Quote:
Originally Posted by c.t.ner
Sure having a great preseason will make it hard for management and there will be fan pressure to keep him up, but given that Trevling has said he doesn't want to rush players and Burke has already talked about tempering expectations for kids, I don't think it's unreasonable that management will send him down to Adirondack for at least the first half of the year.
And even if he does rip it up during pre-season all the Flames need to say is "keep that pace up in the AHL for a few months and you'll be one of the first call-ups". Lots of young players have ripped it up in the Preseason only to come crashing down to earth when the pros catch-up.
IMO There's no harm in having Johnny Hockey adjust to the daily grind of pro hockey in the AHL and building some chemistry with guys like Poirier, Arnold, Grandlund, Reinhart and others that he'll be playing with for years. As I said a good chunk of the College kids started burning out last year around the 30-40 game mark and there is a solid chance that Johnny may face that too. Doesn't really matter if he's got top notch endurance. It's the mental riger of a 82 games schedule vs. 45-50 game schedule that's the difference. Plus if he's tearing up the AHL at that point and doesn't look like there are signs that he's slowing down, then call him up.
Giving him first and second line minutes for the first half of the season (or the entire season) in the AHL will be far more important for his development long term over playing 3rd/4th line minutes or even on the bench in his first Pro season.
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I absolutely agree with you on one point here... there is absolutely no point in Johnny playing outside of the top 6, whether it's in Calgary or Adirondack.
If he is looking at 3rd or 4th line duty in Calgary then it would be better to send him down so he can play on the top line in Adirondack.