Bro half of these guys have barely played in the NHL and have been solid when they have i.e. Knight, Podkolzin, Wahlstrom, etc. you cant call them busts cause they arent PPG players or something unreal after 1 or 2 years

Thomson is still developing. A Dman who’s only 21 can’t be labeled anything yet. He’s been solid

podkolzin has only played 1 full season, and he showed lots of promise
don't think he can be called a bust yet

kakko, laf, juolevi, patrick, and foote are the only people i would call busts on this list

to get the bust label i think you have to wait until a guy is 25 or out of the league.
Anaheim's Troy Terry could have been labeled a bust till this year.
Mason Marchment with Dallas and Alexander Barabanov Sharks were virtual unknowns till they were 26.
some guys just need more time to develop.

Imagine if NYR were good at drafting

Kakko, laf, have barely played 2 seasons... they are busts since they havent showed "enough"...

Yeah I think we can officially classify Patrick as a bust

That's not really what's meant by bust but you did explain in your description but it's too general of a definition, you could include any prospect or even young star players like Pettersen, Laine, or veterans like Tavares who didn't have that great of a year.

Patrick due to injuries is a bust, Juolevi, and Howden, and by a loose definition like yours maybe include chytil, dach and Laffy and Kakko although Laffy did shows improvement even within last year so he's a breakout candidate in reality. Carter Hart is a guy that you can expect more from, but as far as I can tell the rest of guys shouldn't be there at all especially if they played less than 100 games in the NHL, and no more than 3 seasons, and are 23 or younger. Plus, they must be expected not to reach the potential that they were expected to reach when drafted.

How is laf a bust? Or even Kakko?

I think it’s too early to label Laf as a bust, though he has been disappointing to start his career. I think time is running out for Kakko though because he was a second overall pick who has 58 career points in 157 career games. That’s not great

How was Koochie ragged on? He got thrown into 3 regular season games, and won all 3, with the one deciding the Metro winner being against the Rangers as the number 3. He went 1-2 in the playoffs as the backup when Raanta was injured on different occasions. You can’t put someone who doesn’t deserve to be on this list whatsoever just because you need another slot filled.

I gurantee Laf will breakout this season. His lack of production is because of the line/minutes he's played. The end of last season when he was actually in the top 6, he was lighting it up.

I do agree with Kakko tho.

I get you're trying to get engagement, but there are a TON of stretches on this list.

Podkolzin & Dylan Cozens both were everyday players who put up solid numbers for middle-6 guys this year, so I'm sure both teams are happy with that. Lassi Thomson put up 11-28-39 in 79 AHL GP since coming over from Europe in the middle of last season, and even looked okay with 5 points in 16 NHL games as a 21 year old. Ville Heinola probably feels old because he made his debut pre-COVID, but he's just 21 and still has time to grow. Cal Foote played 52 games for the defending Cup champs last season, so I think he's developing in a more sheltered role but has to be considered someone progressing well. Nils Lundkvist made his NHL debut in his first NA season and held his own at both levels. Quinton Byfield had some injury issues but literally *just* turned 20 so he's got a ton of runway.

Then you've got guys that are less "busts" and more "need to show something big this year" like the Rangers quartet, Ollie Wahlstrom, Nicolas Beaudin, Kirby Dach, Kupari, and Spencer Knight. The only guys I feel comfortable are saying look like busts are Juolevi (5OA in 2016), Nolan Patrick (2OA in 2017 but it's more injuries than ineffectiveness), and Howden (27OA in 2016 so it's not like the ceiling was -that- high)

Yeah Lassi Thomson is a top 5 prospect in Ottawa's system. Absolutely wild having him on this list.

Your description is silly. Also who rag dolled Kochetkov? Don’t get the point of calling guys busts, then saying they’re not busts in the descriptions but they’re just young guys essentially. You just want ppl to comment? Congrats I guess

Ditto Michael Bunting, who didn't get a real look with Arizona until after his 25th birthday.

Read the description. We have been clickbaited

wahlstrom is 4th on the isles in goals per 60 min over the past two seasons, he's also one of the only isles top 9 forwards who have had a positive defensive impact in each of the last 2 years. It's not his fault his coach hates young players.

he was another i wanted to add but forgot.

I already did before I even posted lol

100% with you but I do think there are more egregious examples than Ollie on this list. (also i do think there is some internal pressure from the fanbase - after talking him up and saying 'oh he'll finally be good with Trotz gone' it's gonna be a big disappointment if he doesn't truly step up!)

I did read the description lol, as I said in my comment. There are still issues with his post though.

he's lived up to expectations given the role he was put in IMO - I don't know what more he could've have done in the ice time +linemates he was given. Players get elevated to top 6 roles after a good stretch of high end play/point production. In each of his first two seasons Wahlstrom went on a tear for at least a month. In the 20-21 season , he put up 14 pts in 17 games. In the 21-22 season he put up 11 pts in 11 games, including 5 multi-point games despite playing 4th line minutes! You could swap Wahlstrom for Zegras (on the isles) and the production would be similar because zegras wouldn't; get the ice time/linemates to put up 50+ pts.

The only thing wahlstrom needs is an increase in ice time with better linemates. He doesn't need to change his game at all. The production will increase if his role changes.

one was called a liability, the other a responsible veteran two way forward

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