Casey is undersized but seems pretty stout so I’m optimistic.
I actually agree with Pronman’s (somewhat overdramatic) negativity towards undersized defensemen. Coaches like size. If the player need PP time to justify getting on the roster or ice time then they’re in trouble because it isn’t 1992 anymore. But Casey has more than just offense.
I don’t see the switch happening. Ironically, Lindy Ruff is one of the few more recent example of it since he was drafted as defenseman, but switched to winger after he made the NHL. (He wasn’t the fastest skater lol.) He switched back to a defenseman in his last few seasons.
By “one of the few” I mean Ruff’s the only modern player I know of who genuinely made that particular switch early in his career like that. (Unless Mark Howe counts.)
Defenseman Ron Greschner played some wing for the Rags in the 1980s but I’m pretty sure that wasn’t for a whole season at a time.
Krug scored 40 points, with 14 goals, in 2013-14 as a 22 year old rookie. That’s not Casey’s floor.
He has the potential to be a real scoring threat, which helps obviously.