I disagree with almost all of that.
Bourque, yes, we knew what he was and is. No argument there.
Wilson had a horrible, injury-plagued season last year. We didn't know what kind of player he can be when healthy. And we still don't.
We know exactly what Wilson is, and he's proving it again this season. Nashville fans who watched him for
eight years told us exactly who he was. And he's done absolutely nothing but prove every single word they said since he showed up. If you want to look at Colin Wilson and tell me that in the midst of his 10th season in this league
we don't know who he is then this is probably pointless to discuss any further with you.
We don't know what kind of player Greer or Toni will be long term.
We don't know what Dano and Dries can do in our system.
We have a good idea of what their potential is. One of them might be a third/fourth liner in the NHL, one will be a fourth line centre at the NHL level max, one has extremely limited potential, and one, yes, does have some potential. Regardless, none of these guys are exactly worth waiting for. Every team has a host of such players and prospects, they are dime-a-dozen. Hence why every year, at the end of pre-season / beginning of the season, you can always pick 1-2 of them up on waivers. Which is how Dano got here.
But my biggest issue is I think you're confusing production with development. If Jost plays exactly how he has been, but he's on a line with MacKinnon and Rantanen and ends up scoring lots of goals, has he developed? I'd argue no. If Jost had better linemates, sure, he'd probably be producing more, but would he actually be developing?
And it's not like he's been put with Gork. As I said, we don't actually know what Wilson is yet, and we certainly don't know what Kerfoot is. So that entire line was made up of unknowns. Maybe all three are legit top six guys. Maybe none of them are. That's what this season will help determine.
If we're going down this path, I'll just say you're confusing icing a bunch of youngsters surrounded by mediocre talent as "development" and "testing".
Your logic here is confusing. Scoring a lot of goals would be indicative of development and the successful processes of development -- are you trying to argue otherwise? Are you suggesting that, in your hypothetical scenario, learning to play well with talented offensive players, producing "lots of goals" at the NHL level, and finding provable NHL success is
not key to development, if not the ultimate purpose of the development of a player like Jost? Producing is the tangible piece of evidence (and the one that ultimately matters in competitive sports...) that a player is trending in the right direction and that their development is on the right track. Producing (both ends of the rink) is the culmination of development going right.
Let me tell you what's not good development: playing a youngster with NHL talent that does not fit their playstyle and that often isn't very good; letting that young, apparently talented forward correspondingly average shots on goal per game equivalent to Patrick Nemeth; seeing that youngster admit that he's
"frustrated" and "trying to stay positive" just 10 games into the season; watching that youngster's confidence slip; and moving that youngster to the wing on the 4th line in his last game played for the team due to his struggles and slipping confidence.
Is this the "Curtis Lazar school of hockey development"?
This is an assumption not based in reality. You're assuming that if Jost had better players on his line he would have been a better player this season. We don't know that at all.
It's an assumption based on extremely simplistic and basic logic. Surround young talented players with talented players who can help carry the load, create space, and set up and receive and chances, will generally help that young player out, y'know? Maybe help that young player not express frustration, struggle, and slip down the lineup? I'm not here to further argue something this simple and obvious.
And this fictional better player you have in the lineup might actually have been taking minutes from guys like Jost and Kerfoot. This is because this fictional player is an offensive player, so he's not going to be taking minutes from scrubs and grinders, he'll be taking it from other offensive players.
This might surprise you, but we currently have scrubs and grinders playing offensive minutes. I can't imagine that drastic harm that would have been inflicted on Colin Wilson's development when hypothetically at...29 years old, with 10 seasons in the NHL, he would have been bumped from the top six scoring role he's enjoyed most of the season.
But this is all moot. The Avs didn't bring in a top six player in the offseason. I see no point in arguing about what they should have done. I'm more interested in the reality of who is actually on the team.
Something we can probably agree on moving forward now. Lets just not kid ourselves about what's going on with who's currently on the roster.