Aren't we putting players on the Manitoba Moose to get to know what they can do? Other than training camp, isn't the AHL squad the place to demonstrate that you deserve to be up with the big club?
Yep, but if we identify the most worthy prospects to promote to the NHL based on AHL (/SHL/KHL/Liiga etc.) success, and then proceed to give those guys jack shit in terms of ice time and linemates, we won't get to know who
really could have translated their game into the show.
I'm fairly certain that you could promote whichever forward you wanted to play eight minutes a night in the fourth line, and the results wouldn't be that different. Most of them probably don't succeed playing top 6 minutes and special teams, but if you never get a good 15-20 games to prove yourself in that role, you'll never going to make it anyway. This has been the Jets' problem: they'll rather watch a prospect fizzle out than give them a shot at succeeding.
When Harkins was here, we had Connor, Ehlers, Wheeler, Copp, and Laine for his first year (the year that we had Logan Shaw as well; Hendricks and Harkins never played together), and Stastny (after Laine left) as wingers, so I’m not sure who Harkins would play over in the top six.
I don’t think he was the answer as 2C behind Scheifele either.
Straight from Maurice's school of thought: two offensive lines, one shutdown line, and the fourth line might as well not exist. If one had experimented with spreading out the wealth across the entire lineup, maybe guys like Harkins and Vesalainen would have been able to produce something. It was not to be...