Wasn't there big arguments a few years ago that the Avs showed huge favouritism and blocked some prospects?
None of these guys have shown shit even as AHLers in other organizations. So I'm more inclined to think the Avs generally suck at drafting. They also very likely suck at development too. But choosing to not invest resources in developing OO types isn't really a bad choice. The bad choice is drafting them in the first place.
It's most likely a bit of both. For a while under Pracey and Hepple, it seemed like they would target good junior players in the late rounds, but fail to notice that they had no real projectable pro level skills. Beaudin, Bigras, Shvyryov, Smirnov, Saigeon, Beaucage, Stienburg, all of them just flamed out as soon as they hit the pros because their strengths weren't suited for that type of hockey. Hell, Jost, Kaut, OO, and Newhook also fit that description.
That could also be used as evidence that promising players stagnate as soon as they really get into the Avs development system. None of the guys they got in ever took the last step. I used to think the development system was the prime culprit, but now I think both the scouts and the development team share blame for that era of duds.
It does seem like the Avs have shifted their philosophy a bit by targeting some guys like Prishchepov, Fisher, Pitner, and Jedlicka who aren't really high skill types but have some projectable pro skills that could make them good depth players. And IIRC the development staff has turned over a lot, too. So we'll see where the next few years take us I guess. I think there's cause for cautious optimism but I understand why this board would be jaded after all of the strikeouts.
