Anyone have scouting report?
I would guess Hartford looks like (in no order):
LHD: Bodie, Gilmour, Summers, Graves
RHD: Hughes, Paliotta, Clendening, Andersson, Donnay
Flames fan who saw a lot of his Providence career, here.
Strengths:
Highly competitive and intense
Good offensive skills that can break out the puck
Strong skater with four-way mobility
Closes gaps tightly with a good stick and anticipation
Was arguably the #1D on the 2014-15 NCAA national champs as a 21YO (which is avg age for that league)
Weaknesses:
5'11, maybe 6'0 tall at best
Not elite at any single facet or skill to create separation from the prospect pack
He basically just wasn't high enough on Calgary's depth chart with Kylington, Kulak, Culkin, and Hickey aĺl having the strong skating left shot puck movers quota filled.
NHL comparable if everything goes right: Jared Spurgeon?
Regardless though, Gilmour is a player who will grow on you. He has the kind of constitution to will a team to victory against all odds with his relentlessness. Talent-wise he deserved an ELC from Calgary but got lost in the AHL numbers game.
Can he also play the right side?
Spurgeon huh? I'd take that sort of player on the Rangers
Pretty much every D on Providence shot left, so Gilmour being one of the older players in his final year or two saw plenty of time on the right side. I imagine he's more natural on his left side though, I didn't see any amazing backhand skills or anything. He can one-time it pretty hard from the middle-right though.
Another little note: his +/- isn't great (+5 over the last two years) but he was out there often with younger forwards keeping them above water while a guy like Jake Walman (Blues prospect) saw more ice time with the top line (they kept him above water). It was often that he'd get caught on the ice for freshmen forward mistakes, but most would agree that Parisi and Gilmour were the two best two-way D on Providence, followed by Walman who is an elite offensive talent. In a sense you could say they were Pietrangelo/Bouwmeester to Walman's Shattenkirk.
I like it. More prospects is never a bad thing, especially for free.