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Originally Posted by YyjFlames
Yeah, I agree there wasn't a ton of opportunity under the previous coach (how Sutter handled Pelletier and even Phillips as small as he was was really poor) -- I just don't think that Zary's time in the minors hurt him and I don't think that, other than during the Sutter years and a year or two where management thought they were in a place to win, Treleving was against young players stepping in to play.
He just didn't have a lot of young players ready to take the step because he traded so many high picks. I also agree with your broader point that the scouting staff has been really fantastic with what they were given for picks.
As an aside on Valimaki, it wasn't a lack of opportunity, but the guy was injured so much during his development time and then he wasn't a top 6 d-man when he was healthy enough to get a shot. Was it wrong to send him down? Sure, him getting picked up by Arizona for free was a bad result, but him eating popcorn as a number 7 in the NHL just to protect his rights wouldn't have been good for the player or the team.
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I agree on Valimaki but that isn't on Button. Really maybe isn't on the team either, just some bad luck.
This is why I'm ok trading some picks for young players. You can have too many picks and prospects at once and you could have late bloomers buried behind players, never get a crack and end up excelling on a different team.
I use Zary as the example, he was not being labeled to be this good by almost everyone. We all had Pelletier ahead as well as Coronato. Lots were disappointed when we drafted him, why did we trade down. He played well in the AHL, but nothing said he would be in the discussion of rookie of the year.
He so far is looking better than most projected. Maybe it will be a one off and he won't continue to grow, but teams that never give guys a crack don't get these surprises. That isn't on Button.