[bigrangy]

In the few games that I've been able to watch, the main takeaways I have are:

Jankowski would be more effective in the NHL than the AHL. He makes all sorts of good plays in low space but because the skill level there is a little lower, none of his teammates are around to benefit from them. He also protects the puck very well.

Vey has some filthy mitts at this level. He can waltz around the offensive zone without being touched more than you'd think.

Kylington looks bored/casual more than I'd like, and he still really hasn't figured out how to move the puck under a hard forecheck (though I could just have expectations way too high). When he's on, he looks like a slightly smaller Brodie out there (2015-16 Brodie, not 2016-17). He breaks the puck out with absolute ease and can skate the puck up and make a zone entry, then dish it off to a teammate. I wish he'd be a little more assertive and drive the net when he has a lane but I imagine the coaches don't want him running around out there. He also has an excellent stick that he uses to prevent zone entries and separate attackers from the puck, allowing his d-partner to swoop in and start a breakout. His high-speed puck handling (which was a strength last year) seems to have gotten worse this year. He bobbles the puck quite a bit more than you'd expect. However, he's still very very good and I still expect him to be a quality top 4 guy sooner rather than later. Also, I continually confuse him with Ryan Lomberg when I watch. I don't really understand why.

When I watch I pretty much only pay attention to #4 so that's all I've got. Everyone else seems solid at worst, though Shinkaruk (while almost too skilled for this level) gets very selfish at times. Also I really think Hunter Smith can be a legit player someday. There's a lot more to his game than facepunching. I'm not talking top 6 but I think he can an asset to a 3rd line, among u22 AHLers this year, he's 14th in 5v5 p/60, and he plays with pluggers all game. He only has 2 fewer points 5v5 than Janko. Klimchuk was buried with defensive starts and bad linemates last year and he put up about the same numbers as Smith. I think if you let him play up the lineup that you would be surprised at the level of offense he can provide.