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Well, I don’t know of any player whose development was compromised by spending time in the AHL. I suppose this could be the case if you have a really terrible coaching staff at that level; but if that’s so, then why keep that staff in place? By contrast, bringing players up too soon is a higher-risk development strategy that can indeed go awry. Even the great Carey Price, who at least had one extended playoff in the A, barely survived that treatment. That being said, I’m not saying Slaf won’t overcome it and thrive. But last season he was clearly not NHL ready and that’s one reason he got hurt. 🤷‍♂️ Clearly it was not the right approach in terms of last season, anyway. Something was mishandled regarding injuries last season, that’s for sure. They’ve made changes to the training staff. Whether those guys were scapegoats for what was really a management/coaching attitude will never be known.

"I dont care where young player is now, more concerned where he will be in 5 years."; was Hughes babble. But, i dont see it, seems more the opposite, wouldnt you say? Be it Slafkovski, Guhle, Caufield, i know contract bonus's might be important for players; but playing injured young players to meet them (if was part of reason?), seem short-sighted. Playing the crap out of Matheson in Nov. fresh off injury rehab also seemed dumb at the time (St Louis misplay?); but did seem to learn in jan return at least.

You know there is no magic formula for prospect development. If Slaf was in a situation where he'd be benched after the first turnover, having his confidence shattered by a vengeful coach, I'd want him out of Montreal as well. Marty seems determined to help him without shattering his confidence, so I believe we should keep an open mind here, it seems management all want the best for the kid.