Quote:
Originally Posted by druetetective
Did you read the whole sentence or just cherry pick the part you wanted to make an argument against?
It's all about asset management. The Flames decided Baertschi was unlikely to be a part of the future core so they moved him. If they have similar feelings about Jankowski (Who is 1/2 of the prospect Sven was IMO) they should do the same.
|
I don't see how Jankowski is half the prospect Baertschi was.
Baertschi as a prospect was a cherry-picking CHL star who put up lots of points but never learned to backcheck. In the scouting profiles (that I trust) he was touted as a 'top 6 forward' in his draft year, and only looked like a serious 1st line talent the following year when he put up crazy numbers on a stacked Portland team. Now that he's a pro and has been taught NHL systems and how to backcheck he seems to have lost his scoring mojo. If he ever gets it back I think he could be a decent 2nd liner, but it wasn't looking like it was going to happen in Calgary. His waiver status compounded the situation and that's why his value was as low as a 2nd round pick.
Jankowski as a prospect was always touted as a longterm project with a very high ceiling. 4-5 years down the pipeline, we were told then – and it's only been 3 years (how quickly we forget). He's shown clear progression through his college career and has become a rock solid 2-way player, playing against grown men in the NCAA. He's learned the game the right way (on both sides of the puck) and has done all this despite having being thrown in at the deep end as a young freshman when he maybe should have gone to the USHL. He's a player trending in the right direction and he still has at least a year or 2 to go before he's developed enough to step into an NHL game. In those 2 years, as he continues to fill out and continues to improve his game, he could still reach that high ceiling: 6'4" 210lb playmaking centre with exceptionally high hockey IQ.
Cashing out on Jankowksi now, when he's only half way through his developmental curve and still not physically mature, does not seem like good logic to me. The Flames aren't in any danger of losing his rights just yet so his value isn't slipping like Baertschi's was due to waiver status. Maybe Treliving and Burke see it differently, but at this stage I still see Jankowski as a serious 1st round prospect developing as he was projected to.