The Athletic’s Sean “Down Goes Brown” McIndoe and Scott Wheeler published two very different articles this morning, with “DGB” discussing potential divisions for NHL teams based upon their predicted performances (in which the Wings qualify as “Bottom Feeder” stock)…
Last season: 19-27-10, -43, missed playoffs
Their offseason in one sentence: It was another relatively quiet offseason for Steve Yzerman, although he did land Alex Nedeljkovic for a third and get him signed to a reasonable deal.
Why they’re here: Like a few other teams on this list, the Wings are still in rebuild mode and don’t seem to be in a huge hurry to make a push back into the playoff picture. Given their top-heavy division, that’s probably wise. It’s certainly possible Nedeljkovic lives up to the high expectations, as he looks to follow his excellent rookie year with, uh, another excellent rookie year. Look, the Calder eligibility rules are weird, you’re just going to have to trust me.
(Yes, a quiet offseason for a team that jettisoned half-a-dozen veterans, brought in half-a-dozen new players, and is giving Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond opportunities to make the team)…
And Scott Wheeler breaks down probable Canadian Hockey League (i.e. Major Junior team finishes, with this rather smarmy remark regarding Sebastian Cossa probably finishing as the WHL’s goalie of the year:
Top goalie: Sebastian Cossa (Detroit Red Wings)
This one probably isn’t going to be close. Cossa scared me a little with his spotty play in Calgary and Traverse City, but he’s the best goalie in the league and he gets to play behind its best team.
He had one horrible game. ONE game. Oy.
I read all of Pronger’s and Wheeler’s stuff. They each offer a view on prospects. They are nuanced and well worth reading. However they are just that, an opinion on a prospect. They are not the end all, be all, when it comes to evaluations on players. I know George knows that. How good a player turns out to be is a bit of a crap shoot and what is more a process. It takes years to develop a prospect. Much can happen in those years. Witness prospects who were almost given up on, who turned out to be more. Witness the Buffalo Sabers who grind up, spit out and ruin players because they rush them. The players who are rushed, don’t succeed right away. The media and inpatient fans get down on them. They doubt their own ability. They become hesitant and they fail. Cossa save % the last two years was over the top terrific. We will leave it at that.
I really enjoy Wheeler’s work, and he’s got the down low on about 99% of the prospects he analyzes. But there’s no doubt that player development is a large determinant in whether prospects pan out, and Cossa…had one bad game.