Quote:
Originally Posted by Bingo
Hope they have a tonne of tough decisions to make with players pushing from all sides.
Will be fun to watch.
|
I hope the decisions are easy and favour inserting rookies into the line-up.
Veterans always have an advantage as they have been conditioned for the NHL by being in the NHL. There comes a point where there only way to progress a prospect is to give them meaningful NHL experience.
I think it will be a real shame if a prospect like Granlund is pushed aside for a veteran because the veteran is better conditioned to the NHL. Same thing goes for guys like Reinhart and Baertschi. If we can't put up with the growing pains of rookies, then we are doomed.
Switching gears.... but can Granlund be moved to the wing? With Monahan Backlund and Byron as young centres, and Stajan as the only older veteran (and we do need some older veterans at each position IMO), he will be hard pressed to make the team as a centre this season if we are going 100% on merit and not on the idea that rookies sometimes deserve to be forced in (as I described in the first paragraph).