TheClap
Registered User
- Jul 20, 2014
- 424
- 328
Which is just silly. You're trying to fit things into a narrative and therefore you're ignoring for example how much Tatar improved under Babcock. I'd argue that Babcock got more out of Brendan Smith and Jakub Kindl than anyone else.
Those with memories know that Jurco got lots of chances to be a scoring line player but it never worked out. That's another guy that has never been as good as he was under Babcock. The idea that a coach can ruin someone's development is completely ridiculous, there are countless examples of players that were mishandled by coaches and went on to fulfill their potential for other coaches. Guys don't forget talent because they're used on a 4th line or on the PK instead of the top 6 and PP.
Tbh I don't really give a whole lot of credit to coaches overall for "developing" players, but I do think coaches can push players in the right directions that make them better players or fulfill their talent, but it's not gonna make the difference between a Kindl and a Hedman. The fact that there's almost no player we can look at that did poorly under Babcock and say "look, he went elsewhere and did much better" is a strong indication that Babcock does get the most out of players, both offensively minded players and grinders.
Tatar. Hudler. Kyle Quincey. Kopecky. Best seasons all away from Babcock.
Babs was in Detroit for 9 years, so there isn't a huge sample size of guys that got a chance elsewhere, especially during an era when the Wings liked to rarely give a prospect a chance until their RFA rights were exhausted.
Inverse though, who are the guys that struggled elsewhere but excelled under Babcock? Dan Cleary defintely. Drew Miller sure. Sammy had his career jumpstarted but his best seasons were in Vancouver after he left Detroit.
There may be a longer list of guys who were successful elsewhere and struggled under Babcock. Kyle Quincey: The Return, Stephen Weiss, Jordan Tootoo, David Legwand, Tyson Barrie and the rest of the 2019-2020 Toronto Maple Leafs.
Time will tell. We'll see what happens with Marner, Matthews, Nylander and the other young Leafs.