Quote:
Originally Posted by transplant99
Then he needs to show it.
He hasn't/didn't.
What message does it send to all the other young guys on what it takes/ is required, to make the team?
"Yeah....you were better than him (and dont kid yourself, every guy in that room knows who was or wasnt good through camp) but he was a 1st rd pick 5 years ago, so we are just going to gift him your spot"
It would be an asinine way to run things and would wreck that room in a week if it was the norm.
Pelletier and Pelletier alone, is responsible for this situation.
Conroy had no other choice.
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I understand the sentiment of setting a cultural precedent and not keeping a player around in favor of others who've outperformed him in camp, but I also think some folks are overvaluing a bad camp as good reason to expose this player.
Training camp is just one of the criteria he should be judged on. His AHL performance has been outstanding so far in his U23 cohort. Injuries have slowed his development at a crucial time in his career. This is a player two short years ago was our most polished forward prospect and we had visions of him playing in the top 6. And he's had all of a whopping 37 NHL games over two seasons, so hardly a proven/finished product.
So you can say tough luck, life's not fair, and he's had ample time to prove himself. If the team was competitive...I'd probably even hold that position.
For the time being, when we're not sniffing the playoffs, I hold an unpopular opinion I guess, but I'm less concerned about the culture of a team where less than a handful of them will be around when we're competitive again. It's important as you start to ramp things back up, but we're not there yet. Easy to say as a fan who's not inside the organization, but my interest is the assets and growing/developing those who
might be around when our competitive window re-opens. That would be players under 25, and I'd have even more leniency for high draft pedigree players who've shown flashes of promise.
All this to say, I don't even LOVE Pelletier as a player. His value is almost non-existent as it stands. But I think the franchise could give him some added runway in light of all of the circumstances that have stalled his development to try and re-establish his value, given their first round investment in him. I get setting a culture, but it's not like Pelletier hasn't earned looks based on his broader book of work. Especially when it's aged 30+ veterans taking his roster spot.