We have some already in the bigs or the AHL.
X is tougher then any defenseman we had in 2021.
We have Guhle who is leading by example and while not Weber level, pretty good for a 22 year old.
We have LX and Davidson marinating as a meaner version of Perry.
We have M getting a computer upgrade.
They may not be as seasoned as the 2021 group, they aren't made of candy either.
We have exited the pure "accumulation phase" of our rebuild in my opinion and now need to switch our focus to trying to target/acquire players that would help us "even-out" our roster and future core.
Basically, we're at the "quality over quantity, with an emphasis on size" part of our rebuild.
As such, I think you are right in that we need more toughness/grit. But where we differ is that I personally believe that we need said grit where it counts; in the top-6 and on the first two pairs of the defense.
The problem with our current "mix" of roster players is that aside from Slafkovsky on our top line and Guhle on the second pair, we have exactly zero players currently in our top-6 or top-2 pairs that I would consider to be "physical players" that will dig pucks out of corners, battle hard in front of the net, and manage to turn-out opportunities from 50/50 puck battles.
I agree that we have some possible solutions in the AHL right now with Xhekaj, Reinbacher, Mailloux, Tuch, Davidson, Beck, and such, but they are young and will necessitate a couple of seasons before they're anywhere near ready to be impactful players on our team.
And the thing is that, all of the guys I mentioned are either uncertain quantities (Mailloux because of defensive woes, Reinbacher because of mounting injuries) or tracking to be third or fourth-liners rather than the top-of-the-lineup players with grit that we sorely need.
The obvious conclusion then starts appearing; we need more skill overall to go with our core (Suzuki, Hutson, Demidov, Slafkovsky, Caufield, Guhle, Fowler if he develops), but our biggest need are players with top-6 skill AND size/physicality since we don't have many in our current lineup and/or prospect pool.
Which is why I would target guys with strong physical attributes in addition to skill/upside in this draft (Mrtka, Martin, Cootes, Aitcheson, Smith, Nesbitt, McQueen if he falls, etc.), trading-up if need be, as well as using picks throughout the draft to target players with both good upside and physical potential/play (Limatov, Genborg, Vansaghi, etc.).
I would also look to acquire/sign at least one defenseman that would more-or-less fit with our core's age and bring a steady defensive presence and physical play for our top-2 pairings.
Similarly, I would try to acquire either a top-6 C with grit that fits our core's age window, or a winger if prices on Cs were too prohibitive.
A guy like JJ Peterka would be great to have as although he isn't the biggest he can grind, is fast, a talented top-6 forward in his own right, and goes to the corners to retrieve pucks and battles with great consistency.
Guys like Samoskevich and Jack Quinn would be "budget options" compared to Peterka, but they both definitely have top-6 skill and at least some amount of sandpaper though they themselves wouldn't be what I'd call "physical players" either.
Anyways, MSL will have his word to say about the players we acquire, and we ARE trending in the right direction, but our team is still far from being "established" and ready to compete now.
