Quote:
Originally Posted by FireGilbert
Not to mention Gagner, Cogliano, RHN, and Yakupov who all put up great numbers as rookies getting big minutes yet failed to become complete hockey players and immediately regressed. It's not a stretch to say all four of them should have been given another season of development to bulk up and work out their kinks.
When it comes to the development of first round picks the Oilers are a lesson in what not to do.
|
Cogliano played two years of college after being drafted.
It's hard to say how things will work out sometimes. Monahan worked out his kinks at the NHL level and he's doing fine.
Do you think he could be a more well rounded player if the Flames had given him another year in junior? Do you think Bennett has been hampered by playing too early?
I'm not sure if its an actual thing. I mean, there are lots of examples of guys who recovered from slow starts being pushed into the NHL at 18. Thornton, Burns, Niederreiter, Draisaitl. Some guys don't recover, or stall, but perhaps that would have happened anyway. Look at a guy like Kesler. Didn't do much offensively at all at the AHL/NHL level at the age of 19. Scored 75 points 6 years later.
Other guys are given lots of time to mature and still stall out and don't reach their potential. Detroit ripened Nyquist for years, and everyone thought he was going to be the next Datsyuk/Zetterberg. He hasn't come close to those heights.
If I were a GM I would err on the side of caution. Especially to preserve ELC contracts, but I don't know for sure that putting a player into the NHL "too early" causes any kind of lasting damage to their career.