Quote:
Originally Posted by ricardodw
The goal is not about making your scouts look good.
Maybe Brodie and Negrin can develop enough so that next time a Carson or Mikklesen is on the waiver wire the Flames will look and say no thanks .... Brodie is better.
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My issue in this regard, is that it shouldn't be about who is better during camp, it should be about what is best for development. They are completely different, and I think that using a blank slate and choosing the player who is better right now is the wrong approach.
You can find 28 year old defencemen who have lots of NHL experience on the waiver wire all the time. Guys who can fill a 3rd pairing role, and have an advantage in experience and maturity over a 20 year old prospect. Yes, the 28 year old will definitely be better this season. But he's going nowhere. Or Steve Staios.
Do that a few years in a row, and you'll end up with a prospect who's 24 or 25, and still in the AHL. He could have spent the last 4 years practicing and playing against the best in the world, but instead spent his best developmental years on the bus between Peoria and Hershey.
My point is that a guy who has a higher ceiling should get the priority, not the guy who is a little bit better today. You don't want to rush your prospects, and by all means bring in journeyman fringe guys if your prospect isn;t ready to fill the hole in your roster. But hockey players get better by playing at a level that is slightly over their heads. Your prospects won't develop to their potential if they spend their best developmental years in the AHL.
The price to pay for developing the best players possible, is sometimes icing depth (read: not important) players who are not the absolute best possible every year.
We are not going to miss the playoffs because our 6th d-man was the 8th best guy in camp. But we might miss the playoffs down the road if we don't develop our future talent properly.
For those who are slow on the uptake, I am suggesting the TJ Brodie should get preferential consideration for the 6th (or MAYBE 7th) spot. Because I think he has a higher ceiling than some others competing for those spots.