Brandon Astle

But Manny, he's a modern day coach and just perfect for this type of situation.

Yeah, these players definitely went through some highs and lows, which is pretty common in the American Hockey League.

You almost want them to experience some difficult situations, whether that's not getting a lineup for a couple games or not getting on any sort of special teams.

It's okay to sit back and if it happens in the press box, see how things develop differently.

And you're better off for it.

There's been some cases, like I mentioned, Manny scratching some veterans that thought they were going to be handed playing time.

Wasn't the case.

There's been some other scenarios where some young players like Lecker, Mackey, and Klimovic over the last few years weren't up to standard.

And so they sat and watched.

And that definitely lights a fire under a prospect's rear end, especially a first or second round pick.

It can bring them back to earth.

And this season, like you mentioned, Sat was a tough one.

Over 50 players played for the Abbotsford Canucks, which is a very high number.

They've had all sorts of e-bugs that had to dress.

A mortgage broker from Abbotsford, a goalie coach in Colorado had to play.

They had to dress nine forwards on a consistent basis near the end of the year.

So Manny and RJ got dealt a very tough hand and themselves will never use that as an excuse.

I have no problems with that.

There's no coach or GM that could have weathered that type of storm.

But I look at some of the progress that some of the young guys had throughout the year.