Penguins Update: Does Mike Sullivan Get a Bad Rap with Kids?
We all know the narrative.
Mike Sullivan hates kids. Hates ‘em. Absolutely, positively won’t play ’em. If they do somehow slip through and get pressed into service, they’d better be letter perfect.
P-E-R-F-E-C-T.
If they happen to make a rookie mistake or take a penalty?
Stapled to the bench. Or worse, ticketed for the next Greyhound to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
I admit, I’ve contributed to that narrative. There’ve been numerous times when I’ve taken the two-time Cup winning coach to task for not being patient enough with kids. Criticism that, at least to an extent, appears valid.
Yet as unthinkable as it may seem, is it possible Sully gets a bad rap when it comes to his treatment of kids?
On further review the answer would appear to be yes.
The naked truth is, he really hasn’t had much to work with in terms of young talent for a good long while.
To that end, I decided to look at the kids who’ve made their NHL debuts under Sully since our last Stanley Cup in 2017.