[TheScorpion]

Here's the reality of the situation. Phillips was blossoming in the Flames' system at a time where the prospect pool wasn't particularly strong, but the team was also kind of struggling and looked to need some help. He was putting up good numbers, but it was also the COVID-shortened season and his numbers sagged down the stretch, which fueled some natural skepticism. That, adding on to the existing concerns about his height, raised some legit questions, but the chemistry he showed with Ruzicka that year was undeniable — and the fans needed some hope in a tough year. He looked like their best bet on the farm.

But I genuinely think that fan excitement would have naturally tapered off, like it does with most AAAA players (Gawdin, Klimchuk, etc), had the segment of skeptical folks not been so adamant and adversarial about his shortcomings (he's not an NHL player and never will be, how could you think he is?). That, in turn, sparked a bit of defiance in the people who really liked the player. Which turned the whole case into more of an ideological, generational, and certainly personal thing than it needed to be.

And then Phillips continued to stay in the minors for two more years despite only ever getting more productive, which naturally fueled the circular nature of the argument (why hasn't he gotten a shot/he's not good enough to get a shot/we won't know if he's good enough until he gets a shot). Which only intensified that divide, making the people who like Phillips seem like his "champions" basically by circumstance because they still hadn't been provided any compelling evidence to the contrary. And for the skeptics, well, he still hadn't played in the NHL, so he's obviously not an NHL player.

So of course this whole thing is going to be circular until the loop breaks and he gets a chance to prove one of those two groups wrong. The only reason this discussion is still so lively after three years is because that just hasn't happened yet, for whatever reason. Luckily for everyone who is upset about this topic continuing to exist, it looks like that's about to change. Thank goodness!