Quote:
Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher
Unlike some fans, NHL scouts and GMs know that 21 year olds haven't hit their full potential and still have a lot of room for improvement. NHL GMs and scouts understand that development doesn't always come fast and furious and that some players have some ups and downs early in their careers.
A lot of our fans don't seem to grasp these points. Impatience rules the day.
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Yakupov, Connolly, Hamill, Cowen, and countless other high picks never developed much further (or regressed) after their 21st birthday.
Injuries, rushed into the NHL, opportunities, coaches, there's a plethora of reasons that fans attributed to players that never developed or appeared to take a step back after their 21 first birthday despite high expectations. And all of them had similar arguments between their fan bases. "Be patient," "wait to see how he does after missing a year of development, "give him a new coach," "he needed to develop in the minors," "needs to be given better opportunities."
Sure, you don't want to give up on a Niederreiter, but being patience isn't always the key. High picks that start entering that 22-23 year old range without much showing for themselves usually get peanuts in a return unless you're lucky enough to find a trading partner like Chiarelli. In the worst cases, you see teams banking on their youngsters developing and not doing so and eventually having to be bought out, like Cowen.
I think Bennett has passed the point where a team would be willing to give much for him (highly disagreeing with your most recent post about the first), so no point in trading and take the gamble he does break out. But, I think it's a weak argument to defer to authority when there's new cases of players showing that being patience doesn't always pay off happening every season.