I think it also depends on the player a lot. Preds' organization had guys like Fiala, Arvidsson, etc stay offense minded. Others like Tolvanen (so far anyways) maybe went the other way. But there are probably many things involved and every player is different.
Of course, the whole point they send those guys to the AHL is for development. If a high end skill guy like tolvanen has warts in other areas of his game that will hinder him from finding long term success in the nhl, what do people think they’re gonna work on? You are exactly right and generally that’s when the off ice traits u look for at the draft make the difference in terms s if work ethic, character ability to adapt etc… etc…. U can watch a guy like Arvidsson play and see the work ethic without even needing to actually Know him off the ice lol
I actually hate the whole HF boards narrative that teaching young high end kids the details of the game away from the puck/defensively is somehow going to just pidgeon hole them into a 4th liner for life. Because in that particular developmental season they didn’t light the league on fire offensively. What if those supposed 3rd/4th liners weren’t ever skilled or smart enough to make it in the nhl as a top 6/4 player at the end of the day and these are the tools that supplied them opportunity for an nhl career? Like Brett Connolly, Barbashev, Scotty Upshall, Austin Watson, etc… etc…. And on the flip side u look at guys like Sven Andrighetto, Hunter Shinkaruk, Beau Bennett, Jeremy Bracco and Andreas Athanasiou types and we see how those nhl careers have panned out.
It’s very easy for fans behind a computer to just say give these guys minutes with skill players and play pp with yada yada yada and ignore the defensive side of the game. When it isn’t your entire life and career that’s dependent on these developmental year/years. And point production in junior/AHL if you’re already a high end scorer doesn’t matter nearly as much to the coaches/development coaches in that organization as it does to fans who basically just stat watch and solely equate that to development or projection, if the players goals for that season were to improve in different areas of the game.
Focusing on being defensively responsible, or developing the hockey iq to manage the puck effectively doesn’t just deteriorate a players ability to stick handle or shoot the puck lol.
Sorry for my Ted talk haha, I’m bored just got out of a surgical-ish procedure and have WAYY too much time too kill hahaha