A resounding no. Lowry has been very good defensively, allowing his wingers to produce offense. He matches up well against top players, and has been good in the circle. He's pretty much a lock at 3C for years to come. Petan just is not physical enough to replace what Burmi brings. Not yet. He was given a couple of shifts when Burmi struggled and did not impress. I think he may end up there, if Burmi is too cute with the puck in his own end, and takes dumb penalties, but I don't think he is quite ready for a challenging defensive role.
I like Petan, and what he brings, but anyone that thinks that he will not get better with time in the A is forgetting how development works. Look at Lowry. He was physically ready to play in the NHL at 20. But the Jets organization gave him a full year of development at C, hard to argue that wasn't a good decision.
Petan's case is more difficult. We started him as a C in TC. But he did not have a chance against the more defensively astute and mature Copp, so the decision was made to move him to the wing to give him a chance to make the team. Which he did. But it's been very lukewarm as a 4th liner. Say what you want about the talent level of his linemates, he is still looking raw, and if he is only a PT option for the big club, there is no way that playing him more in the A is not good for his career. If we are trying to develop him permanently as a winger, I would say play him on the wing with DeLeo and Raffl/Armia. Or maybe we let him move back to centre, as his vision is better served as a pivot, to see if he has a higher ceiling at the position. His versality, with some extra seasoning, and the opportunity to find confidence in his game, makes him an easy choice to be a 1st call up when injury strikes. I much prefer Lipon for the 4th line. I know Lady Jet says he isn't an NHLer, but to be a final cut in camp indicates otherwise. A few big hits and some grit are more typical of what Maurice asks from his 4th line. To be honest Lipon's game reminds me a bit of Rick Rypien (R.I.P.) and I think given how well our top 3 lines have played (minus Scheif's in the d-zone) we could use a sparkplug in those limited minutes. There is nothing preventing Petan and Raffl from usurping ?-Thor as wingers during the stretch run, with more development, assuming we can stay healthy. In the meantime a little extra physicality to tenderize our opponents would not hurt (us).
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