Rangers coach Mike Sullivan must prove critics wrong about this 1 negative perception

One of the criticisms levied against Mike Sullivan during his tenure as coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins was that he leaned so heavily on veteran players at the expense of developing younger ones. But is that a fair critique of the new bench boss of the New York Rangers?

Certainly Sullivan doesn’t think so. In fact, he appeared a bit defensive about that perception at the press conference to introduce him as Rangers coach earlier this month.

Unsolicited, Sullivan brought up how youngsters Bryan Rust, Conor Sheary, Jake Guentzel and Matt Murray, among others, played important roles when he guided the Penguins to consecutive Stanley Cup championships in 2016 and 2017.

The criticism in some circles of the Steel City is what happened after those championship runs. What young players really developed under Sullivan since?

Longtime Penguins beat reporter Dan Kingerski has a simple answer to that question.

“There weren’t any young players in Pittsburgh after that wave that came along in ’16, ’17. The Penguins had three first-round draft picks over a decade,” Kingerski told Forever Blueshirts on the RINK RAP podcast. “It wasn’t like he was stifling these young players, there weren’t young players that had the talent or ability to be in the NHL. He in no way impeded any young players.”

With a focus on trying to squeeze as many playoff runs out of the Sidney Crosby-led core, the Penguins acquired high-ticket veterans over the years, trading away a slew of draft picks at the expense of player development. The Penguins prospect pool has been among the worst in the NHL for years, under several different general managers, including Jim Rutherford, Ron Hextall and current GM Kyle Dubas.

The Penguins drafting record the past 10 years has been atrocious. Good luck trying to find a legitimate NHL prospect in the bunch, though it’s too early to include their most recent draft picks in with those before them.

So, it appears Sullivan is right that he shouldn’t be judged negatively about his history with younger players.

Mike Sullivan faces challenge of developing young Rangers talent

Though Kingerski agrees that’s the case, he did sound a bit of a warning for the Rangers.

“His style probably isn’t the best for a young team, though, because he’s not the hands-on, encouraging positive sort of teacher,” the Pittsburgh Hockey Now writer explained. “He’s a blackboard guy, a motivator as such in that he’s got such a commanding presence. But he’s not the guy to pick up young players that are falling.”

There are a couple takeaways from what Kingerski said.

First, Sullivan is stepping into a largely veteran team, with the likes of J.T. Miller, Mika Zibanejad, Artemi Panarin, Adam Fox and Igor Shesterkin leading the way. That should fit his wheelhouse of preferring to lean on a veteran core.

However, getting the most out of K’Andre Miller, Alexis Lafreniere and Will Cuylle is vital to Sullivan achieving success with the Rangers. Incorporating and developing Gabe Perreault, Brennan Othmann, Brett Berard and Matt Rempe is also very important.

When asked about the Rangers kids, Sullivan pointed out that “no one is entitled” to a roster spot and “every players earns it.” That’s the way it should be. But it’s part of the coach’s job to develop these kids, as well as bring out the best in established stars. That can’t be ignored by the new coach.

This is where Sullivan’s staff comes into play. He and GM Chris Drury must have at least one “teacher” on the coaching staff, to counter Sullivan’s rougher edges. Perhaps that’s Dan Muse, who was not fired after serving two seasons as an assistant under Peter Laviolette, but has yet to be officially named to Sullivan’s staff.

This is a critical time for the Rangers, who are not exactly known for their overwhelming success developing young talent — though they certainly have drafted much better than the Penguins the past decade.

Let’s see if Sullivan can change the narrative around his track record with young talent and establish the base for the Rangers moving forward.