I've been wondering about precedents like this where a player has struggled his whole career and then flourished immediately after his first change of scenery. Doesn't have to be a high pick, but the first example I found was 4 OA Andrew Ladd:
He was a 30-35pt pace guy his first 2.5 years in CAR, averaging 12 mins with a lot of <10min nights the year he was traded
He jumped to 50pt pace as soon as he joined CHI, averaging 15min and never playing less than 12. 2G 1A in his first 4 games; it was a pretty steady drip to get his 12P in 20gp.
He was traded at age 22 and kept up that pace (more/less) for 8 seasons.
Blake Wheeler 5OA might be similar, too; though it's hard to say if he really 'struggled' in BOS, or was just depthed out (but still performing well in his role?).
|