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Did the Bruins make a mistake by ‘rushing’ Tyler Seguin to NHL level?

Boston Bruins v Philadelphia Flyers

of the Philadelphia Flyers of the Boston Bruins at the Wells Fargo Center on December 1, 2010 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Nick Laham

One of the dirty tricks in the NHL ’11 fantasy draft is to take Tyler Seguin and Taylor Hall in the late rounds, stash them at the junior level for a year or two, then take advantage of their dirt-cheap entry-level deals when the two players have improved dramatically. Of course, in reality, there is no “potential rating” to ensure that some raw prospect will turn into a future star.

Yet in a climate in which high-end draft picks often make a seamless (but sometimes desperation-tinged) transition from the draft to the NHL, the Boston Bruins had an interesting opportunity with Seguin. The B’s could have allowed the second overall pick of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft to marinate in the OHL for some more time, giving him the chance to (maybe?) build up a little size and mature further.

Instead, the Bruins made the somewhat-understandable decision for him to begin the 2010-11 season at the highest level and kept him there when it came time to decide if they wanted to burn one of his entry-level seasons.

Obviously, hindsight is 20/20 and all that, but the experiment hasn’t been a resounding success. Seguin has been a fairly frequent healthy scratch lately and isn’t lighting up the scoreboard when he is on the ice; his nine goals and 18 points aren’t likely to make the Toronto Maple Leafs green with envy.

Bobby Ryan, Carey Price

Anaheim Ducks’ Bobby Ryan (9) scores against Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price, right, during overtime shootout NHL hockey game action in Montreal, Saturday, in Montreal, Saturday, Jan. 22, 2011. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Graham Hughes)

AP

Yet there are plenty of examples of high profile rookies struggling in their initial seasons. The disturbing part, though, is that Seguin isn’t getting the kind of opportunity to learn from his mistakes and occasional breakthroughs like Steven Stamkos, John Tavares and others did. That’s because his average ice time is only 12:20 per game.

It begs the question: did the Bruins rush him to the NHL amid the excitement of pulling a fast one on the Leafs? Could he be “a cautionary tale” for teams who might want to be a little more careful about expediting the development of smaller players?

Tom Wakefield of Canucks Hockey Blog brings up an interesting comparison between the hectic development of Seguin vs. the patient and productive process between the Anaheim Ducks and Bobby Ryan (another second overall pick).

Ryan played two more years in junior hockey, posting seasons of 95 and 102 points, before he got his professional feet wet with the Portland Pirates, the Ducks AHL affiliate in 2007. Ryan then spent the 2007-08 season on the bus between Portland and Anaheim, his “slowed” development a result of poor conditioning (reportedly 17% body fat) and foot speed that was not NHL-level.

Today, Bobby Ryan is a core member of the Ducks, on his way to his third-straight 30-goal season. The Ducks took their time with his development, and along the way Ryan learned what it took to compete and succeed at the game’s highest level.

Looking at how Tyler Seguin’s rookie season has gone (8 goals, 9 assists, 12:18 minutes a game. frequent healthy scratch), one can’t help but wonder if the Boston Bruins should have been more patient with him.

Instead of dominating junior hockey and being the go-to guy on his junior team (and most likely a leader on Team Canada at the World Juniors this past winter), Seguin’s an afterthought in the Bruin line-up.


Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that Seguin’s situation is a disaster. It’s FAR too early to give up on him. The only question is whether the Bruins would have been wiser to keep him in the juniors for another year or two. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

(H/T to Buzzing the Net.)