Last season Dries had 46% Corsi For, 43% expected goals for, was on the ice 9 goals for and 16 against. This season Dries had 39% Corsi For, 31% expected goals for and was on the ice for 2 goals against none for. That’s not a NHL player.
Part of the problem is there’s no path for the non top 40 picks. They sit on the bench, 4th line and the ECHL so that they are never close to having an opportunity. The waiver exemption comes up in 3 years regardless.
Which leads to...speaking of Beaudin he played 22 games for Ottawa which yeah I get it’s Ottawa and much easier to give an opportunity but I watched at least half those games he was in and he fit in as a 4C. He was a lot more physical and recorded 51 hits, he was actually good at faceoffs and when he played helped Ottawa during their best stretch of play during the year. Throwing away third year pros is how you don’t have anyone available for an opportunity. So again back to the main point, there’s a very fine line between finding use for these types of players and turning to outside solutions.
If they get Kaut and Timmins at the very least into regular NHL roles next season then yes I’d call that progress but it still needs to happen.
Again, what are we expecting from the 14th forward, and he was the 14th forward on an Avs team with serious depth issues? Who should’ve been there instead? I’m not expecting a possession monster or even a *good* player, just someone who doesn’t embarrass himself out there. And IMO his first stint with the team, he didn’t. He played his role fine, apart from a couple dumb penalties.
IIRC the next time he was called up, Bowers and Kaut were both hurt. I could be wrong though.
If anything I think the Avs might be a little guilty of leaning too much on their youth. They opted not to get a 2C in 2018 because they wanted to see if Jost could take the role. He didn’t. In 2019 they traded away Soderberg because they felt Compher could be a worthy 3C behind MacKinnon and Kadri. He wasn’t.
Lastly, and I’m just asking here, does any team have a set “path” for players to make their way up? Even Detroit, for all the applause they get for player development, have received criticism for overcooking their minor leaguers. I feel like they’re doing a fairly good job of opening up spots for youngsters the last couple years. They let Nemeth walk and traded away Barrie when Makar and Graves were deemed ready, and we’re expecting them to let Nieto go and let LOC take his place.