Both are still young players, learning to play defence. Nobody ever said that they were going to come into the NHL and be rocks in their own zone.
People who watch hockey enough can tell that both are uniquely talented and are on the verge of blossoming into legit offensive threats as NHL players. At the end of the day, that's why they got to the NHL as quickly as they did.
I bet you'll be singing a different tune in 18 months when they both improve defensively and turn out to be two of the top 10-20 offensive defensemen in the entire NHL.
I've watched thousands of hockey games and have evaluated hundreds, if not thousands, of players. I've watched way more hockey than I probably should have. The "people that watch hockey" statement is not relevant in my case.
I get the "it takes a long time for defensemen to develop" philosophy and am not saying that Barrie and/or Elliott are at their apex. They both will very likely get better with more experience and more maturity; both physical and emotional. They certainly better.
The question can be asked: did Barrie and Elliott make the NHL so quickly because they are that good or perhaps is it because the rest of the Avs defense was/is that bad?
I see Barrie and Elliott joining the rush frequently, and they will occasionally skate the puck through the neutral zone and into the offensive zone, however I see a lot more turnovers than I do scoring chances created. I also don't see big booming shots from the blue line and I don't see them making a good first pass out of the Dzone to get the transition game going often enough. Again, I see a lot of turnovers and I see them both getting beat defensively far too often.
I've seen all the gushing reviews from the Avs HFBoard members but I don't believe Barrie or Elliott will ever be anywhere close to receiving Norris considerations. As I said they'll likely be OK offensive defensemen that are liabilities in their own end. Nothing special however.
In 18 months you may be eating your words on how good you thought Barrie and Elliott were going to become.