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Originally Posted by New Era
Really? If the Oilers did this you would be all over them for rushing a player and then laughing about them putting his development at risk.
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You have no idea how I would react. And... I am actually capable of making decisions independently on different players. This may be news to you, but not all players are exactly the same.
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What do they have to lose? Games? They are a bubble team and every single game matters from this point forward. Throwing a complete unknown out there, who has not played a single period of hockey since the season started, is unwise when you're trying to stay in a playoff race.
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You can't be that naïve, so I will assume you are just being obtuse. This is an NHL franchise - they are probably going to wait until they have a good idea on a player before they 'throw' him out there. (seriously, that's a child's argument)
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Why risk it? Why put the best center this team has probably ever drafted at risk just to see where he is at? Why put games that we need to win at risk by putting a young and unproven player at the professional level in the lineup? If they want to see where he is at against men, send him to the AHL for a conditioning stint and evaluate his performance at that point. If he looks good there, then consider giving him a game, but throwing him directly into the NHL at this point is just bad management.
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Same answer: you only do it if he proves he's ready. How can that be such a hard concept to grasp?
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A managerial failure is to rush him. Two of his peers, drafted before him, were way in over their heads. Why would the less physically mature Bennett be any different?
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Yes, rushing him would be a managerial failure. But if he shows he's ready, it's not.
And why would other players matter? Pastrnak was drafted behind him and is playing, does that prove he IS ready?
Finally, he has had 6 months to mature and get stronger. That's a lot for an 18 year old. If he still isn't ready, fine. But if he is, the status of other players is irrelevant.
Making an a priori decision (apparently to prove they're not the Oilers), would also be a managerial failure.