Because I watch the caps and saw him play. He’s a guy who has a lot of intriguing tools but doesn’t appear to have a tool box. And he has 4 years at the professional level. He shouldn’t be making the mistakes he makes at the pro level. Ask any cap fan. They will tell you that he is a turnover machine, and doesn’t make good decisions with the puck in general. A change of scenery doesn’t flip a switch to allow a player to be able to become something he’s not. And Bowey isn’t some great player that couldn’t get a fair shake. He was a guy who couldn’t even put it together playing sheltered minutes on a deep team. There’s no reason to believe he will on this dumpster fire.
Not going to derail the thread over my observation of how you tend to be more skeptical/demanding than most.
Specifically on your points related to Bowey, he literally is a person that couldn't get a fair shake. Playing sheltered minutes implies that the minutes he is playing are under circumstances that gives him a higher chance at success, or hide a missing aspect of his game; that's not what the Caps were doing with him. Sheltered minutes does not mean the same thing as limiting his minutes. They limited minutes because he wasn't the same level of player as the rest of their defense, and they could not risk him making mistakes as he learned on the job.
Nobody is saying that the change of scenery will change what he is, but it will give him the opportunity to potentially improve what he is. And I emphasize the word potentially. You say 4 years at the professional level as an attempt at disguising that he has played 3 years in the AHL. The AHL is not and will not ever be the same learning experience for a defenseman. Look at the career arc of Zdeno Chara; over the ages 20-23 with the Islanders he had 231 games, 6 goals, 23 assists, and was minus-61. He was then traded to Ottawa; can you tell me what is Chara's legacy now? Ryan Ellis bounced between the NHL and AHL for two years, in those years he managed 64 games, 5 goals, and 12 assists. He broke in full time in the NHL at 23, and has gotten better in each passing year. Niklas Kronwall, 3 years of hockey split between the NHL and AHL, managed to play in 47 games logging 2 goals and 12 assists; I don't need to tell you what he developed into.
The point being, 23 years old and not having the chance to establish and develop in the NHL is not a death sentence. It has happened to some very good players. The change of scenery is a real thing for Bowey because he is going from an organization that was going to continue not giving him the opportunity to play, to a team that can afford the opportunity to play and develop, regardless of how it turns out.
He could turn out to be a complete and utter waste, and if he does, so be it. But stop pretending like he has been given every opportunity to become a better player and his NHL career should be done.
