Perhaps I did not make my point clear enough. My point is not we should bring guys in when they are not ready. What I am saying is I think the Kings Organization tends to view young guys by comparing them to established veterans already in the league. I am saying we should evaluate whether a younger player is ready to play not by comparing him to veterans who are 3,4,5 years older. Instead, we should provide NHL level experience, when we feel a player is ready to contribute. I feel the Detroit model is a good one. Allowing young guys to play in the minors is the right approach. But once a guy produces, he should be rewarded. Otherwise, you have a situation where you are patching the 3rd and 4th lines with the likes of Fraser, and Daniel Carcillo, when those guys may be easily replaceable by younger guys already in the system. How can you expect a young guy to get the experience needed to contribute to the organization like a Fraser, or Carcillo might, without providing the opportunity for the younger guys to contribute. Hopefully the Kings continue to reshape there roster, outside of those undisputable core players, until they find the right mix that will challenge for the cup. I think with the top level talent that we have, I would say at this point unmatched by the rest of the league outside a few teams, we should be able to try and find the right group that can take the team to the next level.
But we should be comparing them to vets because that's who they have to beat out to make the team. They aren't in junior, where they are against players their own age, they are in the NHL, battling guys who are 25, or 30, or even 40 years old.
And who says we don't give them NHL experience when they are NHL ready? The only player I'd argue was held back was Hickey, and even then, while I still think we ****ed that one up by not trading him, he still hasn't shown he's better than what we already have. And I say that as a huge Hickey supporter (insert Julius Ceaser Milan joke here).
The Kings have recalled guys when theya re ready for the NHl and a position makes itself available ever since Sutter came in. One of Sutter's first moves was to recall King and Nolan, and as I pointed out, we've recalled plenty of other guys since.
Also, most 4th lines are patched with the likes of Carcillo and Fraser. The main thing you want from a fourth line is a group that can go out and play 6-7 minutes a game and not hurt the team, and maybe throw a few hits to give the team a little jump. That's it. Anything beyond that is gravy, and it's why most 4th lines on good teams are filled with veterans, just like Carcillo and Fraser. Look at Vancouver's 4th line the other night, who was on it? Tom Sestito, Jeremy Welsh and Zac Dalpe, three guys who are all 24 or older. Sestito is only in the NHL because he can fight. Are there better players in the Canucks system? Yep, but it's not about calling up some kids, it's about not hurting the team and giving them a jump. Sestito had a fight, had some big hits, tried to pump up his team. I think he hurt his team on Saturday, but he was trying to get them fired up. Do you really want Vey, Toffoli, Pearson, etc. playing 6-7 minutes a night, doing little in the offensive zone, trying to just not hurt the team?
No, you want them coming up and getting 12-15 minutes a game, getting some skilled linemates to play with, getting some good opportunities and getting to play the same role they have had in Manchester. Kings fans still ***** about Loktionov not getting the right chances when he came up. While I disagree to a point on that, I do agree that he wasn't given the same chances as he was in Manchester.
The Kings have done a great job of getting guys their chance, when they have earned it. Voynov was ready, they sent him back down for about three games and traded Johnson to make room for him (and of course to get Carter). When we have injuries, who gets brought in? Guys like Muzzin, guys like Vey and Toffoli. We don't go out and trade to fill a hole, we do recall guys. The only time we trade to fill a hole is when we have to because DL and DS don't think we have that type of player in the system (like getting Carcillo, or getting Scrivens in the Berbier deal). Toffoli and Vey were both given opportunities to win a spot in camp, they didn't, they got sent down, and then after stewing in Manchester for a month, got recalled and are playing lights out.
Really, we as fans should only be concerned with one thing, the final outcome. We don't know these players, their personal situations, how they carry themselves away from the ice, nothing. The Kings management knows way more about these guys than we do. Thus far, their approach has seen us develop numerous NHLers, many of which are now on the Kings roster, and two more just made it in Toffoli and Vey and have looked great. Why tinker with something that thus far hasn't done anything wrong?