Time for me to become a mod and just ban everyone
Random question: have you still been keeping tabs on Ciccolini and Hughes? How’d they do this season?
Yep. Ciccolini had a weird season where he came in expected to be a bigger contributor but had several scratches to start the year. He played on an absolutely stacked Michigan team with Beniers, Kent Johnson, Bordeleau, Brisson, and Beecher (to say nothing of the D with York and Power) so he was limited to a bottom six role generally. He did well with it, as he was engaged and made things happen. Showed good creativity and an ability to get his shot off. Again though, it's tough being buried behind a bunch of first round guys. I think on a shift-by-shift basis, he did well.
Hughes is big and strong and was an opportunistic scorer. He got good playing time as the season progressed. He scored 10 points in 21 games after just 4 in 30-something last year, but was still just ninth on his team. Unlike Ciccolini, he's not stick behind a bunch of A-grade players; he's stuck behind seventh rounders and undrafted guys. It was a good step forward for him but he definitely needs to take another couple big steps if he wants a contract.