Quote:
Originally Posted by Matty81
I liked that Janko pick a lot too, he was such a fun player to watch develop with how far he came and the consistent improvement for about 7 years.
When he put up 32 pts and was a positive corsi player, positive +/- in 18/19, after a 17 goal season in 17/18 - I actually thought he was tracking towards 2nd line center territory, he had improved every single year before that and with another step or two saw him becoming a good two way 40-50 pt a year guy.
Then his game just collapsed in 19/20 and he's never really played at that same level again. You wonder what happened there - sometimes there are off ice issues or injuries we don't hear about but looking at his career trajectory there was a clear fork in the road that season. Whole team was bad that year and so maybe he was just sheltered in previous years and couldn't stand up to tougher matchups?
|
And that isn't on the scouts - they picked a great horse, but he died down the stretch.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina
I didn't mind the gamble though. Big, skilled centres who skate well are hard to find. If it had worked, it would have been a home run.
Their mistake was how they pumped the tires so much. They shouldn't have done that. But the rationale behind the pick itself was sound.
If you are going to take big swings on upside (which I believe in because they can alter a franchise) then you are going to miss on some of them.
|
This, exactly. Great pick, IMO, and if they felt he wouldn't be around in the 2nd round, and wanted him in the 1st, that's fine.
As you said, the mistake was pounding their chest and claiming to be the smartest guys in the room. Just make your pick, and say "we really like the player, and believe he can develop into a good one"