Quote:
Originally Posted by Monahammer
Bolded: No one in their right mind was saying that. Some (few) who are hopelessly enamoured with Phillips might have thought of this, but it was never seriously put forth by anyone.
2. Pitlick is one thing, but I think it's valid criticism of Richardson, Lewis, and Ritchie. All of whom have looked bad in preseason too.
3. Again, I think a much more reasonable reflection is that none of our prospects have made any sort of case to make the team. That is disappointing as this is their opportunity. It is ok to be disappointed that these prospects are seemingly not fighting for their spots or if they are that they don't actually have the requisite talent to make it.
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If you look at our voted on top 4 prospects it is reasonable that almost all NHL teams would have these guys start the year in the AHL. Coronato is in his first season after being drafted and is going to be playing NCAA so he isn't even an option. Wolf, Zary and Pelletier all should be in the AHL at leats to start. I could see Zary and Pelletier getting a crack if the light up the AHL. So that leaves prospects that rank 5 through 20 left as players who have an outside shot of making the NHL. Some of the guys in this group also were drafted in 2021. That leaves around 13-14 players in a group of lower ranked prospects. Some could make an impact in future years still but I think it is reasonable that if 2 make the team or make an impact at some point this year that would be considered successful.
Vladar looks like he will be the back up but what if he is and he plays very well? What is he wins more than he losses and post 2.50 GAA or better and +.910 SV%? It's possible that we have a gem here and he could make an impact this season and look to be a future keeper for this franchise.
Pospisil has looked good IMO and could be another Hathaway type player. He might have more upside but if he can be a physical energy player he also could make an impact.
I'm not willing to write off other players like Phillips or Ruzicka based on 2 pre-season games and not all players need to make it day 1 to have an impact but if we can have even just 2 players make an impact out of our 5-20 rated prospects it will be a huge plus for this team this year and next.
If some of these guys bust them why not have Richardson types on this team to give guys a bit more time in the AHL? I'm pretty sure most of the old depth guys can be sent down at no cap hit due to lower NHL salary.
Also I find older players take longer to warm up so just because players look bad now doesn't mean they all will suck all season