[GranteedEV]

Gotta be patient.

I have no idea what people don't see in Kulak to think he doesn't have top pairing potential. He's as far along in his development as Brodie was in the same age, though he did get off to a rough start this season.

The key is patience and development. Don't look at draft position, look at the tools and the head on the shoulders. Consider that:

When Brodie was drafted he wasn't considered a good enough defensive Dman despite offensive talent. Now after all that videowork with Troy Ward he is our team's go-to shutdown Dman.

When Rafikov was drafted, his biggest weakness was skating and he was labelled a great physical stay at home guy and now he's already a respectable skater at 19 years old and he's one of the top offensive Dmen in his league while being the only guy on that least anywhere near his age.

When Hickey was drafted the biggest knock on him was quality of competition in the AJHL while he had all the tools (size, skating, IQ, shot, passing). Well lookie now, he's playing in a great league, the NCAA, on a dominant team and he looks brilliant every time he's on the ice.

When Kulak and Culkin were drafted, they were scouting's top 2 choices for our 4th round pick and were very close, and Button was stoked when Culkin fell to the 5th round. Both have size, skating, offensive flair, defensive accumen. Kulak does most skills slightly better while Culkin had an easier time adjusting to the AHL early on. Culkin goes and leads all rookie AHLers in power play assists before his injury while Kulak was sent to the ECHL to get development time (We had a whole bunch of young left D between Cundari Culkin Wotherspoon Sieloff Kulak that all needed minutes). Well Kulak goes to the ECHL and simply dominates the league as a 20YO. Keep in mind this is a pro league that is probably at a higher level than the NCAA on average as it's full of some pretty good former CHLers amd NCAA guys and even blue chip prospect goaltenders find themselves sent there early in thier careers. Then Culkin gets injured, Kulak gets the callup and this time he's been very effective at the AHL level as a 21 year old. Check his stats and +/- since his callup. And for that matter, if we sign Jason Fram he's a third guy with the same toolbox as this pair, except he also brings a right shot.

Kanzig. A lot of us though "Chris Breen 2.0" when he was drafted but he's made significant progress in his skating since his draft, and his trade to the hitman has changed his stats to the kind you want from a prospect. His favorite player is Zdeno Chara and if he were to even become a homeless man's version that is a player teams do not want to see. Who knows what his peak his? He's another high IQ player that has stuff he needs to work on physically and in his skillset, but he's got time to do it.

Wotherspoon. What can I say? No he doesn't "visually" look like a top pairing D like a Justin Schultz does but he's got a very Sean Monahan-esque vibe to him in that I expect him to quietly adjust to the NHL seemlessly. He's a big body, a good skater, a good passer, and he's learned to make reads offensively that already put him ahead of other "stay at home" prospects. Again, IQ is paramount and he soaks up all the information. He spent last year with Ward and this year with Huska, two coaches who have produced some stellar Dmen.

Long story short: No we don't have Blue Chip Prospect dmen but niether did Nashville with Weber/Josi or us with Gio/Brodie or even Chicago with Duncan Kieth. It's all a process. We have a good top 4 right now thst gives all these guys time to learn the pro game and step up to the next level. It's even too early to write off Cundari, Sieloff, or even Ramage. You never know when everything just "clicks".