Quote:
Originally Posted by The Yen Man
They are playing well, but lets not get carried away here. Most of those players would be bottom guys at best on most teams, and a lot of them are playing a bit over their heads. I woukd say their depth is mediocre at best.
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Well, if you say their top-6 is Keller, Schmaltz, Stepan, Galchenyuk, Dvorak, and Grabner (and I'd say those first four guys are definitely top-6 forwards with the last two more as middle-6 guys but with Dvorak definitely having the potential to be a top-6 guy), then you have these guys afterward, many of whom I think have the potential to grow as players:
Christian Fischer: 32nd overall pick in 2015. 15 goals and 33 points last year. 11 goals and 18 points this year, struggled to find a role under Tocchet, but he's 21 and has a heck of a shot. I think he could become a shoot-first top-6 forward in the future and as it is he's a pretty good third-liner.
Brad Richardson: heart-and-soul player who can basically do anything. This year he's even become a scorer, leading the team with 16 goals. Excellent faceoff man, too. He's really thrived under Tocchet to become a great middle-6 centre.
Vinnie Hinostroza: he's really surprised me with his play down low. He's a small guy but he's incredibly feisty. Reminds me in some ways of Derek Ryan, but with more offensive flair. Already has 15 goals and 34 points in 61 games and is just 24. Like his potential to be a top-6 forward.
Conor Garland: started off hot, has cooled down a bit but still has 12 goals in 39 games. Good skater and really solid along the boards. Probably not a top-6 guy in the future but as of right now he's a really solid bottom-sixer.
Richard Panik: reminds me a lot of Michael Frolik. Has terrific chemistry with Hinostroza and Richardson. Terrific PKer with an excellent shot who's producing rather well this year. An ideal third-liner.
Lawson Crouse: reminds me a lot of a young Micheal Ferland. Terrific shot, incredibly physical, and he's shown this year he can play a regular shift at the NHL level. He's only 21 and I think he can easily become a great complimentary player in a top-6 in the future.
That's a really good bottom-6, honestly. What the Coyotes need is another top-6 forward who plays their system. Strome wasn't a good fit -- he isn't fast and he doesn't really play along the boards. Perlini wasn't growing as a player in Arizona (and I'm not convinced that his goal-scoring lately is anything more than just a hot streak). Domi... well, that trade is looking like a loss, although Galchenyuk has made great contributions of his own to the Coyotes' powerplay this year. His one-timer is an absolute bullet.
I think Barrett Hayton is a guy to watch for Arizona. Top-5 pick from last year, and he's a real dynamic guy down the middle who I think could be a game-changer for this Yotes team in the near future. I like the idea of this setup going forward:
Keller - Schmaltz - Galchenyuk
Dvorak - Hayton - Grabner
Garland - Stepan - Fischer
Panik - Richardson - Hinostroza
Cousins/Crouse
Ekman-Larsson - Demers
Hjalmarsson - Goligoski
Chychrun - Joseph
Oesterle
Raanta
Kuemper
That could be a contender in the future.