[GranteedEV]

NHL-readiness and NHL opportunity are a-chicken-and-an-egg. Too much evaluation is made from small sample sizes - and the two things that come with small sample sizes - disproportionate on-ice shooting percentages and on-ice save percentages. Two things prospects can't necessarily control. Add in nervous coaches benching effective players for every mistake and I am not convinced the "strong training camp" or "make-the-most-of-your-callup" trains of thought are actually useful. Then throw in rationalized narratives we've heard from management like "you played great... in March when the team was out of it". And then players who clear waivers get another stigma on them on top of that, as career AHLers, even though it makes no sense that players with all the tools, and the toolbox, playing the best hockey of their careers at 23-25 are considered less likely to be useful NHL contributors if they already cleared waivers.

It's a reputation/pedigree league, not a pure-merit league. I think a strong portion of the of the Penguins' success the last two years has been that their AHL coach was promoted to the NHL mid-season - a coach who intimately knew the capabilities of AHL players like Murray, Sheary, Dumoulin, Rust, etc from the minor leagues and was willing to give them opportunities we could not have fathomed under the previous coach - opportunities ahead of established veterans like Fleury, Kunitz, Lovejoy, etc. Sounds crazy in retrospect, but look at how much of their farm team was promoted in December/January 2016... it may have saved their playoff hopes, never mind cup aspirations. It's crazy to think adding AHLers would improve a team. What it boils down to IMO, is that AHL quality of competition is higher than NHL front offices and coaching are willing to admit. No, you don't have the Crosby and McDavid and Getzlaf, but is there really such an obvious gap separating a Morgan Klimchuk from most established NHL bottom sixers? Probably not, but try telling that to the guy writing the cheaue for a big money four year contract.

It's not just young player VS vet that needs to be considered... there is also this misusage of veterans to stabilize youth. I agree that you need a Matt Stajan and a Mikael Backlund to shelter a Sam Bennett and a Sean Monahan. You need a Mark Giordano to lead a Dougie Hamilton. Absolutely you need these capable veterans. But at the bottom of the lineup you run into the issue of inadequate talent and contrived fits - where the vet who made his career relying on his partner to the heavy lifting on a pair/line, is now putting that same pressure on the prospect to play outside or beyond their strengths. We have seen it last year where Sam Bennett, Tyler Wotherspoon, Brett Kulak, Mark Jankowski, Freddie Hamilton were put into positions where the veterans were hurting more than helping. You are not playing "sheltered minutes" if your winger is five steps behind on the forecheck or your D partner keeps throwing the puck to the other team. Prospects need sheltering, but that doesn't just mean hiding them from eliteopposing players... it means giving them teammates who support their strengths without magnifying their flaws.

Hopefully Michael Stone can do that for Brett Kulak/Tyler Wotherspoo , and Jankowski/Bennett can get either each other, or Frolik/Tkachuk on their wings.