An opportunity.

According to Washington's Mike Green, considered by many as an elite defenseman in his fifth season in the NHL, that's all a young defenseman needs to establish himself as premier player.

Green knows from experience.

As the Washington Capitals first round pick in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, Green said the biggest difference in his career came when current coach Bruce Boudreau replaced Glen Hanlon on Nov. 22, 2007. With that coaching change, Green said he afforded the opportunity to play a significant amount of time, the beginning of what thus far has been a solid start to his NHL career.

http://kings.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=512021