Buying an AHL title is certainly possible... and the Avs could go that route, but I think it takes away from what the AHL is supposed to be. IMO saying competitive and giving the kids a shot at making the playoffs (hopefully making it consistently) should be as much about winning as the Avs care. If players breakout and have a great season and run so be it, but the main part is to develop. With that, there has to be the right mix development and opportunity. There shouldn't be so many roadblocks that kids can't earn a spot, but they shouldn't be given spots they haven't earned either. They also shouldn't be put into roles that they are not ready for. This past season was kind of a mess with the Blues' shared affiliation... but there were only a limited amount of prospects that really needed to be worried about. Meloche, Martin, Beaudin, and Greer (I know some would want to thrown Nantel in here, but sorry... I've seen enough, the kid won't be NHL material)... the rest was pretty much filler or were injured (Kamenev). It was a mixed bag, but I don't think they did good or bad... somewhere in between.
Meloche had a rough start to the season, but as he got healthier his game improved. As that happened he was given a bigger and bigger role. His progression, IMO, went very well and I think this was a successful development season for him. I don't think he is NHL ready yet by any stretch and he should start next year in the AHL... but if he keeps on this trajectory, he will get some NHL time when injuries hit next season.
Martin... well, I think you can clearly say he isn't mentally good enough to be a starting professional goalie. There were questions last year about that and he has to prove them wrong to make something of his career now. I don't think this is a development fault, so much as a player just not having the mental part down.
With Beaudin I will fully be in the minority here. With the disclaimer that I don't think this went perfect by any stretch of the imagination... I think this season was a success for him. He always has trouble adapting to new levels of play. It is a part of his game and how he processes the play. It just takes him a while to get comfortable. His time in San Antonio was up and down (as I expected), but he showed some flashes and spurts of where I think it will click next season. His time in the ECHL has kept his confidence up. I fully expect him to solidify a top 9 role next year with the Eagles.
Greer is an incomplete because of the injuries and up and down of the season. I'd even lean towards a failure if I had to call it. Greer is the type of player that is willing to play any role and be coach into any way to help out his team. A very driven kid who will do whatever it takes to stay in a lineup. A problem with that is, they can be pigeon holed by coaches when they can play a physical, grind it out sort of game. I think Bednar did that while he was up in the NHL. I don't blame Greer for that, I blame the organization. They need to protect these kinds of players from themselves. Greer should have been in the AHL the whole season and told to develop his offensive game more. The skill set is there for him to be a 2nd liner, but you can't let him develop himself into Tom Wilson... which is where I fear this is going. I do feel Greer will be a NHL player in some capacity, but I think this season presents a missed opportunity to find some offense in his game. If they would have left him down, they wouldn't have missed a thing on the NHL club, while giving that chance to develop. If it didn't happen, they'd be in a similar spot as to now.