He's always had wheels...always been extremely fast. I'd like to see a race between him and Koly...that would be a good match...his vision is off the charts though and he's got a great shot to, just doesn't use it enough. If you catch the Sunday's game, you can see it in action...I'll try and find the clip.
Not always. It was considered a question before the draft. The skill was there, and he wasn't a "bad" skater, but for a guy who was supposed to make his bread and butter offensively there were questions as to whether it was good enough.
Black Book had him rated a 4 in hockey sense, 4 in compete, 8 in skill and 5 in skating.
Pronman said of him "He skates reasonably well when he gets going. Maccelli doesn't challenge defenders with speed."
Scott Wheeler said, a year after that draft, "My big concern with his game used to be about his skating and the pace he played with. And though he still has some kinks in his mechanics that he needs to sort out (notice his pitchfork stance below), he has shown improved power from his lower body this season"
I can't find my Future Considerations guide but I remember similar criticism.
It also jibes with what I saw of him in the USHL and in Ilves. His skating wasn't "bad" but it wasn't great and there were questions. Again, I was high on him because of skill. In my EHM Sim league I took him in the 3rd, ahead of where ARI took him (Btw I also took Soderstrom and Kolyachonok in that draft as well... and I've taken Bantle and Doan... so I have a nice collection of ARI prospects).
He's come a long way overall in every aspect, and he's stronger than he was in his D+1 year in Liiga. That's translated to his skating for sure, and shows you that he is a hard worker dedicated to becoming better.