MrMastodonFarm said:
Because he has the ability to put up better numbers as a 19 year old freshmen then an 18 year old freshmen. I think that is pretty obvious. I said Zajac made the right decision in putting College off for a year and refining his game down in Salmon Arm instead of trying out College as an 18 year old. He apparently wasn't ready for College when he was 18 so he waited, it looks like a good desicion.
T.J. Hensick entered college as a 17 year old and led Michigan with 46 points last year. I believe he was one of, if not THE, youngest player in Division I college hockey last season. I guess that makes him Superman
I'll hold off judging Zajac until I actually see him play and see how his stats are in a year or two.
BCHL players are kind of hard to figure out. A lot of players there seem to put up some huge numbers, but their success there doesn't seem to transfer over to college as much as thought.
As a Michigan follower, the Wolverines have had their fair share of BCHL players come through, including current Wolverines Milan Gajic, Andrew Ebbett, and Jeff Tambellini. All three were big scorers in the BCHL, they entered college at 20, 19, and 18 years old respectively. But its been the youngest, Tambellini, who has seen the most success, followed by Ebbett, and Gajic (though Gajic is starting to finally have the season we all thought he was capable of a few years ago this year, his senior year).
Michigan's most talented, highest scoring players over the past handful of years have been their youngest players. I don't think age makes as much difference in college. Younger guys may make more rookie mistakes, but they are certainly capable of putting up the points.