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Originally Posted by Oling_Roachinen
I'm not overlooking the fact that Horak is still only 22, but I don't think he has that skillset that an ideal third line center has. He's not hard to play against, he's weak on his skates, he's not physical. A weak team like the Flames giving him time on the third line and occasional in the top 6 made sense, trying out the young guys. A team heading into the playoffs with him in their bottom 6 seems far from ideal.
He's got enough skill and hockey sense that he could definitely develop into a true top 6 forward, and a compete level that doesn't completely disqualify him from a bottom 6 role. It's just a lot tougher to secure his spot in the NHL as opposed to someone like Knight who has a lot of desirable assets that could make him an ideal bottom 6 center if he doesn't make it in a scoring role. Knight can win faceoffs, he's got decent speed, he can play two-ways, he's somewhat aggressive and has more size to back it up.
I don't think calling Horak a borderline NHLer is unfair. It's not about playing time or games played, it's about where he fits. He's not quite reached the skill level of a true top 6 player and he isn't an ideal bottom 6 player. To me that makes him a borderline NHL player. He's also only 22 years old and has a lot of time to change that.
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I think a good comparison for Horak is Byron Ritchie. Has enough talent to go on the occasion streak to make you think he can score at the NHL level, but doesn't have enough strength to be a force in the bottom 6.
I also really think Horak's hot streak in Abbotsford this past season got folks too high on his offensive game. Sure he scored 10 goals in 9 games to start the year. But he followed that up with 6 goals and 19 points the rest of the entire season (50 games). Quite honestly he is barely a top 6 AHL forward (if he is even that), nevermind NHL.