Drouin will be an Elite scorer in the NHL. To be fair Drouin only had 1 1/2 years in the QMJHL. He has become a human Highlight reel, will become an Elite Scoring player in the NHL, no doubt about it. Sending him back to Halifax was a no-brainer, at his age he needs playings time.
Also I don't think we'll regret it, for one we have Andrej Sustr (FA NCAA). Dmen are never a sure thing. Seth Jones might become a force in the NHL, but doesn't mean he would develop the same way with Tampa Bay. Playing alongside a guy like Shea Weber help a Rookie Dmen tremendously. for example if he would've been drafted by TBL, he might've played alongside brewer, or Aulie. I thought Predators were the PERFECT team for Seth Jones.
Tampa Bay's depth was a big factor in the decision to send back Drouin to Halifax. Sending drouin down, so he can work on faceoffs, his defensive game, and put on a little muscle won't hurt his development. He'll get to play for Canada at the World U20 championship.
We might lose a guy like Marty St Louis in the next couple of seasons. He'll be 40 years old iafter next season, we need someone to step up and take his place. I think Drouin would be the perfect guy for the job.
In a couple of years, Drouin will be feeding Stammer's one-timers on the PP. Its a process he'll be in the NHL next season. This was the perfect opportunity for Steve Yzerman to send him back to work on little things that will one day make him the Hockey player everyone wants him to be.