Generally, Todd McLellan has nothing to do with Shayne Gostisbehere. He was the longtime coach of the San Jose Sharks; now, he’s the latest bench boss entrusted to advance along the Edmonton Oilers’ rebuild.
Two teams in the Pacific Division – you can’t get much further from Philadelphia than that.
But for a couple of weeks before the real season starts, McLellan has a lot to do with Gostisbehere. He’s the coach of the World Cup of Hockey’s Team North America, featuring the best of the best 23-and-under Canadian and American players: one of whom so happens to be Gostisbehere.
Camp has only just started, but McLellan already has a ton of praise for one of his young defensemen.
McLellan on the Ghost: “He’s a special player … I think he could man two power play units.” #Flyers
— Michael Traikos (@Michael_Traikos) September 7, 2016
McLellan probably isn’t actually going to use him like that – there’s a lot of talent at his disposal on Team North America – but he’s definitely on one of those powerplay units.
And remember, this is a coach who’s going to have to play against him a couple of times a year.
And remember remember – the Flyers still have even more young, exciting defensemen coming up through the ranks.
Things were already looking good for the future of the backend; comments like this from someone who is, most of the time, an opposing coach just serve as an exciting reminder for what we can probably expect to come.
