Photo Courtesy of Kate Frese
By Rob Riches, Sports Talk Philly contributor 
Hours before the Flyers took the ice for their matchup with the Winnipeg Jets, Flyers Twitter completely melted down over Dave Hakstol's decision to list Shayne Gostisbehere as a healthy scratch from the lineup.
On the surface, it was easy to see coming. Taking a fun player to watch out of the lineup on a whim is a tough decision to make, especially when that player is continuing to provide an offensive presence from the blue line. And especially with some of the most dynamic young talents coming into town, the game promised some of the Jets' top young guns vs. the Flyers' youth movement.
It's no secret that the Flyers have mightily struggled defensively this season, and Gostisbehere has been no exception. While his possession metrics are among the Flyers' best, his defensive play has left much to be desired. Evidently, Hakstol hadn't liked what he'd seen from Gostisbehere so far in his sophomore campaign, and made the decision to (temporarily) bench him.
"I’m not the biggest guy, I've got to use my speed more — I think that’s a big thing, use my abilities like [Hakstol] says," Gostisbehere told reporters after Friday's practice. "I have to be accountable for my play, too."
One of Gostisbehere's biggest knocks since joining the Flyers full-time this time last season is that his defensive play leaves much to be desired. He's had to make plenty of defensive adjustments to the pro game, and will only continue to grow and develop. Watching the game from the confines of the press box gave him another vantage point, and a chance to see the game from a different point of view.
"I think the game slows down a bit when you’re up there, you see how things develop," Gostisbehere said. "I’m not always watching the puck up there, I’m watching other guys."
Sure, it's easy to bemoan scratching Gostisbehere, especially when it involves slotting the ever-maligned Andrew MacDonald into the lineup. Why should Gostisbehere sit while players like MacDonald and Chris VandeVelde take the ice? It's sort of a false equivalency — the big difference is that Gostisbehere will be able to learn and develop, while neither of those two players are in development phases.
One facet that's overlooked as well is Hakstol's player-development abilities — they were, essentially, what brought him to the Flyers to begin with. After coaching 11 seasons with North Dakota of the NCAA ranks, Hakstol's learned plenty about developing players, one of the backbones of the college game. Benching Gostisbehere isn't a move that Hakstol would make just to prove a point — he'd do it as a means of helping a young player grow.
Make no mistake, Gostisbehere's done a lot of big things so far in his NHL career — and the list of the right things that he's done will surely expand. He's easily shattered the expectations set forth of him when he was called up last year. But he still has plenty to learn as well, and a scratch from the lineup will serve as a teaching point for him.
At first, yes, it's easy to fear the worst in the wake of Shayne Gostisbehere's benching. But it's an easy move to make when your end-game is developing young players as efficiently as possible, and it never hurts to provide him with another learning opportunity.
