Andre Burakovsky was on fire when the season began, coming out of training camp by scoring in the first game of the season. He was pegged for the second line center position, something he wasn't used to, but head coach Barry Trotz had faith in him.
Fast forward to December and Burakovsky has played only three games, being scratched for the rest, and as of tonights game against the Blue Jackets, Burakovsky will once again be sitting in the press box.
This begs the question: Will the Caps be sending Burakovsky down to Hershey?
“If he’s not playing in the next games here on a fairly regular basis,… Head Coach Barry Trotz said this morning, “then I’m going to have him go to Hershey for a bit and play lots of minutes.… (Washington Post)
Oh - well I guess that answers that.
But why not send him down now? Or let him play for Sweden in the WJ?
Simply, the Caps don't want to risk injury to their budding star. He will most likely be sent to Hershey, especially if the Caps make a trade for a true, consistent number 2 center, which is something they have needed since Sergei Fedorov left.
The Caps didn't want to send Burakovsky to play for Sweden because they didn't want him to get hurt, and because it would not benefit the young center in the long run. By being sent to Hershey instead, he would be playing big minutes and also learning the Caps system.
He'll be a stud, that's for sure, but his confidence is shot right now. However, if the Caps do send him, who will replace him? Right now Michael Latta is set to play the second line center role tonight, and that doesn't bode well for confidence from the fans. Latta is a solid checker and fourth line presence, but the second line? That's cause for concern.
Kuznetsov will swap with Latta and play on the fourth, which can't be good for his confidence either. I really wish they'd experiment with him on Ovechkin and Backstrom's line - it could be another case of Alex Semin, which wasn't a bad thing.
Caps face off against Columbus tonight at 7:00pm.
More to come...