First off, I'd put Roy on the first plane, train, or bus to Alaska. The guy gives his all, but it is nowhere near enough.
Clark showed me absolutely nothing as he lumbered about.
McKenzie hadn't been on the ice yet.
French isn't a Boeser, Larkin, Aston-Reese, or even Molino. He's a water bug like Valk and Carcone and had barely skated with the team as well.
I really thought he should have tried Subban up front. He would have been a better choice than the 4 guys available and the 6 D left were competent. Green did get a Hell of an effort from the lineup he iced "on a Sunday afternoon with tired legs in a 3 in 3 weekend". It was the best game they played of the 3. 46 shots! Lost 2-1 with their backup keeper?
Rendulic skated today with no restrictions. The two new guys skated as well. We'll see what the weekend brings. They have to beat Rochester both nights or their chances melt into the thinnest possible ice especially if they drop the 3rd game to the Pens.
The only new late arrivals I have ever seen inject a shot of oomph into the Comets lineup were Baertschi, Conacher, and Hensick. Anyone else has been far from exciting.
I would hope to get a look at them as well. I don't think they would look a whole lot worse than Carcone or Cassels, but the chances of either wowing us is slim to none. McKenzie, who will probably be in camp come October, is the most likely to get a nod on the wing. He's a Canuck prospect. French is a College UFA center, but is the same size as Valk and look how long it took for him to learn how to deal with the size difference. Asking this kid to make that adjustment under the pressure of a playoff crisis while good for his baptism under fire, is asking a lot of the guy, but he is 24.
The reason late season rookie additions rarely make an impact with Utica is because Green doesn't really give them a chance. Again Green only plays players he trust and you can't earn trust this late into the season as a rookie(at least enough). Hutton is a good example of this... he wasn't really given much of a chance to play despite Utica pretty much having a playoff spot locked down when he signed his ATO. You can't really say he wouldn't have made a difference when he made the NHL team right away and has been a top 4 NHL D.
So even if Reese signed with us, there's no guarantee that Green would play him or play him meaningful minutes this season. Also, although i don't see French having NHL potential, i do see him being a capable top 6 player in the AHL who could actually make an impact (haven't watched him play but based on scouting reports/stats, there's a decent chance he can make an impact).
French has been pretty much a PPG player the last 3 seasons in the NCAA, which is something that shouldn't be overlooked. Add to that he is actually slightly bigger than Valk, which more or less makes him average size for AHL (or at least Utica). He's listed at 5'10, 185.
Also note that even though French didn't skate with the team, nothing actually says that's a requirement for playing. If someone is a better option, they could play even without team practice. For example, Ryan Fitzgerald signed with Boston AFTER French and played 2 games for the Bruins (2 assists) over the weekend. Stat wise, he's actually very similar to French (in terms of production over the last 3 years and size). Mitch Hunt also signed after French and played 1 game.
Realistically if French doesn't get a decent number of games with Utica this year, it might just discourage NCAA players from signing ATO with Utica going forward. I don't think Stecher signed his ATO last year and he could've played for Utica if he did.
Back on topic, i actually like the decision to play Molino right away because he is an older prospect so we have the option of extending him sooner (unlikely he'll end up costing more after his ELC expires). There is no difference in terms of team controlled years either so really there is no harm in playing him earlier. Also i'm guessing this keeps Grenier in Utica so indrectly i guess it helps Utica too because we would've needed to call Grenier up to replace Skillie Now Grenier stays in Utica for another important 3x3 weekend.