Let’s be honest about Sprong. He got dunked on by 4 separate coaches before coming to Seattle and then had to settle for a PTO.
Sure, but he provided two things this team sorely lacks: speed and the ability to score. He had some of the best even strength scoring clips on the team. And Sonny Milano burned through teams and coaches but they saw enough in him to give him a PTO and then sign him to an extension. Strome is on his third different team at age 25.
The point is we put young players out there and by and large if they aren’t perfect defensively the organization cuts bait on them without giving them the chance to develop and then we spend assets on plugs like Johan Larsson, Carl Hagelin, Curtis Glencross, etc because they’re responsible defensively. It’s annoying.
What also irritates me is coaching is supposed to be about putting your players in a position to succeed and understanding their strengths and weaknesses. Let players do what they’re good at and don’t dump them when they don’t do well at something you know they won’t do well in. Too many coaches try to ram a round peg into a square hole and then blame the player when the piece doesn’t fit.
At what point is this organization going to let young forwards develop? Tom Wilson was drafted in 2012 and he’s their most recent draft pick (at forward) still on the team and still playing a meaningful role. Protas is starting to get there but again it’s frustrating seeing young talent leave because we don’t give them the opportunity to figure out how to be a pro hockey player.