Frenzy31
Registered User
- May 21, 2003
- 7,207
- 2,019
I wouldn't call it 'groupthink', but to me it's clear that people are influenced by media and other fans. I think @Majorityof1's example of Kostin was spot on. He's right: the opinion was that Kostin was subpar for a large part of that season and I've read on multiple occasions that people thought he was busting. If you'd ask the Blues fans at that point who was the best prospect, he probably wouldn't be in the top-3. At the end of the season he got better, won a spot on Avangard's 1st line and played really well in their play-offs winning the praise of his coach, and suddenly he's our best prospect again.
Don't get me wrong, everyone has their own criteria for choosing a prospect, but it's undeniable that we're all (myself included) influenced by media and other voices (like other fan's opinions).
Personally, I don think there is anything wrong with changing opinions mid season. Especially when a players trajectory changes. In fact, I would be more concerned if it didn’t.
I am not sure it is group think if a prospect is playing 4th line minutes and not really taking off and fans becoming more down on him. Especially considering his past two years I the AHL. And then he gets some top line icetime and his play takes off. His production dramatically changed and it seems like his game did also.
I also tend to think those same fans didn’t take his age into account , but that is neither here nor there.
I think being flexible and willing to change an opinion is a good quality especially when looking at growth of a player which is non-linear and and largely dependent on multiple variables. I don’t see that as group think at all. But getting more data and adjusting one opinion.
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