Whitney, Welch, Letang

While I admitted to liking Letang’s style of play, young defensemen need to be playing a regular shift in all circumstances. Since Letang wasn’t going to do that in Pittsburgh this season, it was better to send him back to Val D’or. Fine. I’m okay with that, and I actually think Welch is more NHL ready at the moment anyway.

But here’s the thing when it comes to Whitney, Welch, and Letang. Letang is back in juniors now, but what I said of him still applies to Welch and Whitney. Sure, Welch and Whitney played 4 years of college hockey. Sure, they’re older than Letang. It doesn’t matter. They’re still young defensemen. Young defensemen are going to drive you crazy throughout a season and even throughout a game. They are learning how to play a position in a league that’s been transformed.

I am not saying that idiotic and juvenile mistakes should be continually tolerated. I am saying, however, that one should ask Mike Keenan how Chris Pronger looked that first season in St. Louis. (Caveat: If Welch or Whitney ever turn out to be 2/3 or 3/4 the player Pronger is, I will be floating on cloud nine, so I am not making a direct comparison.) Pronger didn’t look like Pronger does today, and while he didn’t look like a lost, clueless kid all the time, he resembled an average defenseman more than a Norris Trophy winner.

Thus, when it comes to Welch and Whitney this season, have some patience—as the coaching staff works with them in practice, as they get more experience—just have some patience. They are not yet who they will be, and really, we don’t know who they will be yet. Give them a chance. And when Letang returns next season or after a season of seasoning in Wilkes Barre in 2 years time (how I wish he could get that seasoning in Wilkes Barre now), he’ll be only 20 or 21 years old—still a kid. Have some patience with him, too.

And appreciate what you’ve got. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are already superstars. Defensemen, even the greatest, are not usually superstars or stars their first 2 seasons. Please, patience—and the way the coaches handle the young defensemen will tell you a lot about how long you should keep your patience.

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