The Washington Capitals acquired forward Pierre-Luc Dubois from the Los Angeles Kings in June, a move most pundits saw as a gamble by general manager Brian MacLellan.
In an interview with La Presse on Monday, Dubois opened up about his past failures in the NHL - particularly with Los Angeles. The 25-year-old said he "didn't feel at home" and credited "gray areas" of the team's game for his struggles.
"Take it as you will, but I’ve always needed to have clear instructions to do my job 100%," Dubois said. "I didn't really know what was expected of me. I didn't know where I stood. You can't play well when you question yourself too much."
He also said his previous coach, Todd McClellan, was not communicative in that field but stopped short of blaming him.
"We didn’t talk often. Todd is more of a team tactics coach," Dubois continued. "Maybe we didn’t have that relationship. Maybe I was too demanding, wanting to have the path explained to me. It’s obviously my fault that it didn’t work."
Some Washington fans may take his words as complaints or a lack of hockey IQ that bodes poorly for the Capitals entering the 2024-25 season.
On the contrary, Dubois' admissions were brave of him and demonstrate a clear desire to grow in his game.
It's not easy for a player at his level to admit so candidly where he struggles and ask for that kind of help. Washington head coach Spencer Carbery should be giddy to have such a coachable player on his hands.
"I think he’s got an emotional maturity that he reads where individuals and the team are at, and he’s got a message that coincides with that," MacLellan told the Washington Post in April of Carbery's coaching style.
Dubois appears eager to get started under Carbery's tutelage, appearing at informal skates as early as August.
Perhaps Carbery, one of the youngest head coaches in the NHL at 42 years old, will unlock the 2016 No. 3 overall pick's potential where no other coach could.
