Play the Kids!
I’m not advocating that we just unleash the young talent before they’re ready but some prospects are further ahead on their development curve and warrant no more time in the minors.
There are several prospects who are ready to log meaningful minutes at the NHL level as early as this season, players such as the aforementioned Drake Batherson, Logan Brown, Rudolfs Balcers and others who could warrant an extended look such as Alex Formenton and Filip Chlapik. These players should all play over depth veterans like Austin Watson, Cedric Pacquette and Alex Galchenyuk if he doesn’t recapture his form.
One of the more polarizing players on the roster Logan Brown is in a bit of a bind with regards to his standing on the roster. After not exactly a dream start to his NHL career mainly because of injury, he seems to have fallen out of favour with people surrounding the organization but staff and front office have voiced their support for the talented pivot. Brown, like Batherson has nothing left to prove in the AHL, he finished last season with 28 points in 25 games and also scored his first NHL goal during his extended stint in Ottawa. He should be getting top-9 minutes for the team to start the season as he’s shown a capability to handle those minutes at the NHL level.
Another interesting case is Rudolfs Balcers, it seemed as though Balcers had broken into the NHL at the tail-end of the 2018-19 season when he played 36 games and produced a respectable 14 points. Early-season injury struggles left him in the AHL for longer than he desired last season appearing in 33 games, scoring 36 points for Belleville, while he only played in 15 games for Ottawa and just scoring 3 points.
Batherson, Brown and Balcers should all be given every opportunity to make the NHL roster as sticking them in the AHL for another season wouldn’t be wise in terms of their development.