Sharksrule04
Registered User
I don't have an issue with the concept that expectations are a bit high, that's always going to happen with prospects within a fanbase. I'm strictly debating the concept that this group of prospects isn't the best the franchise has ever had at any given time. I really don't think there is a single year close to this.At Michalek's first camp people were drooling over his skills and talent. "He can stickhandle in a phone-booth!" People were thinking this was a future elite 80-point (in the DPE) winger.
I think you are not properly remembering the hype surrounding Colagiacomo. The draft guide labeled him the steal of the draft. The pre-season guide had him #2 on the Sharks's prospect rankings, ahead of guys like Sturm and Kiprusoff.
It's comparable to how Cagnoni was seen when the Sharks nabbed him in the 4th, except that Cagnoni had size concerns and Coagiacomo had attitude concerns (which, lets be fair, fans paper over far more readily).
The current group is obviously excellent and league-leading, but I still think that expectations are much too high.
Part of this was because Kevin Wey was a very realistic (if not conservative) writer who thought about pick values and reasonable expectations before that was even a thing. Of course, he was frequently attacked for that on here (and that might have been what drove him away!). I'll always remember his snappy comeback to another poster whining about his pessimism; he pointed out how if you went to the Washington Capitals's prospect page, every single prospect was at a 6.0 or higher, which he pointed out was absolutely ludicrous.
In terms of Colagiacomo, I'll just agree to disagree. I was actually a person who probably hyped him a bit following his 100 point season in the CHL but in reality that was relative to what the Sharks had in the pool at the time, I don't think he was ever expected to have top 6 upside.
RE: Cagnoni comparison, I think that is a fine comparison since they were both mid-round picks but I don't even have Cagnoni in our top 10 prospects despite the amazing season he just had.