So many factors will dictate that answer: What Hughes does this approaching trade deadline; Will the Canadiens be active in the free agency market? Which prospects (Beck, Demidov, Kapanen, etc.) will make the team? The biggest issue will be if this very young player can increase his skating ability and physical strength. Right now, it’s uncertain if Florian will be a Nick Paul type of forward or a smaller, slower version of Michael McCarron. The former would be good and the latter less so.
But people have to watch , assess and see a player for what he is, and could be. Not what the ever prevailing consensus is about the player. The first time I saw Florian play and saw his straightforward speed and skill I suggested that he should be on Team Canada's radar for last year's WJC team. I was widely mocked for such an outrageous suggestion. As it turned out, we could have used his size, speed and skill.
Florian has succeeded at every level he has played at: OHL and now the AHL. The gap between the AHL and the NHL is as wide as the Grand Canyon. Very few players can make the leap successfully. In my opinion, if Florian can add that crucial missing element of quickness and acceleration to his skating, he has the size, skill, vision, shot and determination to be a productive winger at the NHL level. I doubt he has the skating style to be an effective NHL center. Think Kirby Dach, only slower.
But this kid is not the bruising, hyper-aggressive, penalty prone player that so many here expect. We don't want him to be that type of player. We need him on the ice where his above average hockey skills will win games for us. It's all about his skating as to when, and if, he can make and succeed at the NHL level.
I think he will.
