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Old 08-16-2021, 02:04 AM   #27
united
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Only one player left in my third tier, Ryan Francis.

Considered
Ryan Francis

Ryan Francis
Similar to Jakob Pelletier in both height and per-game production, Francis is another "undersized" player who isn't afraid to get to the tough areas of the ice. In fact, this season, a handful of Francis' goals came within an arm's length of the blue paint. Though not possessing notable straight-line speed, Francis can be described using a term that has become prevalent in hockey parlance: a waterbug. In the neutral and offensive zones, Francis has the ability to take advantage of his lower centre of gravity by controlling defenders' feet and hips with shifty and erratic movement. This season, I saw a regression in defensive play from the winger-turned-centre but that was offset by a commensurate progression in offensive ability - Francis actually outpaced the highly-regarded Pelletier albeit by a sliver. All those positives in mind, translating an offence-focused game at 5'10 is more difficult than a defensive-focused game so his time in the AHL will tell us a lot. Wide variance player.

Ceiling: 2nd-line winger
Probable: AHL tweener (Style: Dillon Dube)
Floor: Bust

Next Group
My fourth tier are all players with potential to play but with greater uncertainty than the previous tier for an array of reasons.

Jeremie Poirier (erratic)
Ilya Solovyov (upside)
Rory Kerins (missed basically the entire season)
Cole Huckins (skating/defensive commitment)
Emil Heineman (upside)
Martin Pospisil (upside)
Adam Ruzicka (tweener?)
Yan Kuznetsov (upside)
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Last edited by united; 08-18-2021 at 11:45 PM.
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