So far so good. He's as advertised, which is fine for a bottom pairing guy. Not flashy, solid at everything, great at nothing. I'll take it.
The big thing for me is his size, he's listed as 6'3 210 and looks it. Leddy and CdH are relatively undersized, but are able to be effective due to their excellent skating - Leddy is NHL elite in that regard. Pelech is essentially what I was hoping for from Reinhart in the short term to add some size and muscle to the LD corps.
I am not a Hickey fan, he is and will always be a physical liability. He's also our slowest skater of all the d-men, even Boychuk has an extra gear that he showcases sometimes that Hickey has never shown. In a perfect world, Hickey Mouse would be an amazing #7 for this team.
I liked Pelech's poise tonight. CdH took the lead in the pairing moving the puck, but Pelech made very sound decisions and made some good first passes to the forwards. He already showed that he's an upgrade over Strait.