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CaptainCrunch · 10-22-2013, 04:18 PM

So thinking about this and the deadline that's upcoming, there are more reasons to keep him up then sending him down

1) For the most part you send down a rookie after 9 days because its apparent that there are holes in his game that he needs to work on. These range from the physical, not strong enough, not a good enough skater at the pro level, thoughts that they can't handle the bigger stronger players. We've seen none of this in Monahan, his skating is fine for the NHL level, as is his physical strength side. He's been very good on the boards and he's been able to stay with the play at an NHL level.

2) Maybe he can't handle the schedule? We don't know that and we won't know that until we try. Its certain that he's playing with a certain mix of adrenaline and attitude. But the kid has gotten stronger as we go along, even with teams starting to put their better centers across from him, he's held up.

2) What about the contract stuff? Who really cares, the Flames are obligated to their fans to put the best players possible on the ice, we're not the Oilers here. Fact is the trend is with exceptional young players reaching the end of their entry level contracts that the so called bridge contracts aren't the same as they used to be. You might still sign them to a shorter term but your still going to pay them lots of money. Both Hall and Eberle were signed to 4 year $6 million dollar terms. Landeskog in Colorado to a 4 year extension at about 5.71. Even if he plays through his elc contract we'll still see him in Flames silks til he's about 25 which means he still has 2 years to a UFA status. So the answer again is who cares.

3) Sending him down increases his confidence right? Not really, sending him back to Ottawa is equivalent now to sending King Kong into Hobbiton, sure he'll rack is up, but is he gaining more confidence then he's got now? Doubtful. In fact if he goes down and dominates does his game really improve? I don't think it does. He might as well stay here and prove himself with a stiffer challenge.

4) What about coaching? NHL coaching is that much better then it is in juniors. Everything from proper game day preparation, to systems study, to health and nutrition is top notch in the NHL. He'll eat properly, be able to physically work out to a better result up here and learn what it takes to be a professional.

5) He's surrounded by pros. This can be good or bad depending on who's inthe locker room. In Colorado young players gravitated to Sakic, in Detroit to Yzerman (even though he had a reputation of being a bit of a raging jerk). While Calgary doesn't have that level of leadership. They do have guys like Gio, and Cammy and Big Ern and other really good professionals that can not only keep him grounded but help him absorb life in the NHL. He's also not going to ride buses, eat happy meals and party with a bunch of 18 year olds. He's going to party with mid 20's players.

6) Ottawa is a horrible team, its going nowhere, in Calgary he can take that second row this year and enjoy the game and learn to be a pro, he doesn't have to captain a sinking ship with little to no prospects. Sure Ottawa can trade him, but that leads to the uncertainty of the type of coaching and team he's going to end up with. At least here we know what he's going to end up with.

7) He gets to spend time with the teams young nucleus. Spending time with Bart and Brodie and Bouma and Horak and Colbourne while they all get to learn together and support each other is a good thing. If he was the only young guy on the team, I might argue differently. But being able to bond with young players while learning from the older players is hugely beneficial for this franchise as a whole and for Monahan.

8) More fun, this team has no expectations this year, he can enjoy his rookie year and not go through the Sequin scenario of being stapled to the bench because he's playing on a Stanley Cup contending team with huge depth. This means that he's going to see power play time, penalty killing time and all kinds of late game scenarios. This is literally no different then what would happen to him in juniors except the level of competition is higher and he'll have to learn at a faster rate.

Sure we can send him to play at the WJC where he should get the number 1 center spot and the chance to lead that team. But other then that there is very little reason to send him back down.

If we send him back because he's negatively effecting our draft position, well that's just stupid and it tells every young player that losing is ok.

If we send him back to juniors because we're losing a year of elc eligibility, that's really the wrong reason to send him down.

The best place for him is here.

10-22-2013, 04:18 PM	#23
CaptainCrunch Norm! Join Date: Jun 2002 Exp:	So thinking about this and the deadline that's upcoming, there are more reasons to keep him up then sending him down 1) For the most part you send down a rookie after 9 days because its apparent that there are holes in his game that he needs to work on. These range from the physical, not strong enough, not a good enough skater at the pro level, thoughts that they can't handle the bigger stronger players. We've seen none of this in Monahan, his skating is fine for the NHL level, as is his physical strength side. He's been very good on the boards and he's been able to stay with the play at an NHL level. 2) Maybe he can't handle the schedule? We don't know that and we won't know that until we try. Its certain that he's playing with a certain mix of adrenaline and attitude. But the kid has gotten stronger as we go along, even with teams starting to put their better centers across from him, he's held up. 2) What about the contract stuff? Who really cares, the Flames are obligated to their fans to put the best players possible on the ice, we're not the Oilers here. Fact is the trend is with exceptional young players reaching the end of their entry level contracts that the so called bridge contracts aren't the same as they used to be. You might still sign them to a shorter term but your still going to pay them lots of money. Both Hall and Eberle were signed to 4 year $6 million dollar terms. Landeskog in Colorado to a 4 year extension at about 5.71. Even if he plays through his elc contract we'll still see him in Flames silks til he's about 25 which means he still has 2 years to a UFA status. So the answer again is who cares. 3) Sending him down increases his confidence right? Not really, sending him back to Ottawa is equivalent now to sending King Kong into Hobbiton, sure he'll rack is up, but is he gaining more confidence then he's got now? Doubtful. In fact if he goes down and dominates does his game really improve? I don't think it does. He might as well stay here and prove himself with a stiffer challenge. 4) What about coaching? NHL coaching is that much better then it is in juniors. Everything from proper game day preparation, to systems study, to health and nutrition is top notch in the NHL. He'll eat properly, be able to physically work out to a better result up here and learn what it takes to be a professional. 5) He's surrounded by pros. This can be good or bad depending on who's inthe locker room. In Colorado young players gravitated to Sakic, in Detroit to Yzerman (even though he had a reputation of being a bit of a raging jerk). While Calgary doesn't have that level of leadership. They do have guys like Gio, and Cammy and Big Ern and other really good professionals that can not only keep him grounded but help him absorb life in the NHL. He's also not going to ride buses, eat happy meals and party with a bunch of 18 year olds. He's going to party with mid 20's players. 6) Ottawa is a horrible team, its going nowhere, in Calgary he can take that second row this year and enjoy the game and learn to be a pro, he doesn't have to captain a sinking ship with little to no prospects. Sure Ottawa can trade him, but that leads to the uncertainty of the type of coaching and team he's going to end up with. At least here we know what he's going to end up with. 7) He gets to spend time with the teams young nucleus. Spending time with Bart and Brodie and Bouma and Horak and Colbourne while they all get to learn together and support each other is a good thing. If he was the only young guy on the team, I might argue differently. But being able to bond with young players while learning from the older players is hugely beneficial for this franchise as a whole and for Monahan. 8) More fun, this team has no expectations this year, he can enjoy his rookie year and not go through the Sequin scenario of being stapled to the bench because he's playing on a Stanley Cup contending team with huge depth. This means that he's going to see power play time, penalty killing time and all kinds of late game scenarios. This is literally no different then what would happen to him in juniors except the level of competition is higher and he'll have to learn at a faster rate. Sure we can send him to play at the WJC where he should get the number 1 center spot and the chance to lead that team. But other then that there is very little reason to send him back down. If we send him back because he's negatively effecting our draft position, well that's just stupid and it tells every young player that losing is ok. If we send him back to juniors because we're losing a year of elc eligibility, that's really the wrong reason to send him down. The best place for him is here.