Quote:
Originally Posted by CliffFletcher
What's the age when you feel it's okay to get concerned about a player's development? Is it premature for Montreal fans to express doubts that Galchenyuk will be a top-line centre? How about Jake Virtanen - still too soon?
Not every player is a McDavid or a Matthews. But most forwards drafted in the top 5 start to fulfill their promise by their third season in the NHL. That's why they're drafted that high - they're considered blue chippers, not projects.
|
Some very different cases we're talking about here.
Galchenyuk is 2 years older than Sam. So you can definitely start to judge his career as it's been 5 years since he was drafted. Scouts and GMs often talk about judging drafts and players 5-6 years after the draft. He does have a 30 goal season but his team has been reluctant to play him at centre. He may merely be a skilled, soft 1st/2nd line winger.
Virtanen doesn't even have a full NHL season under his belt. He has 14 career points. At this point it looks like he might've been rushed to the NHL and that may have hindered or ruined his development. Too early to say he's a bust but he's certainly trended he wrong way. I'd be very, very concerned about his development and the way the Canucks rushed him.
Bennett looks like a much better player than Virtanen at this stage in their career. Bennett plays the harder position on the better team and is playing a regular role. He wasn't gifted 1st line minutes or PP time like Monahan was early in his career. You see flashes from Bennett that show his potential. I'm not super worried about him long term yet, you gotta have patience. Let's not forget he missed almost an entire year of development due to the shoulder injury and that does affect a young player's development.
Personally I think he may be a better winger longterm but I understand why the Flames are developing him at centre. It's the more valuable position and you can always move him back to get wing if Jankowski forces him there.
There's been too much whining and criticizing of Bennett IMO. His skill level hasn't disappeared. IMO he still has 1st line upside. I think too many people ignore the fact he lost almost an entire season of development to injury post-draft. Different players develop at different rates. Yes high picks often need less development time but let's not forget about his lost development time due to injury. Tkachuk and Monahan's early success leads to fans being hard on Bennett because he hasn't been an instant star. Give the kid a chance. The kind of frustration posts we're seeing on Bennett are premature. Let's see how things stand halfway through this season. Plenty of players have developed into star players at an age older than Bennett