I keep reading all the good news after the year he has had but what are realistic expectations now for him in his prime? A big impact player or a supporting player in the bottom 6?
I think that's really tough to answer, for one think you just don't see too many kids like him, forwards that big and still growing while being able to skate well with decent speed and decent hands. But we don't even know what position he'll be playing in the NHL in the future, at center he gives you that hulking presence that looks solid on draws, plays a sound two way game, takes the body, can set up plays and works hard in the crease. At RW he would likely have an easier transition, give you good play along the boards, crash the net hard consistently and brings the physical grit that we have been lacking.
For me I always find it hard to try to guess how a junior players game will translate in the NHL during their prime years. But to me what I like about McCarron is I see him as someone that can play either RW or C, and can likely end up playing on any type of line (depending on how his offensive game translates) while being able to play in all situations. Of course we don't know how much he will continue to progress, could be he still has a lot of room to go or it could be he doesn't improve much at all, time will tell, but either way we have a big kid that knows how to use his size, goes to the net hard, plays a hard nosed game, has some decent puck skills, will drop the gloves. Just to what level he ends up is still hard to say imo.