Quote:
Originally Posted by PepsiFree
Exactly.
That's why it's my opinion that if the player can play, you let them play. I wouldn't have a problem if Tkachuk looked too slow, too weak, and always behind the play, but he's not. If you don't think he's NHL ready, then unfortunately we have 3-4 veteran guys who also aren't, I guess.
You can't teach a player better than you can in the NHL. He's not going down to London and sitting after a bad penalty, or watching games from above to see how things develop. These are teaching moments, and their incredibly valuable. The sooner he learns to play the NHL game, the sooner the Flames are a step closer to contending.
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Yeah and I think that is really what the turning point is when a GM has to make that decision about keeping a player or sending him back to Junior. Are there holes in his physical abilities to the game? Ie. Does he need more development to his skating, speed, strength, shot, puck control, offensive awareness, defensive awareness, etc.?
I think a common assessment is that he definitely has the speed, strength, shot, really isn't a liability out there and doesn't look extremely out of place. The main hole right now from what I've observed is his decision making process. They just aren't quick enough and some decisions will lead to some bad penalties that could be avoided.
With that though, I do think that the best place to learn that is with the speed of the NHL, he won't be able to get that speed in Junior, it'll be too slow of a league to develop better.