As of December 11, 2024, there are 5 guaranteed NHL players in Belleville and 2 guys that are on the bubble (as depth NHLers).
THE NHLers:
Stephen Halliday - Batherson-lite. He reminds me a lot of watching Stone and Ceci down in Binghamton in 2014, in the sense that he stands out every shift due to his skill level.
Donovan Sebrango - High-end Mark Borowiecki. Better hands, better feet, better shot, better instincts than Boro, while being just as stout and physical, but a bit less nasty and eager to fight. He's going to surprise a lot of people. Head and shoulders the best defenseman in Belleville this season.
Levi Merilainen - Best G prospect in the organization since Gustavsson. While no slouch in that department, he's not as technically sound as Gus was in the AHL overall. However, he competes and recovers much better than the latter did on 2nd and 3rd chances. There's absolutely a good NHL goaltender here. The question is, is it a 25-40 starts 1B or a 55+ starts 1A?
Cole Reinhart - All I see is Colin Greening. Smart, decently fast, strong as a bull, no real weakness... Nor strength. A guy every NHL team would be content to have in their bottom 6.
Angus Crookshank - The forgotten man. He has been putting in a more consistent and honest effort on the defensive side of the puck. Same volume shooter on offense that's only betrayed by his size. If he was 6ft-6ft2, he'd be playing in the NHL right now and likely faring better than Cousins and Amadio.
ON THE BUBBLE:
Tyler Boucher - He's not a complete bust guys and gals. One of these days, he'll pop on an NHL fourth line somewhere and become an integral part of a winning team despite what the stats sheet will say and show. He does everything you'd want the ideal 4th liner to do... Except for scoring. He skakes, hits, shoots the puck, goes to the net, helps shift the momentum in his team's favor, not overly undisciplined, etc. He's not there yet, but he seems willing to get there. A bit of patience would definitely be more advised than dumping him for nothing at this point in time.
Nikolas Matinpalo - He plays like an elite defensive defenseman at the AHL level. Skates EXTREMELY well for his size and has a bit of an offensive flair to him, though his offensive skills limit his ability to consistently produce. The bizarre unwillingness to give him a shot in NHL (while Hamonic is dying on the 1st pair) reminds me of the unwillingness to give Zub a shot because none of Zaitsev, Gudbranson, Josh Brown or Brayden Coburn could be scratched. His play might not translate to the big league, but we'll never find out if we don't try.
