from Ken Campbell of The Hockey News,

Exactly what a player such as Nino Niederreiter has done to merit making a trade demand is one of the great mysteries of this season. Not sure if anyone has bothered to check, but the kid has played 64 NHL games for the New York Islanders and has as many career goals as Martin Brodeur.

In any event, it’s heartening to see there are some organizations that have learned the lesson that rushing players into the NHL is potentially a recipe for disaster. In all the time I’ve covered this game, I have yet to encounter a single player whose career was ruined by being brought along slowly and methodically. On the other hand, the scrap heap is littered with players who were placed into situations they were not prepared to handle.

That’s why the Islanders are doing the right thing by not giving in to the demands of a 20-year-old. Kudos to them for that. And the New York Rangers might be on the verge of doing the same thing with 21-year-old Chris Kreider, the darling of last year’s playoff run who is struggling mightily to keep up to the pace and intensity of the best league in the world. His decision-making and play have been tentative and his defensive positioning has been suspect.

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