AmericanDream
Thank you Elon!
Why does the majority of the prospects we talk about so much, never pan out or live up to their offensive expectations in the NHL?
Has anyone else seen this disturbing trend over the past 5 to 6 years that I have??? I don't understand how all of these college kids, and junior players who light up their respective leagues offensively, come to the NHL and rarely put up the numbers that got them drafted in the first place. How is it that guys like Hawerchuk, Anderchuk, Yzerman, Lafontaine, Housley, Coffey, Leetch, Bourque, Gretzky, Modano, etc. etc. never spent much if any time in the minors?
Why do almost all of the prized prospects now-a-days HAVE to spend time in the minors to learn the game and learn defense? How the hell does learning to play in the AHL, translate to the NHL? I know all those players I mentioned above are or will be HOFers, but these kids that get drafted have the same hype as they did if not more so. So what the heck is going on?
Why am I seeing so many promising young players getting justled back and forth from the NHL to the minors in the same season? Doesn't this not kill a young players confidence? How come we don't let our players develope their defensive game in the NHL while they are scoring highlight reel goals and keeping butts in the seats like they used to?
Am I over analyzing things here? I feel coaches are almost worthless now. I dont feel they develope players in the NHL, they take the easy way out and ship them down to the farm so they can learn the game and be someone else responsibility. Coaches make millions of dollars now, and they can't afford to have young kids coming up who make mistakes and cost them games, which can lead to the loss of their job. I feel that they almost don't want young guys playing in key roles except for a certain few. The Hawks have been ridiculous in bringing guys up and down all year, and we suck. We traded away Brandon Bochenski because we never gave him any time or any confidence up here, and now he is in Boston where if he played there all year would be a 40 goal scorer.
Playoffs also brings in big bucks, so winning is now so much more important then ever, and a team full of young guys may not make it to the playoffs and make the owners the money that they are demanding. I think we are hindering our young players by having them lose their confidence and offensive flair in the minors.
Does anyone think that million dollar contracts has anything to do with it either? Players cant afford to make mistakes anymore, many talented young future stars are now barely putting up 15 goals a year, because I believe that they are just doing enough to not get shipped out so that they can keep making the $$$ in the pros.
I love this game, and I love talking about prospects, but something seems to be missing when you see the point totals for rookies over the past few years compared to that of the 80's and 90's. Yes I do know this isnt those eras anymore, but does that mean these players we talk about so much and put so much hype in aren't as offensively gifted as players were 10-20 years ago?
Any thoughts would be welcome to this paranoid hockey fan.
Has anyone else seen this disturbing trend over the past 5 to 6 years that I have??? I don't understand how all of these college kids, and junior players who light up their respective leagues offensively, come to the NHL and rarely put up the numbers that got them drafted in the first place. How is it that guys like Hawerchuk, Anderchuk, Yzerman, Lafontaine, Housley, Coffey, Leetch, Bourque, Gretzky, Modano, etc. etc. never spent much if any time in the minors?
Why do almost all of the prized prospects now-a-days HAVE to spend time in the minors to learn the game and learn defense? How the hell does learning to play in the AHL, translate to the NHL? I know all those players I mentioned above are or will be HOFers, but these kids that get drafted have the same hype as they did if not more so. So what the heck is going on?
Why am I seeing so many promising young players getting justled back and forth from the NHL to the minors in the same season? Doesn't this not kill a young players confidence? How come we don't let our players develope their defensive game in the NHL while they are scoring highlight reel goals and keeping butts in the seats like they used to?
Am I over analyzing things here? I feel coaches are almost worthless now. I dont feel they develope players in the NHL, they take the easy way out and ship them down to the farm so they can learn the game and be someone else responsibility. Coaches make millions of dollars now, and they can't afford to have young kids coming up who make mistakes and cost them games, which can lead to the loss of their job. I feel that they almost don't want young guys playing in key roles except for a certain few. The Hawks have been ridiculous in bringing guys up and down all year, and we suck. We traded away Brandon Bochenski because we never gave him any time or any confidence up here, and now he is in Boston where if he played there all year would be a 40 goal scorer.
Playoffs also brings in big bucks, so winning is now so much more important then ever, and a team full of young guys may not make it to the playoffs and make the owners the money that they are demanding. I think we are hindering our young players by having them lose their confidence and offensive flair in the minors.
Does anyone think that million dollar contracts has anything to do with it either? Players cant afford to make mistakes anymore, many talented young future stars are now barely putting up 15 goals a year, because I believe that they are just doing enough to not get shipped out so that they can keep making the $$$ in the pros.
I love this game, and I love talking about prospects, but something seems to be missing when you see the point totals for rookies over the past few years compared to that of the 80's and 90's. Yes I do know this isnt those eras anymore, but does that mean these players we talk about so much and put so much hype in aren't as offensively gifted as players were 10-20 years ago?
Any thoughts would be welcome to this paranoid hockey fan.