He's still only 20 and has some tremendous physical gifts. He's great on the offensive side of the puck and is a pretty big guy at 6'3", 207lbs.
He needed to show some improvement on the defensive side of the puck and I would think putting up a +31 this season suggests he's improved a bit over his previous 2 seasons' totals (-9, -32).
I suppose a lot depends on his attitude and how much Treliving & co feel he is capable of improving. Is he a player that is willing to take advice and work on his weaknesses? If so he could become a pretty decent NHL defenseman.
It would seem a waste to let a defensive prospect like him walk for nothing, but then again we do have a tonne of picks in the upcoming draft. If Treliving thinks he'll draft 2, 3 or 4 better defensive prospects in the first 3 rounds this year then maybe there's some logic in letting him walk and not wasting a contract on him.
Tough call. I would lean towards signing him.
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