Dec 7, 2013; Washington, DC, USA; Nashville Predators head coach Barry Trotz talks to his team from behind the bench against the Washington Capitals in the first period at Verizon Center. The Capitals won 5-2. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

The best teams seem to always have a great farm team or a player development system. The only two sports that really use farm teams is Baseball and Hockey. Their AAA or AHL affiliates are the ones that develop the players to be successful at the next level. The farm teams need to be on the same page with their affiliate professional teams, or the who thing is lost at the start.

Barry Trotz and Brian MacLellan are making the right decision to push player development now. The downside is that the development of players and getting them to the Professional level could take a couple of years. This could also delay the actual results of the Washington Capitals, what this means is that change will take time and I don’t know if time is on the Capitals side at this point.

For player development to work, the Coaches and Assistants all need to be on the same page and in sync with each other for the best possible outcome to occur. Brian MacLellan also agrees with this.

“I’ve always thought when we were at our best as an organization was when the coaching staff and GM of our AHL affiliate and NHL team were in sync. Brian has a real respect for what’s going on in Hershey. And from Barry, you’ll also see a real appreciation for that. They both said the same things to us in different interviews. They feel this can be a partnership that can really work.”

MacLellan and Trotz are on the same page and are working well together , for this first week together. That is a good sign. All parties happy and doing what needs to be done.

How does player development occur and what does it mean to Barry Trotz?

“With younger players, the longer that you can have them be in a situation where they’re playing high minutes at a high level and producing, then that’s the right seat for them,” Trotz said. “If they fail to do that, then the last thing I want is for a young player to be put in a position that he can’t produce and he’s losing his confidence. You don’t need that.

It seems like Trotz, MacLellan and the rest of the staff are on to something here and for it to be a success for the players and the team, it needs to be consistent throughout. Like I said before, player development will take time and it could get frustrating if the wins are not there, but either way, winning or not, if this is the plan it needs to be seen through and not wavered. Trotz needs to build his team the way he sees fit and everyone needs to be harmonious with each other. This is the way that the Washington Capitals will start to produce and win on a consistent basis for a very long time. No complaints here with a winning team for a long time.