You are not alone, I also feel that Paquette needs some more time to grow and mature becuase while he have done some nice things he’s to inconsistent right now and looks to overwhelemed 8which have resulted in some penelties and while I don’t blame him for game 4 it seem as if he haven’t grown from that but still play the same) at time and I feel that he could use another year in the AHL to really grow, but I don’t know, Cooper seem to like him and maybe they see something in his but I would hate it if we had to send down some other great young player who is ready to keep him up.
I think Paquette winds up down simply because it's almost impossible for us to keep anyone unexpected up without a trade, or without risking someone (Panik?) to waivers.
That said, I think Cooper believes he can win hockey games with Paquette on the fourth line. Whenever you hear Coop talks about what he values in a player, he basically describes a guy like Paquette.
But still:
1. Stamkos
2. Filppula
3. Johnson
4. Boyle
5. Palat
6. Drouin
7. Killorn
8. Morrow
9. Callahan
10. Kucherov
11. Connolly
12. Brown
13. Panik
How does a forward crack that? The guy on the bubble, I guess, would be Panik, but I don't think Yzerman can get the value he would want for him and I don't think we'll risk him to waivers. (...Maybe Killorn in terms of inflated value?)
The one other option would be to go with 14F and 7D, but I can't think of the last time we did that.
I
think that's going to end up our forward group. But I also think Cooper is Paquette's biggest fan, and we know Yzerman talked about Boyle playing 3W, so they might have another plan in mind.
It's probably even harder for Namestnikov, because he would have to push someone out of the top nine. And let's keep in mind--this is pre-season. I'm as optimistic as the next guy, but it could prove to be a huge mistake if we trade someone to make room for a guy with four games of experience. Especially when you consider Drouin and Connolly are going to be breaking in this year (essentially, in Connolly's case).