(above) DU Alum Matt Carle is having a great season with the Philadelphia FlyersFrom: Dallas Morning Herald
By Mike Heika
As a lesson for all of us who are impatient with young players, I offer up today the curious case of DU Alum Matt Carle.
Drafted in the second round by San Jose in 2003, Carle went through the U.S. National Development program and three years at the University of Denver before being moved up to the NHL. He played on the Sharks for three seasons, and simply wasn't that good when given top-level responsibility. He's a skilled player who can lug the puck, but he had breakdowns in his own end, and proved a source of frustration for fans and coaches alike.
So, the Sharks moved him to Tampa Bay in 2008 with Ty Wishart and a first-round pick for Dan Boyle and Brad Lukowich. Carle was clearly a big part of that deal for the Lightning, but then they either tired of him or really felt they needed to make a move for financial reasons when they traded him to Philadelphia for Steve Eminger and Steve Downey after just 12 games.
So if you were a sportswriter who saw Carle more than a few times, including in the playoffs, you would have reasoned that he was a bust. Two teams gave up on him, and he just didn't seem to have what it took.
Which brings us to this season. Carle, at 25, has proved to be the perfect fit with Chris Pronger on the Flyers. He is playing 24:47 a game, he has two goals and 10 assists, and he is plus-11. Is he better because he is playing with Chris Pronger? Well, yeah. Is he better because he has played 230-something NHL games? That too. Is he better because he was knocked down a few pegs by being traded? Maybe so.
But the bottom line is Carle found a way to get better ... at least for now. He is the perfect fit on the Flyers, and he seems to be fulfilling what many thought was impressive potential.
So be careful what you wish for in trying to figure out the development of NHL players. You could be seeing them having pretty good futures on another team.
By Mike Heika
As a lesson for all of us who are impatient with young players, I offer up today the curious case of DU Alum Matt Carle.
Drafted in the second round by San Jose in 2003, Carle went through the U.S. National Development program and three years at the University of Denver before being moved up to the NHL. He played on the Sharks for three seasons, and simply wasn't that good when given top-level responsibility. He's a skilled player who can lug the puck, but he had breakdowns in his own end, and proved a source of frustration for fans and coaches alike.
So, the Sharks moved him to Tampa Bay in 2008 with Ty Wishart and a first-round pick for Dan Boyle and Brad Lukowich. Carle was clearly a big part of that deal for the Lightning, but then they either tired of him or really felt they needed to make a move for financial reasons when they traded him to Philadelphia for Steve Eminger and Steve Downey after just 12 games.
So if you were a sportswriter who saw Carle more than a few times, including in the playoffs, you would have reasoned that he was a bust. Two teams gave up on him, and he just didn't seem to have what it took.
Which brings us to this season. Carle, at 25, has proved to be the perfect fit with Chris Pronger on the Flyers. He is playing 24:47 a game, he has two goals and 10 assists, and he is plus-11. Is he better because he is playing with Chris Pronger? Well, yeah. Is he better because he has played 230-something NHL games? That too. Is he better because he was knocked down a few pegs by being traded? Maybe so.
But the bottom line is Carle found a way to get better ... at least for now. He is the perfect fit on the Flyers, and he seems to be fulfilling what many thought was impressive potential.
So be careful what you wish for in trying to figure out the development of NHL players. You could be seeing them having pretty good futures on another team.
1 comment:
Glad Carle is getting some recognition. The pairng with Pronger has really stepped up his game.
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