The WJC thing is always funny, not something exclusive to this board by any means but I've definitely seen it here. When a prospect does poorly in the WJC it is "overreacting to a few bad games" or "not going to judge him off of one bad tournament" but when a prospect does well it means something "he dominated the WJC, how can you question him" . I personally don't care about the tournament, I think it means so much less than sustained play in whatever league the player is in, but I get it, it's always a big part of the year on HF because for a lot of people its there first chance to see prospects play on TV.
The other part, I mean I don't know, I got called a "stat watcher" and "you clearly have never seen him play" anytime I am not totally 100% on board with a prospect, even one I actually saw play a decent amount in person. It seems that people are ok with favorable opinions but immediately go on the attack when there is the slightest bit of negativity. I am more active in discussing prospects I am able to atleast see play somewhat regularly on TV if not in person (it's why I have talked about Turcotte and Faber more than any other prospects on this board) and have strong opinions about guys who played in the Big Ten. I trust my own eyes more than a write up or a YouTube video, you can edit video to make anyone look good, people used to post Colten Teubert videos here back in the day, but Covid this year robbed me of seeing Faber in person but Minnesota is on TV almost every week and I feel like I have a pretty good grasp on what kind of player he is from watching him.
I still think though that people get to butt hurt when people are critical in any way of a prospect for their team. There was a group here who strongly wanted Stutzle, I don't think any of those Kings fans have ever called Byfield a bust. If Fro63 or ilovekings say they think the Kings made a mistake people immediately think its an attack rather than a praise of the other player. Dallas probably made a mistake taking Heiskanen over Makar, doesn't mean Heiskanen isn't a fantastic all-star caliber player himself just that Makar has best player in the league type ceiling.
That's fair. I try to have more positive language and setting realistic expectations. I can't speak for all, but I'm sure there's the component of some people being unable to hear criticism.
So, yes. I will focus on the good. For a few reasons. I will be more excited when a prospect does well, but won't think it's doomsday if a prospect is underwhelming.
I do have an easier time criticizing non-Kings prospects. At least tjose that are getting ridiculous hype. However, I try to balance it by tempering hype on Kings prospects.
I do think it's silly, regardless, to say "Team X made a mistake drafting A over B." There are SO many moving parts to the success of a player's career. Some teams are better equipped to develop a player physically. Others may connect better with the player mentally. Assuming that swapping teams = swapping results is foolhardy. So, yes, those I will push back on.
For example, did Dallas make a mistake drafting Jack Campbell? Considering he's a legit player now, and he was traded for Nick Ebert, it seems there was a failure somewhere. They more or less didn't know how to dial in mentally with him, and hurt years of his career.
We mistakenly assume the mistake was made, because we assume the players would do just as well and everything else is equal. They're not. Do you truly think Stutzle would have the exact same amount of points if he were on the Kings? I submit no. Because we see the professionals/vets have different outcomes in different environments, and 18-20 year-old kids are much more physically and mentally malleable and volatile.
Teams make potentially franchise altering decisions with a mix of bias and the best information they have available. Years get put into watching the development of these players even before the draft. To read people backseat scout and allude any team screwed up or made a mistake, based off of recency bias of a few games and not knowing the person? Sorry, that's where I draw the line myself.
Granted, we all have opinions and bias. That's what the board is for. I just don't think anyone, whether we're posters or analysts on TV, are in a position to call out mistakes.
But I've also got on the nerves of many here, so maybe I'm the one with the problem. That's just my limit.
FWIW, I apologize if it was me who called you a stat watcher. I think the only context I've said that is when you list stats as criticism, instead of making specific remarks about a player's game. Still, I should know better and will avoid such commentary in the future.
