Yeah I don't know who decides these things, I'd assume it's the coaching staff as a whole. I would hope that they'd consult with Conroy as well, who actually had a successful career in the NHL and would have a better sense from ice level of these things. I think that's an additional benefit of employing an ex-NHLer.
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Originally Posted by polak
It's not like sending him down is going to stop him from being hit? If he gets caught in the NHL or gets caught in the AHL, it won't make much of a difference. No one is in the NHL over the AHL simply cause they hit harder.
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This is a great point. The NHL is quite a bit faster though - I would worry more about the speed of the game than harder hitting at NHL level. I think they have more of a chance at eluding hits at the AHL level than the NHL level due to this. These guys have a ton of skill and speed, I just would worry that at their size and experience level if they get their clock cleaned early in their careers it might really affect their development negatively. But you're right they're going to get hit in the AHL as well - arguably more as guys are trying to prove themselves.
Anyways this has probably been beat to death in one of the other threads.