly find yourself just where Buchnevich was for the last two games.
Watching your team play from the press box has got to be absolutely infuriating.
Buchnevich is a passionate player who shows emotion when on the ice. However, this two-game stretch of riding the pine may be the spark he needs to play at his full potential. If you’ve ever played a sport, then you understand the feeling of being sat out. So, many of the fans can relate on some level just how pissed Buch has to be.
Coach Quinn may be a rookie coach in the NHL, but he is far from new when dealing with young hockey talent who may need motivation. The message Quinn wants to deliver is far from a secret. The coach wants him pissed and to do something about it. Those words are absolutely glorious for any Rangers fan to read. Publicly challenging players is something that seems to have just disappeared as hockey’s gone on.
Quinn said Buchnevich is definitely back in, Spooner is out with a "lower-body issue. Nothing serious, nothing long-term." Buchnevich with Kreider and Hayes. Also said McQuaid is now "week-to-week as opposed to day-to-day." No imminent D call-up yet. #NYR
— Brett Cyrgalis (@BrettCyrgalis) November 4, 2018
Answering the challenge will require Buchnevich to not only rely on his skills, which are all-star quality, but also play every shift like his ice time depends on it. Which it does.
Coach Quinn didn’t sit Buch due to his lack of production. Pavel has three goals and two assists in the 10 games he’s played. He creates space and time for his linemates and has a laser beam of a shot. But, the Russian youngster was a two-game scratch because Quinn wants 100 percent effort every single shift.
Subsequently, having that mindset comes with maturity, and a person can mature awfully quick when faced with a permanent change in scenery.
New York Rangers fans watched Pavel Buchnevich dazzle in the KHL. There is no doubt he has all the tools to be a player who can change games in a single shift. The amount of ice time he receives is solely up to him and his desire to be that game-changing player. One thing is clear about Quinn’s coaching style, and that is his unchallenged recognition of a player’s hard work.
Pavel Buchnevich is actually in a fantastic position to write his own ticket. He just has to play pissed off and angry. Every. Single. Shift.
