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Development Years: The Filatov Experiment |
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First off, I don't know nearly enough about Ottawa to comment on whether the Senators are truly in a rebuild and development year. This entire thought is based off of the idea of a team in a development year.
Last night, Ottawa announced the demotion of Nikita Filatov. At first I said "not surprised" to myself. It's been the norm for the uber-talented Filatov over his career. My second thought was "why?"
Ottawa isn't a very good team yet. They boast a lot of young guns and used the 2011 NHL Draft to supply talent going forward that they will be developing in various junior leagues. On the big club, Ottawa has Rundblad, Karlsson, Cowen and Zibanejad; four pieces who should build parts of the Sens core long term, mostly in their first or second year in the NHL.
With young players come mistakes, hiccups and moments where the fanbase will have a simultaneous facepalm. It's bound to happen.
These kids aren't Sidney Crosby in their first year.
Which is why patience needs to be preached with the young Russian. He's had a hard time in Columbus under a coach like Ken Hitchcock. The move to Ottawa was to give him a chance to play with Jason Spezza, a talented playmaker, in hopes that he could find his feet in the NHL with big minutes and low pressure.
Why then is he down in the minors?
Look, I'm not saying it's the wrong move to demote him. I'm not saying it's the right one. I'm not Paul MacLean so I don't know every single detail. However, for all of Filatov's gaffs early on in the season, should he not be given every chance to learn from said mistakes?
Maybe I'm off base and the Senators don't see this season as a development year and really think they have a chance at pushing for a playoff spot. But as far as I'm concerned... give the kid a real chance.
Looking more generalized, outside the Sens, many teams go through development years. Sometimes winning takes a backseat, and young players will have their ups and downs over the course of a season. Let them play if that's the general idea for the season.
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