Here’s hoping Steve Staios can make a real difference—beyond his title—when it comes to player development

I'll be away from the computer most of the day on Thursday- I'll aim to respond to any comments posted as soon as possible....

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If I heard correctly on Wednesday, former long-time NHL defenseman Steve Staios is joining the ever-expanding Maple Leaf front office as a “Player Development Advisor”.

I don’t precisely know what that means, but as they already have, if I’m not mistaken, a Player Development Coach, I’m guessing Staios will be an all-around ‘this and that’ sort of assistant while getting his feet wet on the operations side of the hockey business.

In chatting with various thoughtful readers who have posted this week here at VLM on different topics, I’ve been trying to put into words something that I’m struggling with a bit.  And that is, for me, there is a subtle but key difference between “player development” when it comes to drafting and player acquisitions and even what an organization does to work with their young hopefuls at the minor-league level, compared with when we're talking about development at the NHL level.

I mean, of course the two (AHL and NHL development) are related.  I just think there’s a nuance there, and for me, that’s where the Leafs need to show they have taken strides.

Just as we have moved from a “no patience for a five year re-build” mode to a new, more patient approach (at least that’s what we’re now being asked to “buy”) based on youth, I’d like to see more headway in the NHL development area.  Here’s what I mean, though it may still not be clear:  when I look at players like Gustavsson and Schenn, for example, I believe that the Leafs did a horrible job with those guys.

First of all, Schenn should never have been here in the first place.  He should have played junior another year, then a season with the Marlies, then slowly groomed as a 5-6 guy, etc..  By this past season, he may well have been emerging as a valuable defender with the promise of much more to come.  Instead of having an young stud defensemen (remember building from "the back end"...?), many fans were glad to see him go, and the best they could say about him was that Schenn was slow and didn’t see the ice well, but he tried hard.

For a guy drafted 5^th overall—and in our “system” for four years—that’s nowhere near good enough.

It was the same with The Monster.  Burke thought enough of him to fly to Europe to talk him into coming to Toronto, and paid him a lot of money.  After three confidence-shattering years in Toronto, he was worth exactly nothing on the trade market, either at the deadline or before he hit free-agency.  A goalie that was worth that kind of attention, that kind of signing bonus and contract (and that kind of hoopla after an excellent career in Sweden) surely should have been “developed” the past three years so that either he could be effective with the Leafs, or worth something on the market as a trade-able asset.

Hey, I’m as much a fan of Dallas Eakins and what he seems to be doing with the Marlies as anyone else.  I’m not close to that situation as many are, but it’s evident he and his staff have helped a number of our young players. But again, that’s one aspect, just one phase of a strong overall development process in an organizational “system”.

My hope is that Staios, with his experience as a player—and this guy was not your superstar player, more the kind of guy that worked his tail off for everything he got—can bring that knowledge with him in his new post.  I know that it’s the job of the Leaf coaching staff to run practices and all that, but hopefully Staios can have an impact in building the confidence of young players so that they go forward, not backwards, as they earn their time with the Leafs.

I look at someone like Nazem Kadri and I think a lot of fans are honestly conflicted.  On the one hand, we all say, c’mon, he’s still a kid, give him time to develop, he’ll be fine.  In the same breath it feels like he has been a “prospect” forever, though in reality it’s far from forever.  But again, as with Schenn, we are looking for results, especially when we see players drafted after those guys already being impact players in the league.  (Those who visit here regularly will know that I’m not a fan of how Kadri has been handled the last two seasons.  I’ve said here before he should have spent the entire 2010-’11 season in the AHL, and they did him no favours by yanking him back and forth like a yo-yo….)

Bottom line: I need to see better player development at the NHL level.  If Staios can contribute in that manner, then the hiring will prove very worthwhile.