Long-time CP stalker here, first thread. Now that our team is in full fledged rebuild, I've been very curious about the whole concept of 'developing' prospects and the concept of 'rushing' prospects into the league. Sorry if this is a useless thread, let me know and I'll take it down.
I'll start with a cluster of questions, and end with my main question:
If we bring up an 18 year old player who then puts up 22 goals (aka Mr. Boring) and then let's say he goes on to score 400 career goals, is there a chance we did him a disservice? Could he really have 'developed' more in a lesser league, and then attained an even higher ceiling? Do players truly improve at a faster rate in the AHL, or would they develop just the same regardless of AHL or NHL experience? Does development truly stall when players reach 'Johnny G level' in a lesser league? At what point should development be achieved at the NHL level?
I have suspicions on most of those questions, but not too many solid facts (just anecdotes) to back those suspicions up. They all lead my to my
core question:
Do we actually HURT prospect development when we bring them up to the NHL 'prematurely' (whatever that means).
(For example, did Feaster actually ruin Sven's development? Is that truly irreversible damage?)
I don't have many solid answers, but here are some truths that I can gather:
1. Every prospect needs time to develop prior to the NHL. Whether that time is 5 years in the AHL, or a few years of Timbits through Midget and then straight into an NHL starting job, everybody needs time.
2. Every prospect is different, ranging in rate of development and ranging in peak performance.
3. Not all prospects can make the NHL.
4. Everybody can develop more.
5. Edmonton is No Good.