Why Kulikov Should Go Back To Juniors

The big question hanging in the balance with the Florida Panthers is the future of young defenceman Dmitry Kulikov and what should be done with him. If they keep him and he plays his tenth game, his rookie contract begins and he will get to free agency status sooner. That however is not the real problem, or concern.

The concern should be what is better for this player’s future.  Under what environment will he develop better?  There are of course many arguments to both sides, but my vote is to send him back to juniors.  Let’s talk about why.

He will not get better playing with the current Panthers roster.  He will make more mistakes because of the players around him.  He will start to “press” and become timid with his play.  After taking a solid check the other night in Philly and no retailiation from the Panthers, the rest of the league knows that it’s open season until the Panthers acquire a bruiser. Being in a losing environment is not healthy, mentally. Especially for a young player who in all honesty has to mature. On probably 25-28 teams in the NHL he is not going to be on the roster, so let’s be honest and ask what is better for the player.

You can look at all the successful teams in the NHL and see what they do with their top picks. Most of them, virtually all of them spend at least one year in the minors after they are drafted. Look at Detroit, New Jersey, Anaheim, San Jose just to name a few.  There are very few Ovechkins that can play right away.

In addition anyone that knows hockey knows that defencemen mature later than most ofter positional players. There is alot more responsibility, there is alot more reaction, and there is significantly more skating involved. You also have to be smarter since your play can either lead to a goal for your team, or against your team.

I am not saying at all that Kuilkov is a bad player. Not in the least.  He is a very good skater, has a very good and accurate shot and seems to be defensively aware. Most of the time. So why on a team of below average players would anyone think that he’ll get better? He won’t. He’s really not ready. Go look at all the other rosters and see if he would make the team and would he get 15 minutes per night? Luke Schenn from Toronto is a perfect example. While he had a pretty decent first year in Toronto, they probably rushed him and so far this year he looks a bit behind. Granted Toronto isn’t playing all that well having just won their first game last night, but a year with the Marlies probably would have been better.

The Panthers rushed the careers of Nathan Horton, Stephen Weiss, and Jay Bouwmeester. In all honesty they each needed more time to develop and mature.  If nothing else they needed to be placed in an environment to learn how to win before they came to the NHL.

So if the Panthers management for once wants to do the right thing and consider the future of the player, they need to send Kukilov back to juniors.

While that may not be the popular choice, it’s the right choice.

Thanks for reading.

Cheers!

Tags: dmitry kulikov, florida panthers