My son never even skated until a 2nd year squirt. It's a miracle he can even stand up an a pair.
He went to a 1 public skate in April, did a dozen stick times, joined an in house team mid season, played one full in house season in the summer and then played Squirt BB travel in the fall. He was the top defenseman on the team even with all those full ice mites that had been playing for 5 years. No prodigy, Mites experience just doesn't matter all that much.
To each their own.