Quote:
Originally Posted by yourbestfriend
Injuries, role etc etc are all fair points, but never the less, at the end of next season, Bennett will be near that ~250-300 games played range at which point you pretty much know what type of player you have on your hands.
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That's not really true though. Every player is unique. Players develop at different rates. Players have different strengths, weaknesses, and obstacles to overcome. Every player has different opportunities, ice time, line mates. Some players peak early. Some players take a few years to hit their strides (Blake Wheeler taken 5th overall for example.) Wheeler despite not signing with the team that drafted him is a good example of taking a kid who isn't expected to peak early. He was always a project pick and had he been signed he would've been a great pick. Brayden Schenn another kid picked 5th overall didn't really hit his stride until 6 years after his draft. Doesn't make the pick a bad pick, you certainly wouldn't rather have Scott Glennie or Paajarvi-Svensson over him, two of the forwards taken in the top 10 after him. Scheiffele wasn't a top 5 pick but he didn't break out until 4 years after being drafted. Pretty sure WPG is pretty happy they were patient with him. Kyle Turris was a skinny kid when drafted and took a few years and a trade to fully develop but that doesn't make him a bad pick especially compared to a complete bust taken in the top 10 that year like Zach Hamill or the somewhat disappointing Sam Gagner who never developed into a foundational NHLer.
You're trying to generalize and I understand that tendency. But we're talking about unique players and unique situations and therefore generalizing holds limited value in analysis. There are specific reasons why Bennett may be a little behind his peers and I've pointed them out (injuries and opportunity) and if you aren't taking those into account then you aren't really doing an honest appraisal of the situation.