Vaeneir

A whole bunch of people don't seem to realize that he's 21 years old. He is acting on impulses that he believes are best for his career. Edmonton pulled out all the stops in dangling treats in front of him, and there's a good chance he's a bit starstruck by this whole experience. The fact that he put a deadline in place for this decision is a huge mistake by his camp, he had all summer to make a decision, and now he's forced to jump to a decision rather than take time to think through what's important to him. In Edmonton he gets to jump in and play. This sounds great, and is certainly exciting, but we all know how this can hamper long term development by taking on too much too soon. There's a good chance h could be hung out to dry by the difference in game speed and talent, which could seriously harm his confidence and potential. Or he may adjust quickly and flourish into the player that Edmonton needs. People keep saying that he gets to play with top end young talent, and he will. The question becomes how does Edmonton hang on to all this top ennd talent when contract renewal arrives and they all want more. How will Schultz be affected by the Oilers going the Blackhawks route and dispersing all that sought after talent league wide? Will Edmonton still seem like such an exciting place to play? The other thing to consider is mentorship. Schneider has stated how Luongo's presence has helped him develop. Tampa Bay brought in Ohlund to help Hedman progress. Who does Edmonton have that Schultz can look up to and learn from? The Sedins are the players they are because of Linden's mentorship, and credit Sundin with helping them reach the next level. Kesler benefited from the same process. Who is going to help Schultz? I think the kid could have benefited from signing in Vancouver. I am not going to say he's wrong for picking Edmonton, time will tell if it was a good choice. I believe that as a young kid it is easy to get caught up in what's in front of you and lose sight of what's actually important, and it's possible that he is experiencing this now. I know as a Canuck fan myself I would regret signing for a different team when I had the opportunity to help my childhood favorite. I hope he doesn't regret his decision. Best of luck to him. Edit: furthermore, if Schultz would rather have things handed to him than earning his future on his own terms, he doesn't fit this team. I think it's this perceived attitude that is turning people against him.

I didn't realize I quoted your post. Nothing personal was intended, it just kind of happened that way. My bad :D

A number of players (Carter, Pyatt, etc) definitely benefited from playing with the Sedins. I don't think there's any question that Burrows also benefits from playing with them. The difference, in my mind, is that Burrows really is the first player that the Sedins have benefited from playin with. Every other player has taken on the role of a bag of pucks for the Sedins to bank shots off of into the net. Burrows is the first player to actually bring a new element to their game that has helped them step it up to another level. His level of compete and commitment generates all kinds of opportunities for the Sedins to cash in on that any other linemate simply would not have created. Their rise from exceptional players to truly elite coincides with them starting to play with Burrows, and I don't thank that's simply happenstance. Burr is the first guy that actually helps them back.