Umm...defensemen don't take faceoffs...Also I didn't say that he was a lock to be a top-4, just that he still has the potential to do so. Let's wait and see, is all I'm saying.
Uh ... I'm saying he wasn't put on the ice for a defensive zone faceoff.
Your exact quote was "He may not become an elite top pairing defenseman, but
he will be a solid top-four option in his prime capable of running a power play and efficiently moving the puck out of the defensive zone." That is a pretty definite statement from a player who does not merit a statement nearly so definitive at this point.
'Wait and see' isn't constructive unless you actually give reasons why 'wait and see' is a good idea and will be rewarded. Several of us here watched most of his games in Utica this year and the doubt and criticism around him is 100% justified. I'm not trying to be hard on you but there has been a ton of lazy reporting on Juolevi from the professionals (I've commented here before on the amazing perfect split between the people who didn't watch him play quoting '13 points in 18 games, did great!' and the people who actually watched him play saying uniformly that he was terrible) and hopefully we can aspire to better than that.
https://www.tsn.ca/radio/vancouver-1040/cull-juolevi-exceeding-expectations-in-utica-1.1196814
Around thr 10 min mark
I will be honest, I didn't watch any Utica games at all this year. I don't quite understand were all this talk is coming from that Juolevi was so bad in the ahl. The Head coach and most people overall like Johnson were happy with his play.
The year before in Finland, Salo even said he was one of our top D by the end of the year
All the people that have negative things to say about Juolevi this year nothing positive.. Is it because you can't get over Tkachuk and you feel like you need to put your anger towards Juolevi?
Virtanen, No argument. He should be traded
Of course his coaches and management are going to say generic nice things about him. What Cull actually thought about him is pretty obviously evidence in the fact that he didn't trust him enough for a PK shift or even a defensive zone faceoff.
On the flip side, Markus Naslund was offloaded by the Pens for essentially nothing.
When your example is from 23 years ago, that might be a hint that this doesn't happen that often.
Naslund was also an established NHLer in the middle of a 55-point season. He wasn't a prospect.
@Melvin is completely correct in saying that most people give up on prospects too late rather than too soon, but conversely people do actually often give up on young established NHLers too soon. And underestimate just how huge the difference is between 'established NHLer who has been a bit disappointing' and 'busting prospect struggling in the AHL'.
Are you implying that Benning makes 100% of the Pro Scouting decisions and 0% of the Amateur Scouting department decisions?
Sounds fair and logic based.
This is literally how it works in most NHL organizations. Here Benning has some impact on amateur scouting because of his background but most of the work is done by Brackett and his staff.