Four games is not enough to make any real assessments, but thoughts so far are that they are fine to good. Expectations matter here - these are all guys that are in the 9-13 range for depth, so if you're hoping for greatness, you're going to be disappointed.
Simon has been as advertised. Can control the puck and make plays. He looks like he might be starting to fit in on Monahan's line. Hope so, because I don't know what he will look like if he is playing bottom 6. Reminds me of Czarnik except, unlike Czarnik, I think he is capable of fitting in with top 6 guys.
Leivo has been fine. He looks like a guy who hasn't played a lot and is trying to keep his game simple. But he works hard and he goes to the front of the net. I think he needs 10-20 games to get going before we make any judgements. But he looks like a middle 6 winger to me. And he can play anywhere in the lineup.
Nordstrom has been a disappointment, but the bad seems to have been been when he is on the ice with Lucic. Without him, he has been fine. Clearly a 12-13 guy though.
|