Quote:
Originally Posted by Enoch Root
Exactly.
And while I respect PMM's opinion, I don't entirely agree with it here.
I think Kyllington has held his own so far in the AHL. Has he had some issues defensively? Of course - who wouldn't have predicted that. But it has been 4 games. And he has not looked out of place IMO.
If he is struggling after 20 games or so, then sure, send him down.
But at this point I don't see the need.
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The two biggest problems for Kylington to me are his strength and his decision making.
His strength because he gets clobbered in puck battles. He doesn't win a whole lot of battles in the corner or in front of his net and that's a concern.
His decision making has looked rough in two zones as well. In his own zone if he's actually able to get a hold of the puck, he doesn't make the proper read a lot of the time. When he decides not to force the play, he'll rush it up the ice using his great skating ability only to have it taken away and then it's an odd man rush.
Yes, it's only four games in, but when you have the opportunity to have a top prospect work with a revered coach like Kelly McCrimmon, you've got to take it. Plus, playing on perhaps the strongest team in the WHL will challenge Kylington to keep up to pace with the rest of his teammates. Iron sharpens iron.
Just my two cents. It's an interesting debate though. I've been in the "Kylington to juniors" camp since the beginning of training camp and he just hasn't shown that he shouldn't be there.