deadhead
Registered User
- Feb 26, 2014
- 49,637
- 21,763
I'm told a lot of things here, much of which is nonsense.You've gotta be told annually that TC is a terrible evaluation tool. Hence the need to give them actual games, instead of deciding to sideline them an entire season because you didn't like a half-ice scrimmage
TC is not a "terrible evaluation tool."
They see these guys in practice, they get medical and training evaluations, and finally the exhibition games.
They already have a lot of information on prospects, what they look for in TC is how prospects are progressing, physically and mentally. The exhibition games are the final piece, are they transferring those improvements to the ice. The media and fans focus on the games, the team has far more information.
The games are a small sample, but they're not the only "data" used to evaluate players.
And yes, sometimes a player has trained hard, comes to camp fired up, makes the team, and after 20 games he hits the wall b/c he's maxed out his talent - but those are exceptions, not the rule. More normally, a player makes the team b/c he's made a jump, and then is up and down like most young players before settling into a groove and showing why he made the team.