Quote:
Originally Posted by DOOM
I really hope Granlund/Wotherspoon are not kept up as healthy scratches. IMO, they need to either be NHL regulars or getting top minutes in the AHL.
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Granlund and Jones would be interchangeable and I doubt Jones would warrant being kept for any stretch of time. Byron was used as the 13th forward last season and people didn't have a huge issue with it. Why? Cause with injuries which inevitably happened and or guys underperforming, he found himself in the line up a lot of nights after he was called up. Same thing would happen with Granlund. Either slots in for Jones or injuries, and they will happen. He would see plenty of ice time, and easily more than he's seen playing in Europe. It's really not as big an issue as people here tend to make it out to be. With the lack of solidified top players on this roster, players are even more interchangeable, and injuries are guaranteed to happen. And in my mind he'll be good enough to deserve regular playtime and eventually perhaps overtake Jones or one of the centers if he proves to be good enough in the middle.
As for Wotherspoon, same thing applies, but regardless he'd have to earn his way into the top 6 like anyone. And I think he'd learn plenty being with the team. They don't just sideline the extra players all the time. He'd learn a lot and I think he's good enough to have moved past the ahl.
And the thing with this is it's the opening night roster. Just cause these kids start as extras doesn't mean they'll stay there. If the top three pairings look strong and Wotherspoon looks to have little chance to get in, he can be sent down. Same with Granlund. But I guarantee you injuries or other opportunities will come up for both, and they'd have every chance to move up the lineup. It's not just "riding the pines" as people like to put it. It's a learning experience of what it is like to have to earn a regular spot on an NHL team. And if both these kids are that close, then it's an experience worth having. I don't believe in the Edmonton mentality of giving kids top minutes just cause they're young, and having this paranoia of somehow screwing up their development without doing so. If anything, giving top minutes prematurely would do more damage. You ease kids in to the NHL. IMO it's just the right way to do it.