MLHS FanPost
Let’s Leave A Spot for the Kids: by Caleb Dallman
I rarely post much in the debate after posts on MLHS, but I try to read most of them. It seems like a lot of people are waiting on a trade, speculating what we could be getting and for what parts. No one was able to predict the Phaneuf trade, nor the Giguere trade. The Versteeg trade also came with few rumours leaking out.
So where does that leave us? Is this speculating even worth it when Brian Burke seems to always be able to pull a rabbit out of his hat and stun the fanbase? Sure, speculating is fun, and there are certainly some players and prospects that are more enticing than others, but in reality, how many of you guys called the Phaneuf trade?
As die-hard Leafs fans, we want the team to get better; Faster, meaner, harder to play against. We all want a Bobby Ryan, or a Kovalchuk, or a Jamie Neal, but how likely are we to grab these players? Sure, we’ll probably get something pretty good for a Kaberle trade, but when we succeeded last year after the trades, it was the kids, with the influence of Phaneuf and Giguere which set our sails in the right direction.
With the roster we have now, we can create make-shift line combos.
| LW | C | RW |
| Kulemin | Bozak | Kessel |
| ———— | Grabovski | Versteeg |
| Sjostrom | ————- | Armstrong |
| Orr | Mitchell | Brown |
You could argue against this lineup. Maybe Kadri makes the team (I certainly hope so). Perhaps Grabovski gets shipped out, maybe Kulemin would be better as a 2nd or 3rd liner. Maybe Mitchell with centre the 3rd line and Hanson will step up as a 4th liner, or 3rd liner.
People are so quick to want to fill these holes with veteran presences. Why can’t we put some of our kids in?
What if Caputi, who has been working out extremely hard and is trying to make the team next year really steps up? What if D’Amigo surprises us all in camp like he did in the world juniors? Is this the year for Stefanovich to finally get his head together and make the team?
There is a pack of hungry dogs ready to chomp at the meat of the Leaf’s Roster:
Sweatt, D. Mitchell, Ross, McKegg, and others are working hard for their chance.
Why would we want a veteran following the money compared to a kid who knows he’s got to work hard to get in, and stay in?
Our successes last year was when the veterans moved out and gave way to the kids. Let’s see what the kids can do.
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