Bokk's skill and skating should allow him to be complementary scorer even if he falls short of potential. He also has experience against men in SEL at 17, although admittedly with limited success. I could be wrong about him, obviously, but there is a lot to like with him.
My concern with Kostin is that he has always relied on his size/strength and can he create offense when playing against folks his own size? He wasn't bad as 18 year old in AHL, but he certainly wasn't great. Can he create separation? How much skill does he really have? Is he willing to put in work to improve as much as he needs to?
Kostin also played against men at 17, and the KHL is considered a better league than the SHL.
I'm not trying to crap on Bokk, there's a legit argument that he has higher upside. I prefer Kostin, but it's not crazy to think Bokk might be the better overall prospect. Just don't really see an argument for Bokk being a safer bet to be a solid NHLer...maybe we just have a different definition of a "solid NHLer."
The questions you're posing are mostly valid questions, but I think the answers will determine whether Kostin ends up as a top 6 power forward or merely a solid NHLer. In other words, Kostin has a higher floor than Bokk IMO.
It's very rare for an 18 year old to play more than a handful of games in the AHL. 28 points and .42 PPG is pretty good historically for an 18 year old in the AHL. I'm excited to see what a 19 year old Kostin can do next season with consistent top 6 minutes and talented linemates. 40+ points and .6+ PPG is very much within reach for Kostin next season and would put him in good company.
I think Walman is under-rated as well. He clearly wasn't ready and needed AHL time, but he came on at the end. I expect a bounce back season from him.
Walman is another guy I'm excited for next season in the AHL. Agreed he is poised for a big year, Binghamton fans were raving about his play towards the end of last season.