Quote:
Originally Posted by Cali Flames Fan
I said beginning to plateau to be clear. It's just my impression, but nothing he has done at the AHL level has translated to the NHL level. From his first call up a couple years ago to these preseason games, he's looked relatively the same. I understand he had a big jump last year, and he's already producing at a PPG rate in the AHL, so I don't know how much higher he can go, but I doubt it's much more than that. To me if he doesn't start showing that he can improve his game at the NHL level then I think he's reached his peak in terms of that level. I'm hoping for more obviously, but he'll be 23 this year and his 3rd year pro, so the odds are that we are seeing nearly the complete progression for him.
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I think if he looks much the same this time next year then you are clearly correct. He was always one of those players who was going to require several years of development to make it to the NHL, and I don't think he has played nearly enough at that level to get a sense one way or the other about how well his game will translate. It is still way too early in my opinion to be seeing the end of his progression.