Thus far, I think his D+1 has been pretty disappointing. At the Penticton tournament I thought he'd had the least impactful performance of any of the higher end Flames prospects I've seen since I started watching, only flashing once or twice and his WJC wasn't much better. I think you just hope he's on the Slafkovsky development arc and is putting on weight.
I have 2 big concerns with him so far.
1. Finesse skills, small area stick handling and passing needs a lot of work. You have to be able to maneuver and make plays in tight spaces in the NHL and he hasn't really shown that in the games I've seen. I wouldn't say his hands are bad but I've seen him lose the puck a lot when trying to hold onto it in traffic. Better stick handling and agility would go a long way towards making him a more dangerous player IMO. He's good when he has the full range to spread out because then he can use his wingspan and frame to beat them wide or put it past them.
2. His offensive mentality. He's got tools and I think he could be way more impactful on a shift to shift basis if he commits to playing physically and working the puck towards the middle of the ice. He's way too happy to just pass the puck back to the point and cycle on the perimeter, I want to see him use his size and speed to get to the inside before shooting or passing (when appropriate, cycling is good he just needs to learn when to cycle and when to attack).
The good news is almost every NHLer around his size took a while to develop, if he's got a slow development curve he would not be the first one. Additionally, I'd be pretty surprised if he busted completely I think his size and speed combined with his defensive responsibility and forechecking will make him a useful bottom 6 guy at minimum. His shot is also already great, he's good the tools to be a good player.
I think if he hits his ceiling he could be Valeri Nichuskin, if he busts he'll be Jesse Puljujarvi.
