Ok geniuses what is the "proper" development model?
I already know the answers I'm going to get but I'm trying show you obvious....
There is no perfect development model. No one has any clue what is best for Drai. And never having developed a player or being part of the process means some of your are commenting with incomplete info. It's like criticizing a doctor or lawyer when you don't possess enough knowledge of the subject.[mod] Just my opinion. But we are all entitled to our opinions so please feel free to keep doing so
Maybe not, but even the dumbest patient can tell something's wrong if a doctor goes through with a kidney transplant without using anesthesia.
This is just misdirected "I know that you don't know", of course we don't know exactly what's the best route for Draisaitl. But even you admitted the Oilers are incompetent. And we are luckily surrounded by at least a few hundred different quality NHL players from which to plot a course. That sample size gives us at least a rough idea of how good development is supposed to look like.
It sure as heck doesn't look like what Draisaitl is going through. Has a player ever become a top line forward after playing on the worst team in the league and scoring just 7 points in over 30 games the season immediately following his draft year? Heck, has a prospect ever stayed in the NHL the season after he was drafted after a 9-game audition of 1 goal, 2 assists, a -4 and 15 shots?
The justification laid upon us was that his last 2 games showed he was improving. He had 7 shots, a goal, 2 assists, and was +2 in his 8th and 9th game. This conveniently ignored his prior 7 games (1 assist, 8 shots, and a brutal -6). It also showed the mentality of Oilers management, in that they're using the NHL as a development league thinking that Draisaitl was going to just keep going up.
Guess what? Turns out, the NHL isn't going to be the league where an 18-year old player is going to be able to develop by going up against guys who are playing for their livelihood and couldn't care less whether or not he succeeds. His last 18 games he has 2 assists, 24 shots, and a -12 rating. If that is good development, then why is everyone else doing it wrong? Clearly they need to put their guys in positions to fail, it's tough love at its finest.
We've seen prospects develop and not many have become bigtime NHL contributors by being jerked around like a child's toy, that much I'm sure of. The first year I find is the most vital year for NHL teams to put their mark on the development of a young kid, and often it's what decides nearly everything in that kid's career path. This first year has been so brutally bad for Draisaitl that I'm not sure if he'll ever recover and become the player he was projected to be.
