Austin Czarnik is everything I hate about the NHL today, a AHL/NHL tweener with no size, grit, guts, hitting skill or intimidation factor. It's nice that he is fast but he brings nothing else to the table at the NHL level. He will become the next koklachev, many of the small, speed and skill over size and toughness crowd will love him but the game has not changed that much that he brings anything of value to a fourth line, or a third line, if he had the aforementioned skill he would be a top 6 player, he isn't and I doubt at his age and size ever will be.
See, I don't get how you or anyone can know that at this point. He's barely played 50 games in the NHL. Lots of guys go through ups and downs when they come into the league. Who's to say he's not a Cam Atkinson-type? Atkinson was also an undersized forward who was a ppg player in college. He took two years to really establish himself in the league and even then he was just a 40 point player for two years. Now he's a legit top6 forward who scored 30 goals and 60 points last year.
I've seen Czarnik have some very strong games in the NHL. Yeah, he's a speedster and a playmaker, but he's also tenacious and not afraid to battle for pucks. I don't see him as a defensive liability, at least, not when he's on the wing.
Fwiw, I'm not all-in on the speed/skill bandwagon. I believe there's still a role for guys that bang and work the boards and front of the net. I also think the best lines are the balanced ones.
If they go with Cehlarik on the second line he needs to produce, some may have felt he "fit" with Krecji and Pastrnak last year but 2 assists in 11 games is not production you can have from a top six player and expect to win. If you are looking for that level of production Ryan White can contribute it.
Yet they went 8-3 with Cehlarik in the lineup last year, according to Cassidy. So maybe him producing isn't as important as what he does to create space or free up Krejci/Pasta. I don't know exactly what it was, but I do know those two have never played as well together as they did when Cehlarik played with them. At the time I remember saying I thought Cehlarik had elements of both their games. He could play fast off the rush and that meshed well with Pasta, but he could also work the boards and cycles which is what Krejci likes. Regardless, I do hope he produces. And I hope they try him there soon.
Vatrano has been ok and I like Kuraly but would really like a traditional fourth line RW with them.
As Dale Arnold would say, "I got no beef" with traditional 4th lines, IF that's what best fits the team's personnel and the team's needs. The 2011-13 Bruins had a great, traditional 4th line. Honestly, I think the SweeNeely believe in that kind of 4th line too, which is why we've seen them acquire guys like Rinaldo, Moore, Nash, Acciari and now White.
That said, I'm not so sure a traditional 4th line is what's best for this group of players or the franchise long-term. IMO, they need to figure out what they have in Vatrano and Czarnik. Vatrano can't be sent down without waivers and Czarnik is only 8 or 9 games away from losing waiver eligibility. I'd hate to lose them for nothing only to discover they're good players we could have got something for if we'd just been a little more patient. Is playing Tim Schaller going to do more for this franchise than finding out if Vatrano can be a consistent 20+ goal scorer? Or the draft pick a 20 goal scorer would return if we decided at the deadline to move him?
In a way, they tied their own hands by pushing DeBrusk and Bjork in camp the way they did. Vatrano and Czarnik had to play with the Szwarzes while D/B got to play with Bergeron, Marchand, Krejci and Pastrnak. It wouldn't surprise me if Czarnik had been given the same opportunity on Bergeron's wing we'd be all excited for him right now.
The third D pair just needs to be solid, for all the grief McQuaid takes the silence regarding Brandon Carlos play since the halfway point of last year has been stunning. I said at the time I move him for Landeskog, Carlo may never reach the potential he showed in the first 40 games last year, Landeskog is a legitimate top 6 forward who could slot in on the right of Bergeron or left of Krecji.
Fwiw, I've never felt Carlo is an untouchable. I like him a lot, but he's a defensive D and those types generally aren't untouchable. That said, I'm not a big fan of Landeskog and don't see the need to add another LH'd winger. I like Duchene more but they can't add a center without moving out Krejci and again, that's not really possible at this stage of his contract given the NMC doesn't go away until next year.
I still say, from what I have seen so far this year, they overvalued their prospects and are going to be paying for it for years to come, turning down trades and making bad free agent signings isn't going to make them contenders again anytime soon. Welcome to the mid 90's again, Ted Donato and Steve Hienze will lead us to glory.
I think you're jumping the gun. Folks said the same thing about Marchand after 20 games, and about Krejci too. They called Lucic a 4th liner, Torey Krug a PP specialist, Kevan Miller was hot garbage two years ago and everyone's favorite son last spring. A lot of players go through a bumpy, on-the-job-training phase as they transition from dominant AHL'ers to quality NHL'ers. Sometimes they pan out and sometimes they don't but I wouldn't want to cut bait until they have 100+ NHL games under their belt.
