Quote:
Originally Posted by Red Menace
I'm not sure why a Flames bias would rank players differently than a neutral one, but looking at this thread every year, it clearly does.
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Perhaps you've confused familiarity with bias?
The average 'neutral' observer probably has not watched a Riley Bruce or an Adam Ollas-Mattson with any evaluative intent. Or for that matter paid attention to a Stockton Heat game with an intent to rank and project the individuals on the team. There will generally be a bias towards OHL prospects, particularily those playing close to the media hotbed that is Toronto. Then there will be a bias towards former top ten draft picks. Then there will be a bias towards the prettiest stats when judging unfamiliar players, even if one player racked up all their points on a "one stacked unit plays the entire power play" while the other played on a team with more NHL-type minutes distributions. These sort of things and many others affect what a so-called neutral observer perceives. As fans we do have a different perspective on account of following more closely through the highs and lows. A fan could tell you Morgan Klimchuk was actually pretty decent in his rookie season, a "neutral observer" might tell you to cut your losses ASAP. Doesn't mean we know as much about the players as professional scouts, coaches, management do, or how they stack up to the prospect pools of other teams - but it probably does make us qualified to rank them relative to one another.
