Here's the problem with Bouwmeester (at least how I see it anyways). When Bouwmeester was drafted, he was expected to be this big time defenseman who was going to lead his team back into the playoffs. His skating was supposed to remind people that he was a possible Bobby Orr clone and that he had offensive skills that rivaled Paul Coffey's (we'll never see another Paul Coffey again - he was a rare breed).
The problem was that expectations were too high for an 18 year old kid. Remember, that, 18 year old KID. He shouldn't have been playing in the NHL. He should have been playing at least one final season in junior and a year in the AHL. Rick Dudley AND Mike Keenan are to blame for how they have handled his development. They rushed him along when they shouldn't have. If this is going to be the crown jewel of your organization, you do everything possible to insulate that crown jewel and ensure it remains that. They did neither.
First, Dudley deals most of the veterans away so that he can save Cohen some money. While we're on the subject of Rick Dudley, has anyone noticed that any team he has left has shown marked improvement a season or two after he has been dispatched? If anything, Rick Dudley is someone who has managed to get others to buy into his own hype. He is not a GM and I wouldn't even say he's a great evaluator of talent. He is someone who has been real lucky so far. Eventually, that luck will run out and people will see what kind of a farce Rick Dudley the GM really is.
Anyways, back to Bouwmeester. Fact of the matter is that Dudley traded away most of the veterans, or insulation if you will, that most teams provide for young players. If Bouwmeester were in Philadelphia or some other place like that, do you think he'd get top minute ice time? Doubt it. He would have been brought along slowly and would have had to earn his ice time. So, the big mistake Dudley made is that he cleared out any kind of real veteran presence on defense and left Bouwmeester to fend for himself.
This brings me to part two.......Mike Keenan. Clearly, Mike had to know and see that Jay was not ready for the NHL. So what does Mike do? Instead of having Jay earn his ice time or even see about sending Jay back to junior or the AHL, he gives him even more ice time. More ice time to make mistakes, more ice time to make mental errors, more ice time to just screw up and have everyone call for his head. Even when the vets were traded, Bouwmeester should still have been no more than a 4th/5th defenseman on the team. But, Mike Keenan has a history of killing young defensemen and it isn't surprising what is going on here.
However, there is some good news to come from all of this. Jacques Martin is a miracle worker. When he came to Ottawa, it was a complete mess. It took him a year and a half, but he got things straightened out. It's probably going to take him the same amount of time in Florida, but the man is a proven commodity who knows how to coach. You can bet that one of his first things will be to help get Jay's head straightened out. Yeah, 24 games without a single point is too much and you can bet that Jacques saw plenty of problems with Jay's play. You can also bet that Jacques has a solid plan in place to get Jay back on track.
Remember, this is what, a 21 - 22 year old man? He's going to be fine. Now that there's a decent coaching staff in place, Jay will get things turned around. In a year or two from now, no one will even be discussing this and people will probably be raving about how great Jay is.
That was priceless.
I just love hypocrites.
