I can see both sides to the Cammarata debate. I see a lot of what Harley sees, although denouncing him as a total ***** is putting it stronger than I would.
There is no doubt that physical play and "grittiness" are a weakness in his game. The play at the offensive blueline that led to a turnover and Colgate's 1st goal was a prime example.
Given his size, I think it's fair to say physicality and gritty play will never be his strong suit. But he needs to start being willing to get his nose at least a little dirty. I don't think I would bench him, but I do think there needs to be some kind of change there and/or some kind of message sent. To be clear, though, after a game like tonight Cammarata isn't the first place I'm looking.
No doubt. It's a part of his game that he needs to work on for sure, especially if he plans on playing at the next level. But the extent of the criticism was over the top and classless.
Gotta keep in mind that he's only a freshman, and is diminutive in size. Give him a year or two in the weight room, and a year or two experience at this level and I would venture to guess he'll improve in this area.
His comment about being a disappointment (while somewhat understandable considering expectations) was off base, especially if you consider his follow-up comment about his play in the USHL. He's struggled in some areas, and hasn't tore up the scoreboard like some (including me) expected he would, but to say he's been a disappointment isn't fair.
Harley is the guy who lamented before the season that this team wouldn't possibly score as many goals as last year, yet they out paced last year's team in that department thru the first half of the season.
I also think there are players on this team that need messages sent to them FAR more than Cammarata. Players that are upper-classman, have the experience, but are making stupid and/or lazy mistakes.
Condon failed to get the puck in deep on the bad line change that resulted in the second goal by Colgate, and didn't even come back hard after turning the puck over. Then had a bad turnover in the third period that led to an odd man rush. He also took a few lazy penalties (one an offensive zone penalty and one while we were on a late power play trying to take the lead).
Beyond on-ice play, where was our on ice leadership all game? The Gophers slept thru this game and there was no "lead by example" push typical of Matson's captaincy. I have to admit, the play from our upper-classmen (minus Abroz and to an extent Boyd) has been very underwhelming. These are guys who have been thru the grind and should be producing and leading by example.
