When hockey rookies struggle
In a month when Auston Matthews is in the top three in overall scoring, Patrik Laine is tied for the most goals and Travis Konecny, Zach Werenski and Mitch Marner are averaging close to a point per game, it is sometimes easy to forget that not every fresh- faced teen has seamlessly transitioned into the National Hockey League.
Forget scoring hat tricks or leading their teams in scoring. Outside Toronto, most rookies are struggling to pick up their first points. Some, such as Dylan Strome and Mathew Barzal, are not even playing.
Strome, who was the No. 3 pick in the 2015 draft, has no goals and one assist with the Arizona Coyotes. He has been a healthy scratch in five of eight games. Barzal was the New York Islanders’ 16th overall pick in 2015. While Anthony Beauvillier ( the 28th pick in 2015) has five points in seven games, Barzal has no points and has sat out in six games.
It would appear both Strome and Barzal are destined for another season in junior. And yet, both the players and their respective teams are trying to delay that decision as much as possible.
The deadline for burning the first year of a player’s entry- level contract kicks in after playing 10 games.
But unlike Marner, who has six points in eight games and is approaching a deadline that feels more like a formality — “I wasn’t waiting for nine games or even looking at it, to be honest with you,” said Leafs head coach Mike Babcock — the spotty play of Strome and Barzal presents a dilemma.
Due to their ages, both have to be returned to the Canadian Hockey League if they are not playing in the NHL. The problem is both have already played three seasons in junior and might be better served in the minors. There are exceptions for allowing elite players to enter the CHL early, as Connor McDavid and John Tavares did as juniors, but so far there are no exceptions allowing 19- year- olds to play in the American Hockey League.
“The five years I’ve been doing this, I’ve wanted that rule in place,” said former NHLer Doug Weight, Islanders’ assistant coach. “I think it’s always a tough one because you feel like they’ve achieved a lot at the junior level and learned a lot, but there is a point where they’re going to become a little more like a man playing pros.”
The Coyotes could potentially lose three rookies to junior this season: Strome; Lawson Crouse, who has no points in five games and has been a healthy scratch three times; and Jakob Chychrun, who has sat out for only one game, has scored three points and leads Arizona defencemen with a plus-2 rating.
“Would I love that rule? Absolutely, because it serves my interest,” said Coyotes GM John Chayka. “But I’m not naive enough to know that there’s a whole system we’re talking about here. It’s about doing what’s best for everyone and not just serving my best interests. I think there are certain situations where it does make a whole lot of sense.”
The agreement to return underage junior players to the CHL is a unique one. It does not apply to players who spent their draft year playing in the NCAA or in Europe and was put in place to ensure prospects were not being rushed.
While some GMs have wondered if there should be an exception made for firstround picks or players who are more physically mature — the 6- foot- 4 and 220- pound Crouse, for instance — CHL commissioner David Branch said creating an exception “hasn’t been discussed and it isn’t up for discussion.”
“It’s not just the CHL. It’s hockey people who structured the arrangement,” said Branch. “People last year were questioning whether Mitch Marner should go back to London. Well, he did and, you know what, it looks like he’ll stay this year in Toronto after he’s had further time to grow and develop and expand his abilities on and off the ice.”
A third year is one thing, but in Strome’s case it would be four years of junior. For a player who two years ago led the OHL in scoring, put up 111 points in 56 games last season and was Canada’s top scorer at the world juniors, you have to wonder what else he has to prove at that level.
The parts of Strome’s and Barzal’s game that need developing — defending against bigger and stronger players, making plays at a higher pace — might happen only if they are playing against men in a more competitive league. If anything, both players could develop bad habits because the OHL already comes so easily to them.
“There is an obvious argument that can be made for a Dylan Strome or a Mitch Marner,” said AHL commissioner Dave Andrews, who added that he is not lobbying for a change. “These high- end players who have already played three years in the OHL, maybe they would benefit more from playing in the American Hockey League as opposed to going back.”
For junior teams, gaining a player of Strome’s or Barzal’s calibre for a fourth year is an obvious bonus. As for what the player gets out of it, Seattle Thunderbirds GM Russ Farwell, for whom Barzal played, echoed the age- old saying that “you can’t find too many cases where a guy came back for a fourth year and it hurt him.”
But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the best route.
“There is a reason for that league (the AHL) and it does a great job of developing talent,” said Weight. “If there wasn’t a rule and ( Barzal) could go to the minors and play 23 minutes a night and we could yank him up based on how he plays then it’s a no-brainer.”