Dealing with facts here GBH. If there are so many ways to develop prospects, why does the Kings way involve the most AHL usage for 1st round picks of any team in the last eight years?
Do you listen to any of the interviews with members of the front office? Plenty of them have admitted that they are a slow cook team that heavily uses their AHL affiliate. Yannetti, Emerson, Murray. Look at the quotes when Turcotte signed as an example. Most NHL teams would keep that player in the NCAA and hope to bring him up to the NHL at 20, the Kings went against conventional wisdom. But despite them telling you that, and the facts that back up the Kings heavy AHL usage, you somehow still fight it, why?
Since 2010, there have been 21 forwards (other than QB) taken with top 2 picks. 20 of those made the team out of camp, 19 stuck in the NHL the whole year. The one who didn't make his NHL team right away was Matty Beniers, who turned down Seattle's contract offers to return to college for his sophomore year.
So yes, it is fair to say the Kings development choices with the player are completely different than how other teams have chosen to develop similar players. If you want to say the Kings are right and everyone else is wrong, well you are entitled to your opinion, but you aren't entitled to the facts, which show that NHL teams overwhelmingly put Top 2 forward picks right into the NHL. Unless you think 90+% is not overwhelming.
The same is true of Clarke, you think most other teams would put a player like that, a top 7 pick coming off the season he had would have sent him to the minors?
You keep skipping over the fact that the only thing I've EVER said, is that it's prospect specific, it has always been that way, it will always be that way,
But let's address the drafts since 2010 and examine WHY those players have made the team out of camp, here's a hint (there's no f***ing pressure to win right away)
2010 - Edmonton - Hall, Boston Seguin - Edmonton bottom 10 team next year, no expectations, Boston, you have a point, that was the infamous TOR deal, but Seguin played right away, all 12 minutes average a game the entire year vs Hall's 18 minutes a game, (difference in team expectations)
2011 - Edmonton - RNH - Colorado - Landeskog - both out of the playoffs next year with no expectations of making them to begin with, RNH -17 min per game, Landeskog 18 min per game
2012 - Edmonton - Yakupov - Columbus - Murray (yes a D) again, both played right away, both teams ZERO expectations
2013 - COL MaKinnon, FLA - Barkov, see 2012, ZERO expectations
2014 - FLA -Ekblad - BUF Reinhart, ZERO expectations of winning
2015 - EDM - Mcdavid - BUF - Eichel - ZERO expecations of winning
2016 - TOR Matthews - WPG - Laine - TOR did have expectations, WPG did not (to be fair, TOR ALWAYS has expectations of winning
2017 - NJ Hischier - PHI - Patrick - ZERO expectations
2018 - BUF - Dahlin - CAR Svechkinkov - ZERO expectations
2019 - NJ Hughes - NYR - Kakko, no expectations
2020 - NYR - Laferrierre - LA - Byfield NYR no expectations, LA didn't have any expectations
2021 - BUF - Powers - SEA - Berniers, neither had expectations
2022 - MTF - Sflavsoky - NJ - Nemec MTL had no expectations, played him, NJ had expectations, sent him to the AHL
2023 - CHI Bedard - ANA - Carlsson - neither has expectations
2024 - SJ Celebrine - CHI Lyshunkov - neither has expectations, one in the NHL and not sure on Lyshunkov might be in the NHL but hasnt played as of yet,
So 14 years....28 picks.....ONE player has played that was drafted top 2, on a team that had expectations going into the next season after the draft....
Imagine that.
Again, there's a reason why they play them.....it's because there are ZERO expectations to win, LA started that with Byfield, then changed course and he was on track to make 2021 roster then broke his ankle.....
But you keep banging that f***ing drum that because other teams do it, that's the ONLY way to do it now....and yet...not one of those f***in teams, have won anything since 2010 with the exception of Florida, and it took them 12 years after that draft, to do it.