I understand
@Kcoyote3 sentiment (which others share and have shared for years) to "give the kids some ice."
I think this applies specifically to Goodrow, possibly to Grundstrom, definitely to Gregor, but less so to Dellandrea, who himself is a kid who might look great in the A. As Keenan pointed out, "I get it with Ostapchuk" and to his credit he and Dellandrea have looked slightly better of late, even in losses. Goodrow -- it's just one of those "old time hockey" things and it doesn't look like it's going to change. You would expect someone who "plays the right way" and "is always hustling" and "has a good stick" would have, at the very least, a low-event play style, but Goodrow is our worst forward for
On-ice GA/60 at 3.73, which is 32nd worst among all skaters in the league. (EDIT: I guess being "only" 80th worst in the league for On-ice High Danger Shots Against indicates he might be getting caved in but at least it's not really dangerous???) He's certainly low-event offensively, at 20th worst in the league for On-ice GF/60 (Gregor is 3rd worst in the league, Dellandrea 17th worst).
I don't get why Kovalenko hasn't been given his chances by Warso. I get why Kostin has and hasn't -- for whatever reason, it has made perfect sense to me both when he has been scratched and when he has been in the lineup, and where he's been lined up.
I agree with Orr here on Cardwell. If you're going to give any of the kids a chance, it's him. I personally think that Grier and co have given up on Gushchin and Bords, and I agree given the team we're trying to build, so I am not surprised that they aren't the ones getting callups. But I am surprised that Graf went down and Cardwell hasn't seen more time up.