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Eller's arbitration case


dlbalr

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These players rarely amount to much. We saw this with Diaz. Sekac is no different or better, in fact, because of the lack of hype, he is probably worse than the Fabien Brunnstroms/Damien Brunners/Jiri Dopitas.

It's interesting to me how sports parallel business with regards to how the decisions get made. Like this "draft and stash" crap we all saw at the draft in June. We blew two picks on college kids to micromanage the fifty contract limit that affects no team. In the hopes that they might grow up to be big time dynamos like Matt Read and Tyler Bozak. That reminds me of business, especially tech companies. One company has one thing, or thinks one way and all of a sudden every tech company in Simi Valley has a pizza chef because Google did it.

There was a fair bit of hype for Sekac. He started garnering attention midseason and was flown from city to city getting the grand tour so to speak from a dozen teams, just like the other hyped ones all did. (Also little known is that the Habs did that to help entice Daniel Carr to sign...) Brunnstrom got a bit more attention since he was older and a bit more polished though. The big thing for everyone to remember is that Sekac is still a prospect; what he brings to the table early on shouldn't be his ceiling which was the case for guys like Brunner, Dopita, Diaz, etc.

As for the draft and stash, managing the 50-contract limit is only part of the rationale. (It does affect teams somewhat regularly, by the way; we've seen instances before where teams have to part with draft picks to get rid of a player to stay under the limit. There are a handful of teams who will be right up against it to start next year too as things stand.) Part of it is trying to unearth the hidden gem but it's not like these guys don't know how to play either compared to CHL players. Or, they see a lot of skill in a player but physically the player is going to need more time to fill out. Sometimes, they'll also opt for the long-term route when the potential openings at that position down the road are low.

Take the 6th round goalie for example. If they draft a CHL guy, he's going to be blocked for the better part of his potential AHL time. Fucale will be in Hamilton for a couple of years while Condon should be as well. The CHL goalie may not get to play in the AHL until the final year of his ELC, if he plays well enough to earn one. Drafting a goalie with the idea of having him in the ECHL for 2/3 years is a bit of a waste, you can get that goalie via AHL free agency. Hawkey, meanwhile, is 4-5 years away. There's no one in the system yet that would block his development, they're better served picking someone who may be more useful down the road. (Not to mention that his success in the USHL made him worth drafting regardless of whether he was going to play college or junior. He was far from a wasted pick.)

When it comes to 7th rounders, the odds are you're going to miss on many more than you make, regardless of where the player is from. If that's the case, there's a reasonable argument to be made to take the long-term project. 4-5 years down the road, he may not be NHL ready but could step in and perform in the minors without having to commit a 3 year ELC to the player (just 2 at that age). Or he busts like most of Montreal's 7th rounders in recent years... The CHL guy gives you less time to make a decision and a mandatory 3 year commitment. I also don't think there's a major correlation between 7th round drafting success and what league a player is from...success is a fluke no matter where they played which means there is no right answer as to whether or not it's worth stashing late picks.

As for something on Eller to keep this remotely on topic and Weise who you mentioned earlier, the two of them should play together at times shorthanded. If they show some chemistry, perhaps they'd consider bumping Weise up from time to time.

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