Give me names please, who was drafted and then ruined through horrible development in your opinion.
1.
Louis Leblanc - Had a good season before Bergevin took over. Came in to a toxic environment with Lefebvre, there's a good article from Louis on how Lefebvre treated him. They saddled him with grinders on the 3rd line in the AHL and didn't give him offensive opportunity or powerplay time. A complete disgusting handling and mental warfare on the kid. And I was one of the only people who didn't want us to select Leblanc. So even I can accept his development was actively sabotaged.
2.
Alexander Avtsin - Why you would bring a 19 year old 5th round pick over into the AHL right away is beyond me. They rushed him to NA and put him at the AHL level too early. On top of that, he got the Lefebvre experience. Got very little ice-time. Wasn't put in positions to succeed. Any time he had any moderate production, he was given different linemates, was scratched, or simply had his minutes reduced.
3.
Jarred Tinordi - I didn't like this pick either. But the fact you can't develop a 6'100 defenseman who can skate into a regular bottom pairing defender is f***ing incredible. He was never mean and he was never a fighter. He was rushed to the NHL. Was yo-yoed consistently and the AHL/NHL staff wanted him to be a face puncher which he wasn't. This led to him fighting and getting concussed continuously. Those concussions and fights impacted his confidence immensely.
4.
Nathan Beaulieu - Another player who was yo-yod consistently between the NHL and AHL. In the NHL level he looked constantly off balance. His best stretch came when we acquired Gonchar and Gonchar took him under his wing and helped him. Once Gonchar was gone, his place began to deterioate again.
5.
Magnus Nygren - They didn't surround him with a support system. He was coming over to North America for the first time and didn't feel safe in Hamilton. What kind of an organization leaves young kids all by themselves in a foreign environment to figure it out on their own?
6.
Darren Dietz - This is a lesser case but he had a lot of ability and tools, they never gave him a fair shake in the organization.
7.
Morgan Ellis - Similar to Darren Dietz. Ability and some tools to be a NHLer. They didn't give him opportunity and did nothing in his development.
8.
Alex Galchenyuk - What didn't they do wrong here? Butted heads with his family. Had no support to help him adjust to the stardom in Montreal. Played him consistently on wing. Punished him for every mistake and allowed Desharnais to make worse mistakes with impunity. Constant mind games. Moved him off center despite every time he played there, he produced and made the team better. Didn't support him with the abuse from his girlfriend. They also rushed him into the NHL since he lost his entire draft year save a few games at the end when it was clear he needed more physical development. Got worse the more they had him and the more they tried to "develop" his defensive game. Didn't provide him with a development plan.
9.
Charles Hudon - What does it say about a player when his best year was his rookie season in the AHL and they were unable to make him any better? He stagnated and again they didn't provide a development plan to improve his skating. Actually had some good stretches at the NHL level but just like everyone else, he got pushed to the side for Vets and had his confidence ripped from him.
10.
Michael McCarron - I didn't like this pick either but once again, we have the awesome development on display. Comes into the AHL and has a PPG season for 22 games. Gets called up to the NHL. Gets very little ice time, is buried on the 4th line. Sent back down. Starts to find his offensive game again. Called back up. Gets no ice time and is played on the fourth line. Sent back down. Is told by Lefebvre he is never going to put up points in the NHL and they limit him. Just like Tinordi they force him to be a face puncher and takes his lumps, gets hurt from it. Another player that regressed every year under their watch and was a better player before his AHL/NHL time.
11.
Jacob De La Rose - Brought over too early to the AHL level. Same situation as McCarron. Called up to the NHL every time he found his offensive touch in the AHL. Then got bottom 6 minutes and limited icetime. Once he struggled there, he would be sent down to find his confidence at the AHL level and be recalled again once he found it.
12.
Zach Fucale - You can find an article that outlines specifically his fractured time in the Canadiens organization.
13.
Sven Andrighetto - See Hudon, Charles.
14.
Nikita Scherbak - You can read the article on him as well. Terrible handling of a young kid. Looked better prior to his time in the AHL. His AHL time had some injuries but Lefebvre gave him the Leblanc playbook and when he didn't, he would move him around all the time. He played Left Wing. Had a serious injury. Came back from injury and was immediately made to play center, a position he hadn't played since he was maybe 15 years old. That didn't work, so they put him to the right wing. Then back to center. Then a call up. To play bottom 6 and get no minutes. Then got sent back down. Then back up. Then sent back down.
15.
Noah Juulsen (though injuries also played a part here) - He was rushed into the NHL despite skating deficiencies he needed to fix and they completely neglected his offensive game. Injuries obviously also hindered him so I don't fully blame them but they played a part.
16.
Victor Mete - Why is a small, physically undeveloped defenseman who needs to grow a lot of his offensive game playing top pairing with Shea Weber in the NHL? They rushed him, they put him over his head and it was all because Bergevin was incompetent in building a team.
17.
Cale Fleury - Rushed into the NHL. No idea why he was playing NHL games so early in his development.
18.
Jesperi Kotkaniemi - Rushed into the NHL. Took a project and made no efforts to actually treat him like a project. Needed a skating and physical development paln, didn't get one. Was best in his first season in the NHL and got worse. Got punted to the wing during one of his best stretches for Nate Thompson. Spent positional yo-yoing and in his final year here, was pushed around for shitty veterans and rode the pine in the play-offs, when he came back was one of our best players. No coincidence his best stretches were his rookie season and the bubble when he came back from a long absence being away from the development program.
19.
Cam Hillis (though injuries and Covid also played a part here) - Injuries played a part but he was given very little opportunity in his first few years here and now has missed so much development time between the injuries, covid and being scratched. Not fully on the development team but his handling wasn't very good.
20.
Mattias Norlinder - Was told he would come to NA for training camp and if he didn't make the NHL team, he'd go back home. They kept him here because of an injury and left him basically sitting for a long period of time. Sent him to the AHL for a conditioning stint and didn't even give him Powerplay time. Played some NHL minutes and didn't get used like an offensive defenseman there either. I still have hope, but this was MB's last developmental f*** you before he left. He was kept in the dark about the whole clause that could keep him in the AHL/NHL and wanted to go back to Sweden if he didn't make it. Hughes/Gorton came on board, gave him two AHL games where he was given a lot of ice time and powerplay, looked really good but ultimately he went back to Sweden where he should have been for the entire year if MB kept his promise.
www.espn.com
