[GranteedEV]

First of all, I'm going to open this post with: this conversation is pretty topical. The prospects haven't had the strongest stats in the AHL under Huska but we're discussing whether that's a useful barometer of their development. So when I post this, it's because I don't think this is a digression or tangent - it's context-building.

Originally Posted by Drury18

Ferland played equal amounts of time under Ward and Huska. However, Huska only got Ferland AFTER he played in the NHL and AFTER the concussion set him back (as well as addiction issues). So no, I don't believe Huska gets credit as Ferland was down on a conditioning stint.

Ferland didn't make the Flames out of training camp. He had 9 points in 9 games under Ryan Huska when he was called up for the first time in his NHL career. Regardless of how much Ward contributed to Ferland's development, we can't disregard that Ferland had the best start to a season in his pro career under Huska.

Baertschi has 73 games under Ward and 32 under Huska. Baertschi also had lower NHL time and points after time with Huska. Huska had the opportunity to help turn his game around and didn't, hence the trade.

To the first part, different management had a different set of rules for Baertschi. As far as when question marks started popping up about his all-around game, Baertschi was originally sent down to the minors right after Jay Feaster was fired. At that point in time Baertschi had ALREADY played 32 games under Troy G Ward along with 46 for Bob Hartley. The second time he was sent down was out of training camp.

To the bolded, this is entirely an opinion. Despite the constant up-and-down, most would have agreed that his all-around game by February 2015 was the best it ever was during his time here. And his trade wasn't because he hadn't progressed, it was because he was personally frustrated with his situation.

Granlund's development was 100% Troy Ward. Huska got Granlund because he was an easy waiver guy to send down. Granlund was pretty much an NHL guy at that point.

That's besides the point. If Huska is being denied credit for Granlund, why not deny Ward credit for Granlund and say his development was due to his coaches over in Finland? It's a slippery slope.

Ward had the patience with Jooris to help him overcome the college hump. Absolutely Ward is the reason Jooris could make the jump.

Josh Jooris "made the jump" because he played hard and got some bounces his way while playing on Bennett and Gaudreau's right wing during camp. Overcoming the college hump? Who had the better rookie pro season, Agostino or Jooris?

"I saw Josh play a lot for the Abbotsford Heat last year ... he really didn’t stand out to me in a positive or a negative way. He was a good player but not one I’d expect to be playing in the NHL, let alone playing almost 20 per game with the Flames." - Derek Willis