watched last night's springfield game. observations:
i don't see any real nhl prospects at forward there. dickinson was guy i wanted to see and he didn't play. the forwards they have tend to be small and not that skilled. had limited zone time. not impressed but wasn't expecting to be. and vrana was invisible, fwiw.
i thought ellis looked good. didn't look "small". seemed confident. i'm not predicting he becomes good nhl goalie, but i'm not ruling it out.
the d group most interested me. there were 3 older journey-men types (coughlan, rosen, kalynuk) who are what they are. the 3 "prospects" were skinner, malmstrom, and loof.
skinner- is better than i expected when we acquired him. good size, 22 (for another month) rhd. i don't see any standout skills but looked comfortable out there and feel like there is a bit more. i think he has it in him in time to be a good ahl d who could potentially fill in at nhl level and not be terribly out of place. don't expect he ever becomes nhl regular, but it wouldn't completely shock me if he got some games at some point.
malmstrom- he is big but a bit lumbering. his top speed seems a bit better than tucker, but his feet look a bit heavy. i think at his size he likely skates well enough for 3rd pairing nhl role if his game comes around but he has long way to go. missed first fe months with injury and has only played 10 ahl games this season (and handful last year). things looked like they were moving a bit fast for him. not someone i would be penciling into future lineups. he just turned 24, so if he is going to make himself a prospect clock is ticking.
loof- my first thought was i don't know if he is thick enough to play physical game he wants to play, but he is wiry and i think the strength isn't going to be an issue. he moves quite well for d his size, smooth and comfortable. handles puck fine but isn't likely going to be point producer. i thought he was a bit frenetic. this is his first year in NA and i think he hasn't fully digested how to play at smaller rink size. i'd love to see him get bigger role in springfield next year, let him play big minutes all situations. he wasn't ready for that this year but i think he might be ready to next year, if not thrive at least to grow into it. i am optimistic that he can in time, if he progresses at desired pace, ultimately become a 4/5 guy (marco type, albeit a better skater). d tend to take longer to develop, but if we are patient with him i think there is a player there.