With prospects developing at different rates, how do Stars fit them in?

The guessing game on trying to draft and develop players is filled with doubt.
Heck, you're usually lucky to get two guys out of any draft, and then you're not really sure if those two are great players or just solid contributors. We all tend to focus on first-round picks, so then you do ponder if Radek Faksa and Jamie Oleksiak are really good for first-rounders or are they simply "adequate" in our measure of what they should be.

It's a bit silly, but the business sort of asks you to do it.
They rank draft picks and assign them numbers even before they're picked. Then, those picks get tattooed with a judgement on draft day and have to carry that number around for the rest of their lives. After that, the agents and front offices battle over stats to find a "fair salary," and we all sit out there and say a player is or isn't worth what he's making.
It's a bit of madness, but it happens in every sport.
Ironically, it's pretty rare that a musician or actor is questioned for his paycheck or performance. Sure, you see critics analyze that side of the entertainment business, but the performers don't get torn apart like they do in sports.
Anyway, that leads us to the current Stars and their attempt to make the most of their young talent. The timing is interesting, as it allows you to look at players like Denis Gurianov, Thomas Harley, Jason Robertson and Jacob Peterson all at the same time. Each is going through his own "process," yet all seemed to get lumped together depending on how an individual wants to judge the franchise.
And therein lies a good deal of the difficulty in going through this examination - do you allow each player to stand on his own or do you use comparisons to help understand the best path?

I'll start with Gurianov because he's been so topical. The 24-year-old winger burst onto the scene as a rookie in 2019-20 with 20 goals in 64 games and followed that up with nine goals among 17 points in 27 playoff games in the Edmonton bubble. He slogged through 190 AHL games over parts of four seasons to get to that point, and it seemed his development curve was perfect.
Gurianov last season seemed positioned to jump into a top six spot and go through the next step of learning to play with that kind of pressure. He had done it in the AHL, tallying 48 points in 57 games in 2018-19, so like so many before him, the expectation was he would assimilate and thrive.
The problem for him, however, was the Stars' top six sort of got jumbled because of injuries to Tyler Seguin and Alexander Radulov. As the coaching staff searched for answers, Robertson stepped up and started earning good minutes next to Roope Hintz and Joe Pavelski. That resulted in Robertson finishing second on the team in scoring with 45 points (17 goals, 28 assists) in 51 games and finishing second in rookie of the year voting.

It was a tremendous story of a player working on his deficiencies, understanding where he could help the team, and improving to the point where the coaches simply couldn't take him out of the lineup. Robertson, then at age 21 and with 60 AHL games under his belt, seized an opportunity and made the most of it.
In doing so, he took a spot that could've been Gurianov's. That's the business sometimes. Now, Robertson was a left wing and Gurianov a right, but Gurianov could've slid over if need be. Gurianov also could've clicked on right wing with Hintz or Pavelski at center, and that could've added to his minutes, but it also didn't happen.
So, is it fair to compare Gurianov to Robertson and say that Robertson earned his spot and Gurianov didn't? Probably not. But hard choices are made every day, and the coaches are going to put the players out there who can help them win that game that night.
When a GM or coach says the NHL is "not a developmental league," it really stings some fans. Of course, you have to help players develop and get better. That never stops, and the constant video work or specific drill time in practices is testament to that. But I think what management means is that the coaches are trying to piece together a puzzle every game, and they have to worry about the big picture of what's best for the team on that night.
If a young player can't handle that, it's frustrating for a coach. If a young player fights through that, it makes it so much easier for a coach to feed him more encouragement.
When fans get mad that the coaching staff is "hurting" Gurianov with their decision-making, I understand. At the same time, I don't get how the same coaching staff gets no credit for developing a player like Robertson, who was similarly perched on a precipice of not playing good enough defense to be in the NHL.
Robertson showed hockey smarts and plenty of grit combined with some real poise in creating key goals last season, so how did that happen? Well, he did a lot of it on his own, but he did it with the help of his teammates and his coaches.
So, then the question becomes why can't the coaches do the same thing with Gurianov? Well, the answer is complicated, and it won't make fans happy.
Bottom line is the Stars pay several key forwards a lot of money, so those forwards are going to get chances no matter how they play. It's the same for pretty much every sport. If you're a veteran making a big contract, you're probably not going to get moved down the lineup. You'll get chance after chance before a younger player steps ahead of you.
So, Seguin and Jamie Benn and Radulov and Pavelski are going to get big minutes. It's how the league works. Sorry.
And that's the environment in which Gurianov - or Robertson or Peterson - has to live. Players like Seguin and Benn and Pavelski had to go through it when they were entering the league. You have to force the coaches to want to use you because you're so good.
Hintz had to do it, too, and now he's getting the benefit of the doubt because he was so good last year. He's earned patience that he didn't get when he was younger.

Harley was recalled recently, and it was with some interesting numbers. He had just one assist in six AHL games, and that would seem bad for a first-round draft pick who's supposed to ooze skill. But what Harley did in his AHL stint was prove to coaches that he was serious about playing a sound defensive game that would complement his skating and passing. In doing so, he caused the front office to consider him to be an option for a team that was struggling to move the puck. Sure, Harley has great skills, but can he be trusted?
His time in the minors created the discussion that he was ready, and his performance so far in the NHL is keeping him in the lineup. It's a day-to-day world when you're a prospect in development, but Harley has showed in the short-term that he can help the Stars win.
And that's everything.

All of which leads us to Peterson, who has done more than enough to earn a spot in the lineup. The problem is that contracts also make decisions. The Stars signed Michael Raffl and Luke Glendening in the offseason to supplement the bottom six and make sure the team could be strong in the playoffs.
So far, they seem to be good decisions.
Blake Comeau is a veteran who adds physicality and can also be a steady hand in the postseason. Tanner Kero makes very few mistakes and can easily go in and out of the lineup without any thought about his development at age 29.
Peterson, who played last season in Sweden, can go get big minutes in the AHL and continue to get better. He's 22, and he's a great depth option when the eventual injury bug rears its ugly head.
That's part of the juggling act teams have to go through when they're trying to win now, prepare for the rest of the season, and continue to stay cap compliant in the very difficult business that the NHL has become.
What does it all mean? Well, that's sort of a moving target. If the Stars can win and continue to make younger players better, then that's the real goal. If they win at the cost of some development, it's probably acceptable in the NHL. What they can't do is lose while still not getting development.
It's a plate spinning act with so many dishes of various size and fragility. But the franchises that do it best tend to succeed in the league.
Don't miss your chance to see the Stars battle the Nashville Predators in the opener of a three-game homestand at American Airlines Center on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. Get your tickets now!
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mike Heikais a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika.