HOW BAD IS HAJEK that he can't even get a game?
The kid looked good before he got injured in his limited time in 2019.
The organization is allergic to playing kids unless they are TOP draft picks. Every year the front office goes out and gets 1 or 2 bottom-end players in Free Agency and they ultimately end up playing. Whether it is Jeff Gorton, or somebody else, the mentality exists in the front office. For years they've had players like Hajek (or even a Ryan Graves), who were sitting there ready for bottom-pair NHL minutes, and have been passed over by more pricey veterans (Staal, Girardi, Smith, etc.).
K'Andre Miller was ready for the NHL after his freshman year at Wisconsin. Most people here disagreed and thought he would need 2+ years, and Miller looks like one of their three best defenders overall already; Miller will have ups and downs, but he looks like he's a mainstay. Fox and Lindgren looked like McDonagh-Sauer last year at times.
Chytil and Kakko have shown flashes, but not found the consistency you would ideally like. Laf should be driving the play, and he looks like a passenger at times. The front office had to trade Lias because they overvalued Howden (who they likely plan on losing to Seattle), and yo-yoed Kravtsov in his development.
It is fair to criticize in this case. Not expecting every player under 22-years old to IMMEDIATELY figure out the NHL, but the core production remains largely a byproduct of Panarin, Buchnevich and Fox so far (Mika doesn't look like himself yet).