Some people just kind of lose sight of how drafts work, or what constitutes a "bust". When you're drafting there's only so much info you can go by, and projecting the eventual career outcomes of a bunch of teenagers is a hell of a tough game to play. In recent times, this has only been exacerbated by the pandemic and the lost playing time a lot of these guys are dealing with, something that also makes adjusting to the NHL schedule and style even more difficult. But even under normal circumstances, you have to try and project how a guy might grow physically after age 18, and a litany of other factors. If you come out of a draft and have just one guy become a NHL regular, that's really not bad...and anyone who can become a regular on the big league level should not by any means be labeled a "bust", even if they don't hit their top projections.
Hell, I'll bet there are a few teams that draft great but are crap at the player development side of things, leading to them not getting as much out of their draft picks as they should; Marty's whole thing earlier this season about how the Devils have been rushing too many high draft picks to the big leagues seemed to be a sign of recognition that the Devils had been failing in player development in recent history and that they're working to rectify that. That's good, and I obviously hope it bears fruit.
All this in mind, I'm absolutely not about to act all scared that Holtz is not going to make it or something. To be clear, it's entirely possible he doesn't really make it; any number of factors from injuries to a sheer inability to transition to the NHL game could pop up, shit happens. But a kid who's just getting used to this style of play, who's still like 20 or whatever? No, I refuse to freak out about that. Sometimes players need more time, whether its to physically grow, get mentally sharper, or work out other adjustments they need to make, and that's just how it goes sometimes.
Unrelated, but I've got a 20% coupon I can use on NHL Shop and I think I want a black jersey. Main thing: I can either pay $180 for an authentic without a name/number (before the discount), or $250 to get the shop to put the name/number on for me. Curious if you guys think it makes sense to just have the shop do it (though then I have to think of whose number I actually want, shit!), or to take the blank one...and if I do take the blank one, where do you like going to get numbers stitched on around Jersey?
Ugh, I suddenly miss having Sports Express at Livingston Mall available to me. I don't live by the mall anymore, but I still work pretty close to it, and it came in handy circa 2008-2010 for my Devils and Mets jersey needs. Those guys even had Patty sign my jersey for no extra cost when I got the stitching done with them! Sweet, sweet memories...
