I find it odd that you describe him as soft and tentative because if anything, he showed in the preseason here he was absolutely willing to go to the net and pay the price. He also loves to mix it up and one of the Spokane fans on this board said he often tries to go for the big hit.
Maybe he had an off night, he's really struggled with injuries this year so that could be part of his reluctance to get physical right now.
I was the Spokane fan who suggested that Grabner will go for the big hits. Just ask anyone who was at the Dec. 2nd game in Tri-Cities, Michaels' 1st game back from his thigh injury. He hit Procyshen so hard he re-injured himself, left for a bit only to come back and pick up an assist.
It's unfair to classify a player on only one game, but what everyone needs to realize is that sbtatter was simply saying what he observed in 1 game. That doesn't mean we have to take offense to it, by listening to the game on the radio, it sounded to me like Grabby was a little frustrated throughout the game, and maybe he could've played a little better. Point streaks are generally known to flare out in this way, with the player being invisible in the game that breaks them.
On the Bowman matter, I think it's fair to compare him as a sniper prospect. He could stand to use his size a little more, as he seems to just bounce off of players on many occasions. His shot is maybe one of the best in the league though, if he could only find a way to use it regularly and accurately, he could possibly shoot himself into the first round of the draft much the same way Grabner did last season. He should be doing what he does best, which is score goals, it seems to me that Drayson sometimes tries to do too much on the ice and it hampers him.
Rutherford at this point is looking like the trade of the century; a 5th round pick to the Giants for a guy who has 23 goals at this point in the season? The guy works his butt off to the point where he's earned the nickname "Rudy"