Boom Boom Apathy
I am the Professor. Deal with it!
- Sep 6, 2006
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The larger issue is identifying the problem. Is it that they players aren't properly developed, or were they never that good to begin with, or a combination of the two.
I was going to say the same thing. Getting a useful NHL player after round 2 is pretty slim, so let's look at the Canes top 2 picks for the last 10 years.
2002: 1-Cam Ward, 2-no pick
2003: 1-Eric Staal, 2-Danny Richmond
2004: 1-Andrew Ladd, 2-Justin Peters
2005: 1-Jack Johnson, 2-Nate Hagemo
2006: 1-no pick, 2-Jamie McBain
2007: 1-Brandon Sutter, 2-no pick
2008: 1-Zach Boychuk, 2-Zac Dalpe
2009: 1-Philipe Paradis (Jiri Tlusty), 2-Brian Dumoulin
2010: 1-Jeff Skinner, 2-Justin Faulk, 2-Mark Alt
2011: 1-Ryan Murphy, 2-Victor Rask
Here's my view: guys they didn't have to do much to develop: Ward, Staal, Skinner, Faulk (although I'd argue they've done a good job with how they've handled Skinner and Faulk. Ward and Staal benefited from playing in the AHL during the last lockout).
Guys they traded before getting a chance to develop: Johnson, Paradis, Dumoulin, Alt
Guys they play some part in developing successfully: Sutter, McBain, Tlusty
Guys that I think they gave up on too soon: Ladd
Guys just not plain good enough: Richmond, Hagemo, Peters, Paradis
Jury is still out: Boychuk, Dalpe, Murphy, Rask