Quote:
Originally Posted by Charsiu
All of this said, what about Hunter Smith? Does he have the ability to prove himself more than a big body worthy of a 2nd round pick?
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Yes. He was supposed to have NHL upside. I'm not even sure he has AHL upside at the moment. Power forwards take longer, but he's really taking his time to show some progress. Even his PIMs were down last year, and if he's only got 4th line enforcer type upside, that's one thing you would want to see increase in the AHL, since it's a league with fighters. I suspect that unless he takes a big step forward this year, he won't get a new contract with the Flames.
And just as a reminder, he was a 2nd round pick. Good players are found regularly in that round, not guys who can barely play in the AHL.