Hockey Duckie
Registered User
I actually complemented you. Certainly didn't attack you unless you believe that being a fan of Tracey is an attack (misguided yes; attack no). I've laid out my concerns about Tracey in several other posts which I'm sure you've already read. Being on a low scoring junior team is certainly a factor in his numbers but he showed nothing at the AHL level either with more talented players. I'm sure privately that the Ducks are very concerned about his future.
Clearly you did attack a person, otherwise why rationalize what you did? Let's review, shall we?
I admire your optimism...turn off the lights when you leave the Braydon Tracey fan club meeting. I think you're the only member at this point.
The compliment was, "I admire your optimism." You should have left it there, but you didn't. The rest of your post was trying to belittle a person, in hopes of trying to diminish the opinion rather than to have a discussion about player. That's an attack on a person, not attacking an idea.
Let's look at some of your concerns:
"Being on a low scoring junior team is certainly a factor in his numbers": Tracey gets docked for being on a low scoring junior team? You do realize he has no control on which team he goes to play for, but you dock him nonetheless. Between MJ and both Victoria seasons, Tracey is their leading scorer. On a tangent, are all the forwards on the Ducks failures like Zegras and Comtois for being on a low scoring team? (That was a rhetorical question.)
"he showed nothing at the AHL level either with more talented players.": Your expectations of Tracey is wildly skewed with respect to being AHL ready. Tracey is one of four teenagers that were on the AHL roster: Zegras was a 9th overall selection in 2019, Tracey was the 29th overall selection in 2019, Drysdale was the 6th overall pick in 2o20, and Perreault was the 27th overall draftee in 2020. Everyone else in the AHL was older, bigger, and possess more experience. Did you expect Tracey to be better than Zegras or Drysdale? I surely hope not. Did you expect Tracey to be better than Perreault? I hope not as well, but Perreault would be his closest comparison. To start the AHL season, both Tracey and Perreault did not belong. The jump was too big to encompass.
I've stated this before, but I'll shared it again as you clearly don't read my posts. When drafted, Tracey measured in at 6'0 and 176 lbs. Perreault came in at 5'11 and 192 lbs. Perreault already has the physical advantage as he's been playing at that weight for his draft season. Tracey did add 20 pounds to his frame during the lockdown, but Perreault probably added some mass to his frame as well. Although Perreault was selected 27th overall, he was mocked often in the teens. The reasons he dropped was his attitude and motor because he only played offense in his draft year. When you see Perrault's talent, it's very high. I liken it to Lucas Raymond tool kit. Here's Draft Dynasty's video review of Perreault:
If Perreault played a full 200 foot game, then he would probably have had top-10 mentions.
Perreault has two seasons under the OHL banner when he was drafted. Tracey had his first year in the WHL when he was drafted, won RoY, most rookie goals, assists, and points. Why do I bring this up? He's a late bloomer. Yet, neither Tracey or Perreault looked good to start the AHL season.
"I'm sure privately that the Ducks are very concerned about his future.": When did speculation translate to fact?
"he showed nothing at the AHL level either with more talented players.": Your expectations of Tracey is wildly skewed with respect to being AHL ready. Tracey is one of four teenagers that were on the AHL roster: Zegras was a 9th overall selection in 2019, Tracey was the 29th overall selection in 2019, Drysdale was the 6th overall pick in 2o20, and Perreault was the 27th overall draftee in 2020. Everyone else in the AHL was older, bigger, and possess more experience. Did you expect Tracey to be better than Zegras or Drysdale? I surely hope not. Did you expect Tracey to be better than Perreault? I hope not as well, but Perreault would be his closest comparison. To start the AHL season, both Tracey and Perreault did not belong. The jump was too big to encompass.
I've stated this before, but I'll shared it again as you clearly don't read my posts. When drafted, Tracey measured in at 6'0 and 176 lbs. Perreault came in at 5'11 and 192 lbs. Perreault already has the physical advantage as he's been playing at that weight for his draft season. Tracey did add 20 pounds to his frame during the lockdown, but Perreault probably added some mass to his frame as well. Although Perreault was selected 27th overall, he was mocked often in the teens. The reasons he dropped was his attitude and motor because he only played offense in his draft year. When you see Perrault's talent, it's very high. I liken it to Lucas Raymond tool kit. Here's Draft Dynasty's video review of Perreault:
If Perreault played a full 200 foot game, then he would probably have had top-10 mentions.
Perreault has two seasons under the OHL banner when he was drafted. Tracey had his first year in the WHL when he was drafted, won RoY, most rookie goals, assists, and points. Why do I bring this up? He's a late bloomer. Yet, neither Tracey or Perreault looked good to start the AHL season.
"I'm sure privately that the Ducks are very concerned about his future.": When did speculation translate to fact?
Tracey was a long term project from the get go. He was a rookie in the CHL when he was drafted. He's been a leading scorer for two franchises, when both teams decided to trade away top and key talents. This year, Victoria has far fewer talents than the previous year, but Tracey is keeping the same ppg rate pace from the previous season. How is this possible? Out of 19 points, 12 of Tracey's points come on the PP. He's making things happen on the PP on a team that cannot score. That should bode well for the Ducks, who has problems scoring on the PP.
It's far too early in Tracey's career to be definitive that Tracey is a bust. There's talent there and it needs some seasoning. I find it facetious to write off a 19-year old that's been leading teams in scoring without talent in the WHL. Give Tracey a couple more years before you having a definitive outlook. If Tracey continues to develops, then we win either by promotion or by trading him.