My apologies, it is not your post in particular...just a general impression of a few posters, and yours happened to be the one I quoted. As for TOI/gm last year, he was 3rd in B's centers, not forwards. His role was behind Bergeron and Krejci (for his 47gp). He will be 2nd with the Avs this year, unless someone takes his spot. Maybe even first, if he gets enough PK time to make up the difference. And he is likely to be higher than 3rd C on PP TOI/gm like he was with BOS last year. To me, that's an increased role.
I guess I would like to see a little more developmental hope for a guy that has only played 15 more NHL games than MacK. Yes, he has a bunch of Swedish experience, but we all agree that it is an adjustment to play with the big boys. He could very well blossom into a decent #2C for us. Mind you, I am not counting on it, and see MacK or even Grigs pushing him down eventually. But to see constant pessimism gets old. I think he will be a fine stop-gap #2, and a great #3. And possibly more....but the feeling I get from other posters is that he is already at his ceiling, no question, no chance of improvement.
You are correct, 3rd center overall. But 5on5 he was the 2nd most used forward per game. He averaged 14:45 last year 5on5 and I'm sure it would have been less if Krejci wasn't injured. Duchene, Lando and Iggy will more than likely get more time, MacK as well if he steps up his game, and maybe Tangs depending on how he holds up. Plus the potential for Grigo and Rantanen to surprise and earn big roles. He might still get close to those minutes because we use our bottom players less than Boston, but I highly doubt he is going to be our 1st or 2nd most used forward 5on5, like last year. He also got 2:00 of PP time. Who knows how his time will go with us (we have a lot of guys who SHOULD be really good PP options, including him), but I doubt it's much more than the 2:00 minutes he was getting. As for the PK, I figure that's where his role will increase and give him a significant boost in overall time. But considering his PK usage recently he might not get much time again. I would say that's a decrease because 5on5 is more important than special teams usage IMO, even if overall time is more.
Honestly, I wouldn't expect much development at his age. Do guys really need that much time to adjust to NA ice (I would think 2 years is well more than enough time)? Skills, skating, strength, IQ, that should be developed already regardless of where he played. At his age it's going to be more about fit and chemistry with line mates, not necessarily individual development.
As for the pessimism, it's a thread about our holes. Can't really be optimistic when describing where a hole is. I don't think anyone is being too pessimistic though. Nobody seems to think any less of him than you do (decent/fine 2nd liner, great 3rd liner), or maybe I just wasn't paying close attention. Honestly, I think it's more about the rest of the team than him personally. Everyone is "decent" in their assumed roles. Picking him as the hole isn't necessarily a knock on him but a positive for the rest of the team. We did a good job filling all our real holes (top4 D, forward depth, prospect pool), so now it's time to nitpick and think of where do we need to turn "decent" into something better. And because of the ripple effect it's best to look at improving the top6/4/starter. And he just seems to be the odd man out compared to the other 10 top players IMO.