“It’s fair to say that if a guy proves he’s ready, we’ll make whatever roster moves are necessary to accommodate him,” the GM said. “We’re not going to hold anybody back because we have X number of veterans here under contract.
“At the same time, though, if a player is going to be in the NHL, he has to earn it. We’re not giving anyone a spot just to show that our kids are developing. We’re operating under a merit system.”
“Filip and Lias are still very young players whom we think will benefit from playing with the group of 18-, 19- and 20-year-olds we have,” Gorton said. “We’d like them to grow together as a group and get as much familiarity with one another as they can.
“The intent is to have all three at center to start,” Gorton said of Chytil, Andersson and Howden. “We want them to play their natural position and see how they look there. That’s how we want to evaluate them. As we move along, we’ll see, but we don’t have a plan to move any of the them to the wing. We think of them as centers.”
