Quote:
Originally Posted by Sandman
If a PTO comes to camp and steals a spot from one of your young players, then those young players are obviously not ready for prime time.
I want Max Comtois and Noah Gregor.
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I used to think like that, but I've changed my perspective. Those vets know exactly what to do to impress enough in a camp because they've been there before many times, and they may be able to do it for a short period of time against other team's mix of vets and prospects, but it's not sustainable. Meanwhile, a prospect is unfamiliar with what's required to truly impress in camp, and may still be learning the pro game and look like they're not ready.
However. If you go to game 10 of the season, the prospect, if he's worth anything, has ramped up his game and has either caught up to the replacement level vet or has surpassed them, but because you filled that roster spot, you're more likely than not to see the vet play a bunch of games at a terrible level than ever see what the prospect could contribute.
I don't believe that Comtois or Gregor are better than any of the young guys we have on the verge of breaking in. If the prospects can't hack it, there are no shortage of veterans out there still waiting for a contract that you could sign mid season. The smarter thing to do now that there are a surplus of borderline NHLers is to wait until about game 20 to see what you have in the system. If the kid needs more seasoning, go out and sign a Brett Ritchie type if you have to, but don't do that unless it's a last resort.