MOST IMPORTANTLY FOR HABS FANS, HOW THEY TALKED ABOUT DEVELOPING PLAYERS SHOULD CONCERN YOU. DLR shouldnt be in the NHL, Galchenyuk was rushed, Hudon needs more time. Bournival coyld have used more time in the ahl. Where woukd Eller be if Montreal gave him some ahl time. Listen to their philosophy about how they develop players. When you pick late, it will take up to 5 years to develop the datsyuk and kronwalls of the world.
Galchenyuk was a 3rd overall pick. What Babcock and Holland said is that where they are drafting (late in the 1st round), the players they pick need 4-5 years in the minors before they are ready. On top of that, you have to consider if the player is better off in junior, or at the NHL level. Sometimes the AHL isn't even an option and you're stuck with 2 options which aren't ideal. In Galchenyuk's case it was sarnia or montreal. So what you're saying is that we should have left Galchenyuk in junior despite the fact he had the highest points per min average of any 18 year old in 10 years ? What Holland said doesn't apply to Galchenyuk, and we made the right decision in his case.
And there are more than one way to skin a cat. The way the wings do it doesn't mean it's the only way. And I'd say that drafting Lidstrom is not a formula you can repeat, and Lidstrom was the reason for their success. Now they're 1-2 round and done team. And they went from Yzerman-Fedorov-Shanahan-Lidstrom,etc to Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Kronwall.. and now these guys will be gone soon and the next crop might be even weaker. They're slowly declining and have been for a while.
Now, you might have a case with DLR, Eller, Gallagher... I don't agree but you know .. maybe..
Thing is though that every player is different. I think the wings would make exceptions as well if they had exceptional players. Ultimately, all players have to be considered on an individual basis and there are no proven and universal method that apply to everyone. Some people respond well to gentle nudging, some need to be kicked in the ass, some need to be protected and brought along slowly, some can jump in right away.
All decisions should be considered on their individual merit and not based on what the wings have done with other players who are different from ours.
Also, on a completely unrelated subject, there is something that bothers me about Babcock.. about how he speaks of himself in the 3rd person, and how inflated his ego seems to be.