It's unfortunate for him if he does go back. When he was rumored to be coming over, Euro media hyped him up so much. I don't doubt he was a star in the DEL, so despite his lipservice, he probably thought he'd step right into the NHL in relatively short order.
I don't think his conditioning is a problem. I believe it comes down to his skating. There are guys who have reinvented the way they skate and carved out careers. I think he needs to drastically improve his skating, and he would have a shot. He has other tools that are NHL level already in my opinion, such as his shot, toughness, and hockey IQ. His positioning on the ice suffered due to his skating ability.
And like others have said, the other prospects leap frogged him in the chart, and that's just the business of hockey. I hope he stays and is determined to improve since he could be a potential weapon if and when guys like Jooris, Byron or Ferly go down with injury.
Best of luck to him either way. I enjoyed his Arny interviews on the Fan.
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