Quote:
Originally Posted by Lanny_McDonald
I'm torn on this, more so on Francis than Kuz. Kuz should not have been sent to junior, especially the QJMHL where defense is many times an after thought. Kuz should have been kept in the AHL and allowed to play against men, learning to play defense against better players. Junior is a backwards step in development for a guy that has been in college and the pros. I think this was a mistake.
Franics is a guy that I think could gain benefit from either league, but the Flames should have found out if he was going to be getting prime playing time, or playing second banana. If he was not going to be the go-to guy, they should have kept him in Stockton and kept challenging him. Maybe they felt they had too many small players in Stockton already and that played into the decision. I'm just cautious about possible stagnation of the player by playing at the same level for too long. I can understand why they would send Francis down, but I would have liked to see him in the primary center role rather than playing down the lineup.
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Further to your point regarding Kuz, if they sent him down to perhaps build his confidence offensively, then that could be an iffy move too IMO, as he's playing behind Poirier and Villeneuve...