Originally Posted by Sandman
Somebody else who watches the Wranglers more than me can comment, but these are my thoughts on Kerins:
-In junior, Kerins displayed rather average skating- it was kinda stiff, with deficient acceleration and a need for an improved top gear. I think these days it looks better, but still around average for the pros- he's still not a burner, but he's ok in that department. In the games I've seen, it's been fine.
-The main issue in years past, according to some of the comments from the coaching staff, might have been Kerins' conditioning. He reportedly showed up to camp this season in better shape.
-Kerins to me looks like a purely opportunistic player, rather than a facilitator- which can be good or bad. He's still willing to go to the greasy areas to get opportunities, he's still playing on the inside, and he's going to the net- which is good, as that's what a goal-scorer needs to do in the pros. I just worry about how one-dimensional his offense is, and how well that will translate. Does he battle along the boards, or in the corners to win pucks for his teammates? Not much from what I've seen, and he lacks the size and strength to win the 50/50's consistently.
-One of his strengths in junior was that he was a pretty decent two-way player, and while I can't comment on his performance in this area in the AHL too much, he is second in the league in plus/minus (I know, it's a useless stat). That could also mean that the coaches are using him very judiciously.
-There is hope, as he's only 22 and his birthday is in April.
-Another ray of hope is that in his final year of junior, his D+2 year, he was 2nd in OHL scoring with 118 points (43 goals) in 67 games- which was 39 points more than his next highest scoring teammate.
Just my opinion, somebody please correct me if I'm wrong.
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