New York Rangers: Pavel Buchnevich will be fine going forward

While the New York Rangers as a whole are struggling, individual player development is the goal for this season. As of now, Pavel Buchnevich is not endearing himself to his new coach.

Aside from getting young players in the draft or as free agents, the single most important part of a rebuild is developing talent. A team can select in the top ten or five every single year and still fail to get better over time. Take the Edmonton Oilers for example. That team drafted in the top ten nine of the past eleven years and have a single playoff appearance.

The emphasis on player development is tied to the salary cap implications. Before the NHL had a salary cap, teams were able to just back up the Brinks’ truck and sign veterans every single summer to fill holes. Now that isn’t an option and young players on entry level contracts are the building blocks for success.

The New York Rangers have a handful of players on its roster that figure into the team’s long-term plans and require development before they can be considered key contributors. In the case of Russian forward Pavel Buchnevich, he’s failed to impress his new head coach, David Quinn.

Last season under the notoriously bad for player development coach, Alain Vigneault, Buchnevich was only healthy scratched once in 82 games. Through 12 games this season, the Russian was already benched twice for not playing up to the standard that Quinn demands of his players.

While this may seem like a bit of tough love for a player not known for his aggression or physical play, it’s a matter of consistency. Thus far, Quinn has healthy scratched ten different players through 12 games all for not having the “right compete level.”

Just because Buchnevich is more important to the team’s future does not mean that he’s entitled to special treatment. The coach is trying to implement an organizational philosophy geared towards making the team tough to play against in the long term. This is a demanding style of hockey to play that isn’t for everyone.

However, it’s incumbent upon Buchnevich to make the changes that the coaching staff is implementing. The forward isn’t being asked to fight or throw his body into harm’s way, but competing with a level that matches the rest of his teammates.

The entire logic behind the Quinn hire was that he knew how to develop young players. If people are already giving up on the Boston University product after less than a month of the season, they’re missing the point. Development is a long-term process that requires growing pains and lessons from experience.

Buchnevich will in all likelihood get back into the lineup on Thursday against the Anaheim Ducks. The forward’s production (five points in ten games) is perfectly adequate. This is about philosophy and learning, which Buchnevich doesn’t have a choice about.