Out of the prospects, the kid I'm most excited for is Brett Berard. If Tyler Motte's inclusion in the big club's lineup taught us anything, it's that this team needs more high motor players to balance the lineup.
The team has plenty of good skaters and decent size, but the organization has a need for more of these high motor guys. They're so important because they can play up and down the lineup. The smarter they are, the more impactful they become over time.
I think Berard is one of the only prospects i see in the system that has that high octane, never stop, motor. Paju seems to understand this style, but he's lacking a step at this size right now. I hope he gets there.
Back to Berard, he's in that Fast/Hagelin/Callahan mold. I'm hopeful he'll be closer to Marchand than Motte. But same thing -- high motor. As long as he's built up enough strength, I can see him working his way into the NHL quickly because I think he'll end up fitting in a lot of different spots. He should become our swiss army knife. And I think he may have the easiest adjustment to the pros due to his style of play.
As for all of our other prospects, many of which I quite like, I really hope they continue to work on their skating. Guys like Cuylle and Othmann and many of the lesser talented forwards behind them are all in same boat of needing to re-invent their games for middle-bottom 6 roles while also working on their skating/first step.
Cuylle is a great example. He was very much a Baby-Barron when he was with the AHL squad. And frankly, that puts him on the cusp of the league. He needs to find that next gear - some combo of skating and IQ. He's not slow by any stretch. He's likely above average at the Junior level and he was average at the AHL level. But he's going to have to transition to more of a high-motor style to play bottom 6 in the NHL.
Not every bottom 6 player needs to be Tyler Motte -- see Goodrow and Brian Boyle. But those guys need to be paired with speedier guys. Taking away time/ice is such a huge component to a successful bottom 6 line. Simply put, speed creates possession. When our 4th line was Goodrow, Hunt and Reaves or similar -- it's just not good enough. That line ends up chasing the play. The better 4th lines possess/forecheck/cause turnovers. More Mottes please!