Ice time breeds improvement. Improvement is needed for a rebuild to be successful. Ice time is also earned with good play – but sometimes it isn’t earned at all. That’s 30 words that basically says ice time is important but there is no measurable way of judging if a player has earned it in the coach’s mind. All we have is inference and actual ice time stats.
A major complaint, especially in a rebuild, is that the kids need to have ice time. It’s something that was a focal point of the Lias Andersson debate, but has now shifted to the Kaapo Kakko debate.