Quote:
Originally Posted by Alberta_Beef
The speed and skill in the AHL is better than that of the NCAA and the NHL is better than that in the AHL. It is simply a stepping stone to allow his adjustment to be smoother. There is no reason to throw him to the wolves and play him in the NHL immediately, the risk of rushing him is too significant. Let's let him develop properly.
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Couldn't you say the same about an 18 year old Monahan? Take the stepping stones, don't rush? Well, no he earned his way onto the team and according to the coaching staff it was equally as much because of his maturity and hockey sense than his skill. He was able to adapt and had the smarts to make the transition at such a young age.
Now Johnny will be 21 when training camp rolls around. And those were 3 extra years well needed. While Sean was very good last fall in proving himself, I have little doubt that Johnny will stand out even more. But they won't pick him to stay on the team because of his skill and ability to score, it'll be for the same reasons they kept Monahan. If you go by the word of the BC staff and his coach he's an extremely mature person and player. And very coachable, and his smarts are off the chart. Both he and Monahan had qualities that would hold them back going in - Monahan being only 18, and Johnny with his size. But both have the qualities that solidify their places on the team, which is maturity, adaptability and hockey sense. This is a big strength of Monahan's, but an even bigger one for Johnny. He's one of the smartest young players I've seen. If he's got the tools to be in the NHL now, then they'll look past the size issue, just as they looked past the age/development issue with Sean.
Reason he doesn't go down to Adirondack is because of what's between his ears. He's got more hockey smarts than any of the kids that needed AHL time. He just understands the game at a very advanced level, and needs to in order to do the things he can do on the ice. He'll adapt to the NHL with much more ease because of this, just as Money did.