[wingmaker]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

So, what would be the point then of even ranking prospects?

As I see it, the idea of a "ceiling" helps us as fans to process each players potential contribution to the team. I'm pretty sure no one here is guilty of believing that every player will realise their perceived potential, and furthermore, that every player is limited by it. It's an educated guess. Nothing more.

Perhaps it's just a semantics thing. I understand that Baertschi, for example, was projected to be a first line winger and still carries that as his perceived potential, where as Granlund and Poirier were probably projected to be second line players when they were drafted, thus they were drafted later. However, since then, both Granlund and Poirier have improved their games and have put up better numbers and shown more than they did in their draft year. Will they become more than what was projected of them? Maybe maybe-not, but they certainly have changed the conversation and if they continue to evolve could exceed the original projections, therefor making the concept of a "ceiling" irrelevant. These are young players. Of course we all look at them and project what they will become. That is the fun of these polls. All I am saying is that they still have the ability to evolve and exceed expectations. Capping their potential with a concept like "ceiling" does nor reflect the reality that player development is fluid and not a set progression towards an already determined potential.