Rushing players to the NHL is the big mistake that teams like Buffalo, Anaheim, etc. have made over the years.
It tends to slow player development.
The AHL is a good learning environment, they rarely play during the week, so players have 3-4 days every week to practice, with coaches primarily focused on development. It's a man's league, so players like Barkey get to make the transition from the CHL or college, while foreign players get comfortable with NA hockey and standard size ice.
NHL teams tend to play 3-4 games a week, constant travel, and most practice time is spent implementing game plans, tweaking the scheme, etc. NHL coaches are more focused on winning games than player development.
If a player can't dominate at the AHL level, why would you think he can play in the NHL?
No different than promoting a kid from AAA ball who's struggling at that level.
My rule of thumb for forwards is 0.5 ppg at ES is potential NHL, 0.7+ is potential NHL star.
I ignore PP scoring b/c a lot of top AHL scorers (Marody when healthy) can shine on the PP where they don't have to skate, but struggle at ES when their lack of speed is exposed.
Though "potential" is a dirty word.
However, nothing replaces the eyeball test, especially since it's hard to get advanced metrics for AHL players.
