He was put in a very interesting position last night. The Comets are without much in the way of veteran D-men who can cover for a rookie coming in. I'd say Colton White is the closest thing to it and he has become glued to Casey. They have become a very effective duo. White covers for Casey when he gets deep offensively even though Seamus usually gets back in time to be defensively effective. White has a bit of offensive talent as well. Most surprising is the defensive work of Casey. He is actually becoming physical combined with his footwork and fine edges which produces his elusiveness. His passes are quick, sharp, and tape to tape. In the O-zone his puck handling leads to very few simple dumps. He almost always seems to find a mate or work for a SOG that is always tippable or forces a rebound for another shot. No other Comets D-man is that talented or matter of factly that smart.
Edwards was paired with Tory Dello. Dello was acquired at the AHL trade deadline for future considerations from AHL Grand Rapids (Detroit). he is 28 and in his 6 years of pro experience he has played in 219 AHL games. Obviously that means he's been frequently scratched and maybe an injury or 2 (not going to dig the weeds for all that info). He is technically a veteran of 6 AHL seasons but has not played enough games to even be considered a Veteran Elite (261-320 GP) let alone a Veteran (321+ GP) by AHL rules, but he was the next in line after White. Vilen was scratched so Edwards could play. Hatakka was the other LD in the lineup:
White
Hatakka
Edwards
The excellent fact is that White can also play the RD as well as he plays the left, which allows Vilen to fit into the leftside trio. White, Vilen, and Edwards will return next season. Hatakka is an RFA. Can't decide if I think NJ will bring him back or use him as a trade add on. After those 4 the blueline talent thins out quickly with only Seamus on the right side and that's if NJ does what they have stated and cook him here for another season. He gets better every game and at the moment, trading him would be a very poor decision. If Silayev is anything like they believe he will be, those 2 make for an amazing duo paired together as early as '26-27 and for many years to come. Siegs, Kovy, and Luke will all be there as well. What an amazing possible array of defensive talent.
I thought he played a good game. Tried to get up ice as quickly as possible when it appeared the Comets were breaking out.
Kept the puck in at the opposing blueline and walks the line giving himself more options before just dumping it in.
He played a good game defensively making quick clean passes to start potential breakouts. I didn't see him turn the puck over. Kept guys to the outside and continued to run them to the corners or the boards. His net front presence was adequate and he covered for his mate when he was drawn out of position.
All in all it was a good first initiation to the pro game against one of the most elite teams in the entire AHL, 2 time defending Calder Cup Champion Hershey Bears.
He will be a welcome presence on the Utica Comets blueline next season if last night was any indication.