he’s also steadily progressed since we signed him while moving up levels, and this year has added a noticeable step to his skating imo. This isn’t a prospect that’s stagnated, he’s growing his game every year and it feels like fans should be behind him.
But like you I also understand those who would rather not see him in the top 6.
My guess is he ends up a core part of the team's fourth line next season (he'll continue yo-yoing up and down this season), and tops out as a solid third line forward. He's done pretty much exactly what you'd expect from a non-elite prospect in his games so far who's progressed year over year but isn't expected to be a top of the lineup player.
Too many people here are used to the Benning development path, where only the absolute best of the best thrive year 1, and the rest get thrown to the wolves before being dumped to another team to develop properly.
This is the same path that the Canucks put guys like Burrows, Raymond, Hansen, etc. through when developing them. You play up and down the lineup to get a feel for what each role requires, settle in to the one that suits you best, and get yo-yo'd a bit between the NHL/AHL before finally making it. Joshua/Hoglander went through similar things as well, albeit with different teams/regimes/coaching staffs/etc.