Youth or Experience?

I followed B's training camp since the very beginning and one thing hit me. The team has depth at the blue line. In fact, it looks like the team will have to face some very tough decisions regarding who will be in the roster at the beginning of the season.

York and Dempsey are experienced defenseman. They respectively have 708 and 203 NHL games under their belt. According to reports, they play very well. Still, it seems that Matt Lashoff and Jordan Sigalet are doing very good, which mean that a decision will have to be made. I always liked Lashoff for his speed and the good decisions he take in his own end. The new NHL is based on speed and, of course, veterans like Dempsey and York , but they are on their last leg. When I look at the blue line with Chara, Stuart and Mara, I think there is enough veterans to help Jurcina, Alberts and Lashoff to complete their development in the big league. It doesn't mean that Dempsey or York could be useless, it simply means that in this new era, where speed IS the difference, you might go in another direction then focusing on aging veterans. If a guy like Lashoff deserves to be on the team, he should have the spot. The only question here is, whether or not, guys like York or Dempsey will accept to be the 7th defenseman. Do we start the season with more veterans and keep Lashoff and Sigalet in Providence in case of an injury? Do we bring them later in the season? What about Mark Stuart, on the shelf right now, who showed great things last year. He will have his stint in Providencem, but after that?

We were all afraid of our defensive corps last year arguing that they were way too young. It was tough, indeed, and the result was ugly. This year, we found ourselves in another position where a competent front office give the team many options. Youth or experience? I'm willing to be in the line of fire, considering the talent at the blue line, and says...youth.