In reading comments and posts throughout the Oilogosphere, one recurring theme I have seen over the last year or so has been shifting to the "Detroit model" of developing prospects slowly. A recent, brief exchange at
Lowetide's has inspired me to investigate a bit further into Detroit's reputation as a team that brings their prospects along slowly. I wanted to see if that is indeed an accurate assessment of their development model, so I have examined Detroit's handling of their prospects (in this post, their defense), and in a future post will compare it with Edmonton's, to see if the prospects have been handled differently, or if they have instead simply turned out differently.
LT wrote:
... One of the things the Detroit model shows us is the value of developing defensemen by sundial.
I replied:
I don't know about that LT. Can't we just as easily argue they've had some late developing prospects and a pretty good D on a pretty good team, making it tough for youngsters to crack? As opposed to some conscious choice to hold players in the minors longer than some might deem necessary for development purposes?
