I thought both Kulak and Wotherspoon were quite good, and not just last season either. For the last few seasons I thought they both provided quality depth and strong play.
What happened to both in my opinion is that they ran out of fumes. They came in and played well, and then started to fade with time. They started making more errors and were then substituted for someone else.
If either one just plays with more consistency, they will have an NHL career. Both are pretty good defencemen, and I like them both over Bartkowski. Bartkowski isn't some absolutely horrible player who is going to single-handedly undue the hope this team has for this upcoming season. He is simply a replacement-level defencemen for me, and given that Calgary has a pretty damn good top 5 right now, I want a bit better than replacement level. I want a consistent defencemen capable of playing defence and helping with moving the puck up the ice. Kulak and Wotherspoon have it in them to be that guy, and they just need to find a way to do it longer than their usual 3-7 games' or so worth of it.
Kylington I still maintain has an outside chance at cracking it. He does make mistakes, but he does not make mistakes at the rate you see him in the summer. I think he tries to show too much. I remember his one game that he played he looked decent. In the AHL, he really does go through games at a time where he looks steady defensively and is essentially mistake free.
Really depends on what Gulutzan is wanting out of that bottom pairing. Mistake free minutes to allow the top 4 rest? Or another pairing that can attack and transition really well? (Kulak has a nice point shot, and both he and Wotherspoon are able puck-movers as well, so it won't be like the bottom pairing won't be able to transition well, just that Kylington transitions really well).
This is the biggest battle for that 6th spot that I can remember.
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